Together – we can make a difference!
The challenges facing our environment are immense, but that doesn’t mean we can’t overcome them together. The best way we can create significant change in our planet is to unite together in the fight against climate change. By creating a Green Team, you will form a community that accomplishes more as a group than anyone could individually.
Created in partnership with Grades of Green Youth Leader, Samantha Torres.
This toolkit address the following Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) within the Performance Expectations of NGSS for Grades: 6-8 and 9-12
- Asking Questions and Defining a Problem
- Planning and Carrying out Investigations
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Obtaining Evaluating, and Communicating Information
- Once the Green Team is formed, students will analyze many metrics and data in their various environmental projects
- Project Management
- Students will identify routines to accomplish their goal
- Students will practice leadership skills and collaborative work
- Evaluation and Assessment
- Students will track and evaluate the impact of their various projects
What is a Green Team?
A Green Team is a club of students whose members strive to create an environmental impact in their school or community. A Green Team can have just one team or many different teams working on their own unique projects. It is a collaborative effort that encourages creative ideas, allows new members to join, and pairs people together who want to work on the same project.
What You Will Accomplish
As a group, students will create an environmental/eco-club within their school to educate and inspire fellow students and the local community.
Why Should You Create a Green Team?
The resources provided can be shown as a slideshow or printed out as individual worksheets for students to learn.
The Climate is Changing!
Due to human activity, global temperatures have risen 1 degree celsius in the last century. Our actions have led to melting polar ice caps, world-wide habitat destruction, and rising sea levels. If humankind does nothing to alleviate our negative impacts on the planet, these issues could become irreversible. That’s why it’s up to us to take action and fight climate change now, before it becomes too late. 
Leaders Care For Our Environment!
There are many ways to be a leader and inspire others toward environmental action. One person who has made it her life mission to motivate the world is student activist, Greta Thunberg. She has given several speeches at environmental conferences and even spoken at the United Nations as a part of her goal to convince world leaders to take stronger action on climate change. However, you don’t need to speak at the UN to create impactful change for the environment. You can inspire those around you with your actions and commitment. Creating a Green Team is just one way you can encourage others to become environmentalists and be a leader in your own community. 
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!
Creating a Green Team is the best way to get more people involved with the environment. Collaboration is not just beneficial, but necessary to protect the planet on a global scale. By connecting your peers, Green Teams allow a community to form where ideas can be shared and discussed. Student led groups can be a powerful force for change. Remember, we are all in this together!
Why the Climate Crisis is a Social Justice Issue
At its core, environmental justice is defined as the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” by the Environmental Protection Agency. Due to the inequalities and inequities of accessible sustainability practices, individuals who are disenfranchised unwillingly face the effects of climate change at a greater degree. This is especially apparent in neighborhoods that house minorities and people of color due to other policies reducing opportunities available to them.
Watch these two short videos to learn why it’s important to care for environment and work together!
Think About It!
- What are the benefits of having a centralized Green Team within a school?
- What are some of the environmental initiatives that can be addressed in a Green Team?
- What are some activities that can be arranged by a Green Team? What are some organizations you can connect with to support major activities/events?
Take Action: How to LAUNCH a Green Team
Follow the steps below to set up a successful Green Team at your school! Need help? Contact us!
Step 1: Decide Who’s Participating
Use the Green Team Sign-up Sheet to invite fellow classmates to participate in your Green Team.
Step 2: Contact a Teacher
In order to meet as a team, the President is responsible for reaching out to a teacher whose room can be used to hold meetings. The President is then responsible for setting a consistent day and time with the teacher in which the group can use the room.
Step 3: Promote Your Green Team
In order to bring awareness to your Green Team and project, teams should utilize school bulletins, newsletters, and social media to gain traction. Ads may be put out in student publications and digital/hard copy flyers can be hung and posted to encourage people to join your team or participate in your project.
Step 4: Create Roles
Determine who and how many students are participating. Divide students into roles using the Green Team Organizer.
- President: The president will be in charge of registering the Green Team as a club according to school protocols, reaching out to the teacher whose room will be used for meeting, establishing a meeting time, and assigning or setting a system to assign roles. If you would like to participate in Grades of Green programs, the president is also in charge of keeping the project on track, updating progress, and reaching out to the project “specialist” during the campaign.
- Vice President: The role of the Vice President is to aid the President with the previously assigned roles, as well as fill in or aid those placed in other roles.
- Secretary: The role of the Secretary is to be present at all meetings and take notes on what is discussed, what the next steps of the team are, and who is accomplishing what by the next meeting. These notes will be used by the President and Vice President to reference, as well as given to individuals who are absent at meetings.
- Communications and/or Social Media Lead(s): The role of the communications and social media lead(s) is to be responsible for the creation and posting of story and feed posts on Instagram (or whatever social media platforms the team chooses to use). The communications and social media lead(s) is also responsible for assigning jobs for help with fact research and posts graphic design relevant to the team’s project or goals
Step 5: Design Your Club Meetings
In order to stay on track, the President and Vice President should identify what the team must accomplish for various projects. Club meetings should include discussion about the projects students are taking on, specific tasks for members to accomplish, and a scheduled agenda.
If your Green Team has a project, have team members delegate specific tasks to complete the steps of your project or campaign.
Step 6: Begin Your Green Team Meetings
Prior to each Green Team meeting, organize everything needed to continue selected projects. This can include the following:
1. Prepare Materials
Prepare the necessary resources needed to share with participants in the Green Team. Furthermore, this is a good time to ensure the layout of the classroom is comfortable as well. Some materials/duties to take note of are slide decks, roll sheets, and how to organize the classroom.
2. Take Roll
Using the Green Team Roll Sheet, track which students attend the meetings. When students walk in, have them input their name and contact information. Collecting contact information is important because it allows you to notify students when future meetings or events are taking place.
3. Present to Your Green Team
Using the materials that you have prepared, give updates on your project(s) and direction for next steps for your team members. This can also include a collaborative discussion about what to accomplish next in your project.
4. Finishing Remarks/Announcements
Wrap up with a brief summary and an overview of the tasks that should be accomplished by your next meeting. This is also a great time to include miscellaneous announcements or any optional opportunities that you would like to share (Example: a beach cleanup happening nearby that people can attend)
Step 7: Create a Schedule
Using the Green Team Schedule Sheet, create a schedule to organize the frequency of club meetings. This schedule can also include how often you would like core members to meet as well.
If you have a project, create a timeline for your team. Once a timeline is established, lay out the steps that must be taken to accomplish what needs to be done on time, and assign tasks to group leaders and members to get the job done.
Step 8: Pick a Project
Now that you have your Green Team together and a solidified schedule, it is time to pick a project!
- Need ideas? Pick another LAUNCH Toolkit to use with your Green Team
- Have an idea? Join the RISE Climate Solutions Campaign to organize and bring your project to life!
- Note: The RISE Climate Solutions Campaign is a yearlong program that is available to teams who register in the Fall.
How’d It Go?
- What were some small wins when putting together your green team?
- What could you have done differently?
- What personal changes will you make to reduce your impact on climate change?
Report Students’ Impact
Congratulations!! You’ve implemented a Green Team! Don’t let all that hard work go unnoticed. Submit your results by clicking the green button below.
Project ongoing? No problem! Let us know what you’ve done so far.
By reporting your impact, Grades of Green can:
- CELEBRATE and elevate your students’ hard work and success.
- Offer our programs FREE for all students across the globe.
- AWARD stipends and certificates to hard-working educators and students.
Please take a few minutes to submit your results. Thank you!
- Green Team Sign Up Sheet
- Green Team Organizer
- Green Team Roll Sheet
- Green Team Schedule
- Green Team Presentation
- Green Team Wrap Up Form
Congrats on completing the How to Form a Green Team Eco-Toolkit!
Did you enjoy this toolkit? Find your next project here!