Sustainable Jersey for Schools

Last week, FMB Earth Club was busy cleaning up Deer Pond Road as their very first meeting of the year! We collected 1 bag of garbage, 1 bag of recycling, and 1 bag of loose plastic for NexTrex. 

The following day, students in Mrs. Whitaker's & Mrs. Allen's class took to the school grounds and picked up even more trash, collecting another 2 bags of trash!

Way to go kiddos! 

 

 

We are proud to share the continued success of our school’s participation in the NexTrex Recycling Challenge!

Thanks to the incredible efforts of our students, staff, and families, we reached our goal of 1,000 pounds of plastic collected on December 18th. As a result, we earned our second Trex bench, which arrived in early January. With the help of two of our 3rd grade students, we assembled the bench and placed it behind the playground for everyone in our school community to enjoy.

 

Even more exciting—our new collection cycle began on January 1st, and we have already collected nearly 200 pounds of plastic!

The NexTrex program encourages schools and organizations to recycle everyday plastic film items such as grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap, and plastic overwrap. All materials must be clean and dry before being dropped off at participating retailers for recycling.

Through this initiative, our students are learning the importance of sustainability, teamwork, and making a positive impact on the environment. Every piece of plastic collected helps keep waste out of landfills and contributes to building products like our Trex benches.

 

As a reminder, the collection bins are located on the side of the building near the front walkway.

See below!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far—we can’t wait to see how much we collect next!

 

Andover Regional School District continues to prioritize and improve our sustainable school practices as we seek recertification through the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program. The district level Green Team was recently approved by the Board of Education so we can continue to promote sustainability and coordinate our individual school and district efforts. 

 

Our district-level Green Team includes the following members:

○ John Fritzky, Superintendent of Schools
○ Nicole Sylvester, School Business Administrator/Board of Education Secretary
○ Robert Koroski, Board of Education President
○ Bryan Flemming, Long Pond School Principal
○ Nicole Dilkes, Florence M. Burd School Principal
○ Rob Riffel, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds
○ Kevin Decker, FMB Buildings and Grounds
○ Steve Zanella, Union President
○ Justin Iazzetti, Special Education Teacher - FMB Earth Club Advisor - Green Team Liaison 
○ Mariann Whitaker, Preschool Teacher
○ Melinda DuCharme, Kindergarten Teacher
○ Jennifer Bogert, Kindergarten Teacher
○ Jennifer Moriarty, 3rd Grade Teacher
○ Lauren Huffman, Intervention Teacher
○ Claire Serratelli, Art Teacher - LPS Earth Club Advisor
○ Maia Febrero, School Nurse

 

[Andover], NJ – Florence M Burd Elementary school was awarded a $10,000 Sustainable Jersey for Schools grant funded by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). Eleven $10,000 grants and thirty-five $2,000 grants were distributed to support a variety of projects including aquaponics systems, outdoor classrooms, pollinator and edible gardens, water bottle refilling stations, sustainability and STEAM education, food waste and composting initiatives, social emotional learning equipment, school green team capacity building and more.

“Florence M. Burd has been successfully defining what sustainability looks like in a New Jersey elementary school.  With multiple consistent recycling programs, trash audits, composting, solar panels, and full student environmental awareness through assemblies and programming, we are so excited to add new and updated technology to our systems.  Our industrial composter will help reduce our food waste, supply rich nutrient supply back into our earth, as well as teach our students the possibilities of helping the environment by utilizing machines.  We are thankful for this award because while our school is small, we can make a huge earthly impact with this new tool.”

With this contribution, NJEA has provided $2 million to support a sustainable future for children across the state through the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program. “This is an important program that directs resources into our schools and NJEA is proud to continue to work with Sustainable Jersey,” said NJEA President Sean Spiller. “Our job is to help and support this new generation as they continue to become engaged citizens and leaders. By emphasizing the value of sustainability and healthy practices, which often go hand-in-hand with economic efficiencies, we help ensure that we leave a better world for our children’s children.” In addition to the grant funding, NJEA supports Sustainable Jersey for Schools as a program underwriter.

“These grants are designed to jump start sustainability projects that will have a far-reaching impact focused on New Jersey and our school communities,” said Sustainable Jersey Executive Director Randall Solomon. “We applaud the schools and districts ready to implement these innovative sustainability projects and thank NJEA for providing the crucial financial support that will allow these visionary ideas to come to life.” Proposals were judged by an independent Blue-Ribbon Selection Committee.