By Joaquin S. and Maciej K., both seventh grade leaders of the Locke School Green Team in Chicago, Illinois

Throughout life, words will not lead us, only dreams will. Determination and dedication is the key to successful teamwork, and this is what made our Locke School Green Team what it is today.

Dedication and determination also led Mr. Parker to starting our Green Team last year. We decided to interview him recently because of his visible determination and dedication to this program.

We also interviewed several of the school’s “Green Leaders” who hoped to get their voice and inspiration out there, as we gave them the chance to express their emotions about the planet and recycling in general. We were not prepared for such great answers…

“Even the smallest amount of people can make a difference,” said Isabel G. a 7th grader at Locke School and a dedicated member of the “Green Team.” Each day she spends an additional FIVE to TEN minutes at school, taking out blue bins out of the four classrooms that her and her team have been assigned to. That’s all it takes, FIVE to TEN minutes, each day, for a full school year to make such a big difference and dwindle the large amount of paper that was being used each year (last year, each student used an average of 1,207 sheets per year!).

If everyone pitched in, think of the possibilities that are at arms reach, opening so many doors for the planet.

Everyday, the Locke School Green Team collects blue bins from each classroom and empties them into one of four communal bins in the school. They track each classroom’s recycling habits, analyze what is being thrown out, and track how much paper (and other waste) is placed in the blue bins.

Classes receive scores of green pluses or red minuses each day based off the contents of their bins, mainly based off of the amount of non-paper items in the bins. These scores are posted daily, on a public “School Environmental Report Card,” and classes receive green awards for positive scores.

“We all should give back to the planet that helps us everyday,” said Darren K., a fellow 7th grader at Locke School. Planet Earth is our home, and we have to respect it. As they say, one people, one planet, one future. Planet Earth has housed us for billions of years. Our several generations cannot be the ones to ruin this great world and its history – we must act!

A year ago, our school’s score on the Chicago Public Schools “Scale of Environmental Schools” at the time was 41%, a failing score. Today, the Locke Green Team has come as far as 163% in recycling our target amount of paper!

Member status has increased greatly, starting from 8 determined students last year, our team has evolved to a 40 student dedicated team this year, ran by the students, for our environment. With the constant increase of members, we understood that our field of work could expand as well. From a small 12 room operation the team went to an all-school organization, collecting paper each day from 34 rooms!

Personally, I was initially interested in how this group began, and decided to ask Mr. Parker exactly that question. When I asked he immediately began recalling;

“During the 2008-2009 school year, I received a random note in my mailbox at school inviting me to enter a recycling contest for local Chicago Public Schools. There was a link to the C.P.S. Environmental Scorecard, and when I opened the site I found some pretty disheartening news. Not only was each student at Locke using an average of 1,207 sheets of paper per year, but we had a recycling score of zero.

Ouch! Upon sharing this news with my class at the time, a group of eight dedicated seventh graders and I set out to create the first ever recycling program at Locke School, and our first environmental club, the Locke Green Team. Needless to day, we have been on the rise ever since.”

“How has this program affected our school?” I asked Mr. Parker. He answered,

“Well, our recycling habits have improved, our paper consumption has decreased, and the amount of requests I get for future Green Team members [whether staff members or first graders!] show that change is happening. I believe that the Locke Green Team has brought a lot of light into Locke School and provided our school family with new opportunities to bring about positive change in our community and in the world. We have inspired teachers, students and the community and shown them that they should act like what they do makes a difference, because it does. I am very proud of that, and thrilled about what opportunities the future may hold.”

At Locke School, students strive to “Be the change they wish to see in the world,” afterall, it says so on the back of our Green Team t-shirts!

* This article was written by Joaquin S. and Maciej K., both seventh grade leaders of the Locke School Green Team in Chicago, Illinois.