Noooooo....It's almost time for back to school

We have over a month till the boys go back to school so I'm not feeling too bad about it yet, but I know elsewhere in the country, kids will be going back in the next two weeks. I don't think I'll do too many back to school posts this year, but last year I did quite a few of them so I thought I'd do a little summary for you.

Before I get into that, over on Mother Nature Network we're giving away a solar backpack filled with green goodies just in time for back to school. To win the backpack, become a fan of MNN on Facebook. On August 24, one random winner will be chosen. If you're already a fan of MNN on Facebook, you're already in the running - the winner will be picked from all Facebook fans. I'd love to win this thing, but even though I'm a Facebook fan, I'm pretty sure the fine print says I'm not eligible. But, I'd love it if one of my readers won it.

Okay, on to my back to school posts.

This one is my favorite:

Back to School Shopping Madness: From Kindergarten through College its Time to Curb the Stuff - I wrote it last year for Sustainablog when I read the unbelievable statistics on how much people spend on back to school "necessities."

These next 5 are a series a did last year, Going Back to School in Green Style:

Assessing What You Already Have
10 Easy Ways to be More Sustainable with Your Back to School Shopping
Trashless Lunches
Transportation
Getting Involved

And some miscellaneous posts

The Walking School Bus
Remember Paper Has Two Sides: Use Them Both

Image of girls: Pink Sherbet Photography (I've found myself using a lot of Pink Sherbet's photos recently - fabulous images)

Green Term of the Week - Walking School Bus

Huh? Walking School Bus?

Yep. You read right. And I just read about it yesterday and I thought I'd pass this new term on to you. A walking school bus is a group of kids who walk to school together with adult supervision. It can be as easy as a car pool with no car or as encompassing as an entire neighborhood getting together to get their kids to school without the assistance of a motorized vehicle.

The concept is explained in a little more detail at walkingschoolbus.org.

Basically, an adult or a group of adults organizes families who want their kids to walk to school but would feel safer with adult supervision. A route is organized and the walking school bus follows the route, picking up children at designated spots.

Why is this green?

School buses create a lot of pollution. Kids who spend a considerable amount of time on a bus breathe in the fumes from the bus and it's harmful to their respiratory systems (especially kids with asthma).

Less school buses. Less pollution.

It also gets kids back outside. In addition to the exercise they will get, it will also give them an appreciation for nature. You can't care about nature unless you actually spend time in it.

Have any of you heard the walking school bus before or seen it in action? Anyone interested enough in trying to start one in your neighborhood?

Image from walkingschoolbus.org

10 Easy Ways to Be More Sustainable With Your Kids' Homework

School starts tomorrow. My boys are ready to go back. I knew it early last week when they were walking around saying there was nothing to do to, they didn't want to go to the pool because they were bored with it, and they started fighting like, well, brothers. 

It always takes a while for us to get back into the swing of a regular schedule, and that schedule will include homework by the beginning of next week. Here are a few ways to make that time you and your kids spend over their papers and books a little more sustainable.

1. Use recycled paper whenever possible.
   
2. Buy pencils that are made from recycled wood or that are made from wood from sustainable forests. There are even colored pencils made from these options.
   
3. Reuse the backs of graded homework papers. They can be cut into quarters and used as note paper, drawn on, or put in your printer and used to print on.
4. Keep a container to put used paper to recycle right near where the kids do their homework. If they have to go to another section of the house to recycle it, it may never make it.
5. Change all the light bulbs in the room where your kids do their homework to CFL's. They need sufficient light to stay on task so make sure the source of that light is sustainable.
6. If you serve snacks during homework time, make them natural, organic and low sugar. Air popped popcorn, apples with peanut butter, cheese, carrots and dip or homemade granola bars are really great choices. Make up a small plate with a couple choices on it and  let your kids grab what they want. Be sure to save repackage leftovers.
7. Keep a box with things that would otherwise be thrown away for when the kids have projects. Shoe boxes, magazines with pictures of nature or other things that might pop up for a project, usable scraps of colored paper - anything that can be used for those projects that pop up.
8. Stay organized and help your kids stay organized. Having to run out and buy more homework supplies because the glue, stapler or markers are lost isn't sustainable.
9. Buy used books from library book sales or used book stores for book report books or have them swap books with friends.
10. For a more sustainable family, be involved in your kids' homework process. Don't do their homework for them, but check their assignment books daily and help them when they need help. Be in the vicinity, be available, and be encouraging. 

See, easy.

Going Back to School in Green Style Part 5: Getting Involved

Welcome to the end of our going back to school week. So far we've covered:

• Assessing What You Already Have before you buy anything
• Shopping Sustainably for back to school supplies
• Trashless Lunches
• and
• Transportation

Today, I'm going to talk about the influence that you as a parent can have on your school's environmental impact. There are a lot of things that aren't green about our public school systems, but many of them are willing to make changes, when they have the help and support of parents.

Teachers are very busy and administrations are often overwhelmed with running the schools and dealing with new state regulations that are thrust upon them. If parents expect them to make the environmental changes that they would like to see happen without offering to help them make the changes, chances are those changes are going to get put on the bottom of the to do pile.

You know that Ghandi quote that you see EVERYWHERE nowadays, "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World." Here is a great place to apply it. Be the change you wish to see in your school.

If there is a specific change you would like to see made, the best way to do this is to approach the school employee (teacher, principal, superintendent, etc.) who you think has the most influence over that area. The best way to do this is to make an appointment. If you've got an appointment, then the person will have time blocked out to speak to you and really listen. If you just peak your head in the persons door or try to visit after a hectic day of school without making an appointment, you'll be infringing on that persons time and he or she probably won't be able to give your request the consideration it needs.

If you don't have a specific change you want to make, but still want to help the school become greener, here are a few suggestions:

• Get involved with the school parent/teacher organization and suggest a green fund raiser. Schools get in a rut with their fundraisers, and many sell the same wrapping paper and cheesecakes year after year. Grandparents and neighbors buy things they don't really want and a lot of useless, unneeded stuff ends up sitting in closets.
  There are lots of green fundraisers on the market right now that sell reusable bags, stainless steal water bottles, CFL lightbulbs and other items that people can really use.
  
  
• If your lunchroom doesn't recycle, help to start a recycling program. You can even help them start a recycling program for Capri Sun pouches.
  
  
• Offer to sponsor an after school environmental club.
  
  
• If there is the right type of land, help start an organic vegetable garden where the food can be used in the cafeteria or donated to a local food bank.
  
  
• Volunteer in your child's classroom on Earth Day and read The Lorax and talk about the importance of trees.
  
  
• If your school is doing any type of renovation or building projects, get on the parent board and help them to choose environmentally friendly options for the building.
  

Okay, those a few starter suggestions. If you've got any others, please add them to the comments.

Green Term of the Week: Trashless Lunch (Going Back to School in Green Style: Part 3)

First of all, I realized that I completely forgot to do a green term last week. So those of you who wait on the edge of your seat on Wednesdays waiting for a new term - very sorry!

Now, on to this week's green term - Trashless Lunch. I've talked about this before. I think our first mini eco-challenge mentioned it. But with back to school about a month away, it deserves its own post.

When you take a lunch to school or work or anywhere else, if you put everything in reusable containers, bring durable utensils to eat with, and add a cloth napkin to your reusable lunch bag, you have created a trashless lunch. When you leave the table (or desk) you're eating at, there is nothing to go in the trash. It all goes back in the lunch bag to be taken home, washed, and reused again.

A trashless lunch means that no packaged foods are added to the lunch, too. Juice boxes or drink pouches or bottled water. Can't have them. Individually wrapped granola bars. Nope. Make your own and put them in reusable containers.

If students could start doing this in schools, it would be huge. My son's awesome third grade teacher last year, Mrs. King,  talked to her kids about this. I think all teachers should do so.

As you're getting ready for back to school this year, take a look at what you have available to send with your kids to make sure they have a trashless lunch. Here's what I know I need to make sure that both my boys won't make any unnecessary trash.

• Two lunch boxes 
  
• Two small reusable drink containers
  
• Two sandwich containers
  
• Two reusable thermoses (they like to take soup)
  
• old utensils that I don't care if they end up getting lost 
  
• cheap cloth napkins
  
• a few containers with lids for snacks

There are lots of products available from eco-friendly websites to help you create a trashless lunch, but really, you've probably already got most of what you need in your kitchen cabinets somewhere.

Why are trashless lunches important?

• Most importantly, they reduce the amount of trash that ends up landfills.
  
• They teach kids that living in a "throwaway society" isn't the only way to go.
  
• They can be an example to the other kids and the teachers.
  
• They will probably end up being more healthy for your kids because they will be eating a lot less pre-packaged processed foods.
  

Cool Dr. Seuss lunchbox picture courtesy of Wikemedia Commons

Related Back to School Posts:

10 Easy Ways to be More Sustainable with Your Back to School Shopping (Going Back to School in  Green Style Part 2)

Going Back to School in Green Style Part 1: Assessing What You Already Have