The Greene School was honored to be a part of the 2022 RIEEA Summit, Trees for the People: Environmental Justice for Rhode Island's Frontline Communities. The keynote address was presented by three individuals: Joann Ayuso, Kufa Castro, and Tonay Gooday-Ervin about the connection between tree equity and environmental justice.
Board member, Laura Clavette, nominated the school for this award. It was a wonderful moment to be able to share all that we do at TGS in regards to our mission statement with a broader audience full of environmental leaders in our state and beyond. Here is an excerpt from our acceptance speech:
"Dedication to serving a state-wide diverse student body, now serving students from 24 communities, is core to our mission at The Greene School. Students graduate having worked and studied side by side to understand environmental issues both locally and globally. Along with classroom studies, our curriculum includes multidisciplinary learning expeditions in each grade level that conclude with real-world products in which students present to larger and more authentic audiences.
These expeditions (1) engage environmental leaders in a conversation that discuss conservation efforts and the role youth play in preserving the natural world, (2) challenge students to explore the environmental injustice of one city's disregard for the distribution of pollutants and the impact on traditionally marginalized communities, (3) promote leadership in environmental education and stewardship as students work with middle schools to develop small scale high-leverage school-based projects, and (4) encourage citizenship through the collection of data that highlights the impact of climate change and sea level rise during an annual Coastal Sustainability Symposium. Greene School students are making a difference."