Sustainability at PPS

Welcome to the April Earth Month edition of the PPS Sustainability Newsletter!

Spring is here in the PNW and along with it, lots of sustainability-themed events surrounding Earth Day. Not to mention, glimpses of sunshine and blue skies, bright blooming daffodils and fragrant daphne, and sunsets that happen after school and work are out for the day!

This year’s Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet,” which we can think of in terms of financial investment (installing solar panels, modernizing school buildings, or divesting from fossil-fuel banks), learning investment (such as climate and environmental education or spending time in a garden or forest learning about plants), or emotional investment (forming a deep relationship with our planet and the places you love).

At PPS, each of those things are reflected in the Climate Crisis Response Policy, as we continue figuring out all the ways we can "invest in our planet" and invest in our students' futures.

The Portland Public Schools’ Energy & Sustainability and Climate Justice teams are excited to debut, for the second year, an Earth Week Webpage! Drawing inspiration from the wonderful work of the Sustainability Department at Austin Independent School District in Texas, the PPS Sustainability Team has pooled together a collection of resources, class activities, and events for your school to use this Earth Month and Earth Week.

Each day during Earth Week has a daily theme, or challenge, if your school or class wishes to view it as such. From “Move More Monday” to "Waste Less Wednesday" to “Stewardship Saturday," there are activities for each day that can be done in class, schoolwide, or at home.

Share how your school is celebrating posting photos of your actions and tagging @pps_sustainability and #ppsgreen!

Know of an event happening for Earth Week that you want to see posted? Let us know at sustainability@pps.net. And check back weekly for updated events around Portland.

We are thrilled to announce that Portland Public Schools is the new proud owner and operator of TWO electric buses. The buses, manufactured by Green Power, were delivered this month and will start transporting students as early as May.

“Our school system is steadfast in our commitment to ensure we respond to the climate crisis,” said PPS Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero. “With the support and collaboration of key partners, we are now taking concrete steps towards making us a more sustainable organization by starting to electrify our school bus fleet.”

PPS prides itself on having a cleaner school bus fleet than most -- for decades our school buses have run on propane, a cleaner option than diesel. But propane is not nearly as environmentally friendly as electric, and these buses are a huge first step toward a new, clean transportation fleet, and the first part of a transition that is required by PPS climate policy.

Last week, PPS staff and an inaugural volunteer cohort of twenty PPS teachers launched the School Sustainability Champions (SSC) network! Flipcharts were scribbled on, idea seeds were planted, and creativity was roused.

The SSC is a network of teachers, school staff, and PPS central office staff working together to advance grassroots sustainability and climate justice initiatives within schools. The program establishes a central platform for collaboration, support, and celebration among staff, and it gives schools and the central office an important avenue to communicate with each other about amazing sustainability programming happening across the district.

The SSC network is designed to create grassroots programming that is centrally supported so that when school staff want to organize student-facing projects like waste reduction, outdoor learning spaces, starting a walk/bike/roll to school route, or hosting a student green club, they can rely on PPS sustainability staff for resources and support.

If you are interested in being a School Sustainability Champion, get in touch with us at sustainability@pps.net.

Have you ever noticed how many companies share stories about their sustainability practices right around Earth Day? While some of these stories are genuine actions that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, others are a marketing strategy commonly known as greenwashing.

What is greenwashing? One definition is “the act or practice of making a product, policy, activity, etc. appear to be more environmentally friendly or less environmentally damaging than it really is” (Merriam-webster).

Companies are aware that a good number of consumers will choose a sustainably-produced product over one that is not (and may even be willing to pay more). That means that marketing products as sustainable, even if the claim is misleading, can have huge benefits for sales. It’s important to look beyond marketing phrases such as “produced sustainably” and “recycled materials” and check if the product packaging actually has any certified ecolabels on it.

(I always wonder, does the toilet paper with the friendly looking bear actually use timber practices that don't harm bear habitat?)

If you're a student -- or an adult -- being a careful consumer is an important part of being an environmentalist. Want to learn more about types of greenwashing and how to more easily identify it? Check out these resources. And then tell us, your friends, your teachers, and your parents what you learned!

• Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review (Vieira de Freitas Netto et. al 2020)

• What is Greenwashing? (Lindwall, NRDC 2023)

• Introductions to Ecolabels and Standards for Greener Products (EPA 2023)

• What is Greenwashing? (Robinson, Earth.Org 2022)

• Everything You Need to Know About Greenwashing (NowThis Earth 2021)

The PPS Sustainability team is hoping to showcase sustainability programming across PPS as part of Earth Week in April. If you are a teacher or other school staff, we invite you to fill out this short sustainability programming form! Once you've filled out the form, we'll reach out about featuring one or more of the sustainability programs currently happening at your school.

Looking for quick and easy Earth Month lessons for elementary and middle schoolers? Look no farther than this hand crafted list of teaching activities.

Are you a school garden instructor or community garden leader and need the code for a free kit? Email us at plantaseed@slowfoodusa.org.

Get ready to do a deep dive into glorious greens with Slow Food USA’s plant a seed kit! This special kit features seven packets of assorted greens seeds, guaranteed to include at least one Ark of Taste green: Feaster’s Mustard. We’re sharing a record number of seeds in this year’s kit to properly showcase the bountiful biodiversity of this group! The kit includes growing information, stories about the varieties, stickers and more. Join the Slow Food community as we grow greens together and see what they have to teach us about climate resilience, nutrition, and cultural and biological diversity.

For more information, head to the Slow Food USA webpage.

Join thousands of Oregonians this Earth Day for the Oregon Spring Cleanup, presented by Portland General Electric. Hundreds of community leaders and partner organizations are hosting beach cleanups, urban litter cleanup projects, and restoration events all over the state between April 15th to April 23rd. From Willamette to Clatsop to Curry County, there are over 115 different projects in total this year. Sign up today to participate in this state-wide cleanup effort! These are the perfect volunteer opportunities for families, groups of friends and organizations.

For more information and to see the available opportunities, click here.

When: Various opportunities across April 15-April 23

Where: Various locations

Join Portland Youth Climate Strike on April 21 for a day of youth protests. Follow them @portlandclimatestrike for updates.

Check out Reconnecting With Roots: A Youth Environmental Conservation Summit on April 15th from 1:00–5:00 PM at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

The event will be hosted by the Sunset High School Climate Change Club, Next Gen Innovators, and the Sherwood High School Green Team. The summit will feature keynote speakers addressing Environmental Occupations, Environmental Education, Climate Grief, and more! In addition, there will be interactive booths and activities to check out, including local environmental organizations, high school environmental clubs, an environmentally friendly clothing swap, and guided nature walks through the refuge. The event is free to attend and they encourage people of all ages to join–especially youth!

The mission is to bring people together to learn about our environment, ask important questions, and, most of all, be a part of Reconnecting With Roots!

When: April15, 2023, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Where: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 19255 SW Pacific Highway

Breathing with the Trees is an Earth Day concert event at the Alberta Abbey, featuring The Tree People, Igor and the New Name Band, Bug Toast, Alexa Wiley with Bret Malmquist, Jake Soffer, and Ellie Hartman, all performing original music, songs and poems for and about trees. There will be original art in the form of moving images, photos and drawings projected behind the performers.

Funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. $15 in advance, $10 for children.

When: April 22, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: Alberta Abbey, 126 NE Alberta St.

Join neighbors in celebration of sustainability and fun at Wallace Park on May 6. Dog parades and costume contests, local vendors, ecological learning, electronics recycling, raffles, face painting and more!

When: May 6, 2023, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Where: Wallace Park (NW Quimby St. & 25th Ave.)