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Green Hero: February 2013

The Green Hero Award given every month is a program of the Cambridge Green Schools Initiative (CGSI), and the honor is given to individuals or groups who are making a significant contribution or impact towards environmental sustainability in the Cambridge Public School District. The honor is given by the school department’s Office for Sustainability.



The Green Hero honor for the month of February 2013 goes to Team Environmental Paper Assault – junior, Eric Chan, and freshmen Josh Brancazio, Ben Austin, Izzy Gray, and Griffin Andres, lead by Dr. Joan Abrams.

These Green Heroes are being recognized for their work as Team Environmental Paper Assault, a team that “uncovered many outrageous facts about paper consumption at CRLS and across America including a study by the University of Arizona which found that paper makes up close to 40% of American landfills” said team member, Eric Chan. Team Environmental Paper Assault hopes to reduce paper consumption at CRLS by at least 50% within the next year.

This team was formed in response to the Glocal Challenge, which prompted students to identify a local environmental issue and to develop a five-year proposal to address the problem. The challenge fired up a competitive and inspired investigation during which CRLS students began to examine their world in a new way. We want to recognize this team of students for their determination to make a difference! They dug deep during the month-long research project and gained the support of teachers, school administrators and the Cambridge school committee. They intend to spread the program to other schools in the district and across the state. Eventually, they would like to encourage paperless city government. We applaud this passionate group of high school students and the impact their work has made and will continue to make on the environment and the community.
 
 “Our students did a terrific job identifying a real-world issue and proposing tangible solutions. I was impressed by the facts they uncovered, their innovation & collaboration with others, and the results of their project,” said Kristen von Hoffmann, Sustainability Manager.