Manchester Essex Regional High School Green Team has received an Environmental Eagles award from the Department of Environmental Protection for their outstanding environmental stewardship, according to Superintendent Pam Beaudoin and Principal Julie Sgroi.
The Green Team – students Aiden Brown, Paul Coughlin, Gavin Davis, Ian Carlin – developed a plan to reduce carbon emissions on the school campus by highlighting the “No Idle” State Law. They obtained signage to post, and pamphlets for distribution from the Mass DEP. Their goal was to educate the students who drive and parents who pick up students.
Their second project was to design and obtain reusable water bottles for distribution to graduating seniors, faculty, and staff.
Green Team is a statewide program sponsored by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and MassDEP. For more than 20 years, the Green Team program has been open to Massachusetts students who share in the goals of reducing pollution and protecting the environment with a focus on recycling, composting and sustainability. More than 55,000 students at 318 schools participated this year.
“From the time I began working with students in Green Team, I have found that the concern for the environment and commitment to moving toward a livable future has been unprecedented,” said MERHS Science teacher Keith Gray, who supports the Team. “Many have chosen to pursue a career that involves various aspects of the class, which makes this award and its recognition of our Green Team so very important.”
MERHS’s Green Team was one of 63 recognized by the state this year.
“Congratulations to Mr. Gray and the Green Team for this achievement. Mr. Gray’s passion and enthusiasm for the Green Team is contagious, and his students are fortunate to have this experience with him,” Principal Sgroi said. “It has been fun to watch his students come up with ways to connect their learning to the community.”
