Youth Venture

November 30, 2008 - 11:44am — GreenTeensJessie

Why Give Us Your Vote: What the $ Will Do!

Though this project will sustain itself at a relatively low cost, it will be quite expensive initially.

Building an efficient compost pile will cost $300+ dollars. We will spend a total of about $79.90 on small compost bins for the cafeteria and transportation. Each day the compost must be emptied into a larger bin for storage, this will cost about $140 (in order to be air tight and meet the high school’s requirements). Green Teens will then need to purchase the initial lunch-ware (plates, trays, napkins, etc.) totaling about $1614.09. The club will purchase the primary reusable lunch materials to use almost like prototypes in the cafeteria, all together (assuming about 50% of students purchase some form of lunch) we assume these supplies will last about 3 weeks. After these initial purchases, we will help the school set up a program to purchase environmental lunch ware. Next, the club will have to purchase all metal flatware and bowls. This will cost an estimated total of $618.40. When other factors such as shipping & handling are factored in we assume the project will total just under $3000 for our school alone (this is just an estimate—we must allow extra money for cushioning). We will not entirely pay for other school’s who wish to adopt The Compost Caf. Project into their system and it is important to note that some schools may already use reusable lunch ware. We will, however, help fund schools who need help initiating the project/creating a compost as long as they promise to keep Green Teens updated on the project. Your votes can make high schools across the community, state, and hopefully, one day, nation truly become green! The high school cafeteria is a great place to both socialize and learn, by implementing The Compost Caf. Project into the daily values of the cafeteria the concept of environmentalism will reach students that it normally would not have reached (& for decades to come)!

November 30, 2008 - 11:38am — GreenTeensJessie

Benefits of The Compost Caf. Project

Benefits of The Compost Caf. Project:.

-Increased environmental awareness throughout the student and faculty bodies
-Close to zero-waste cafeteria setting
-Compost will go back to the school (Agriculture Dept., Science Dept., etc.)
-School will no longer have to pay for shipments of plastic forks, spoons, knives, and bowls.
-Less waste for garbage company to truck away
-Initial expense to build compost & purchase lunch-ware, after that relatively low cost project.

... & so many more!

November 30, 2008 - 11:36am — GreenTeensJessie

The Compost Caf. Project

THE COMPOST CAF. PROJECT:
--@15 Challenge Entry--
The Compost Caf. Project
The Compost Caf. Project was initiated by the Green Teens in the Spring of 2008, but is now just getting started. The goal of the project is to transform the E.O. Smith Cafeteria (and then spread the project to other schools) into a compost production center rather than a wasteful lunch room.
How will we go about ensure that our cafeteria takes steps towards becoming zero waste?
1. First we will create a compost bin at our school’s land lab (down the street). Compost will be trucked here roughly one to two times per week (dependent on weather, temperature, etc.)
2. The compost will be initiated into the cafeteria in 3 phases. First, we will place bins in the kitchen. We will ask the food service department to place all spare foodscraps in the bins, instead of the garbage. Next, we will introduce the bins into our high school’s cafeteria, starting with the smallest lunch section (second lunch). After a few weeks we will perform a waste analysis. If we need to continue focusing on only second lunch, than so be it; however, if at all possible we will enter the third phase of lunch composting, launching the project in the two other lunches.
3. We will continue to perform routine waste analyses, by checking what is inside the compost bins we will be able to see what we must advocate for/restrict.
4. The compost will be brought down to the pile, first by club members & families, then by volunteers.
5. The compost will be turned as instructed to ensure high quality, all natural soil is produced!
6. As soon as the composting phase of the project has become routine, Green Teens will work with the school to purchase environmentally friendly, biodegradable napkins, plates, and trays. Since the new lunch-ware will be made out of vegetable starches, they will also be thrown directly into the compost pile.
7. Green Teens will purchase metal forks, spoons, knives and bowls for the school. Though E. O. Smith High School’s cafeteria was not built to wash dishes, the staff feels as though they can manage to clean these objects.
8. Once the project is established in the high school (estimated: 1 school year), leftover money designated for The Compost Caf. Project will be used to implement the project into other area schools!

November 23, 2008 - 2:13pm — GreenTeensJessie

A Few Past Events

Some Past Green Teen Projects:
1. The Youth Eco-Bag Booth: Green Teens has visited Center Elementary School (Willington, CT) twice promoting the use of Eco-Bags. We have also held a similar workshop at Ashford Family Day & an Ashford Craft Camp (Ashford, CT), as well as at the Columbia Congregational Church (Columbia, CT). At each workshop the Green Teens first give a presentation on the importance of making environmental choices. These are simple, basic changes that even young children can make (i.e. shutting off the water while brushing teeth, turning off the lights when leaving a room, etc.). Then, the group focuses in on the importance of using an Eco-Bag. We get the kids involved in the conversation in order to hold their attention, as well as share stories (like the jellyfish eating turtles) that give positive examples of Eco-Bag use. Next, we supply each child with their very own, plain Eco-Bag and a surplus of art supplies. We allow the children to each make their own bag (most end up with an environmental message!!) and then take it home to share with their family!
2. Environmental Presentations: Green Teens works with the community to spread environmental awareness however we can! Whenever the opportunity arises we give small speeches or presentations to community members highlighting the importance of environmental protection and what each family can do to help out!
3. Tag-Sale/Recycling Center Fundraisers: Green Teens has made appearances at the local flea market as a means to raise money. Our goal is to make it a yearly occurrence to gather up all of our old, good-condition toys/books/etc. and sell them, tag-sale style, in order to raise money for the club!
4. Tree Planting: Green Teens has already donated two native maple trees to the town of Ashford. Unfortunately, since our area is so wooded not many public places want more trees. We are working to find other areas in need of some shade, and hope to plant more trees (hopefully in some cities) in the coming years.
5. CFL Exchange: In April, 2008 Green Teens held a CFL Exchange in honor of Earth Day. We purchased CFLs at a discounted price, and then turned them over to the public for free, on one condition: they proved they recycled their old incandescent bulbs! How did we do this? Simple! Since most area towns do not easily recycle incandescent bulbs, Green Teens set up an exchange, with the help of Northeast Lamp Recycling and the Town of Mansfield, CT. The group members allowed the public to bring in their old/used incandescent bulbs in exchange for CFL lights (yes, free of charge!!). The group handed out over 250 CFLs and collected over 350 CFLs (many people brought in all that they had).

Pictures and descriptions of these, and other, Green Teen events can be found under the images & video sections of this page.