Sustainability at PPS

Hello PPS Sustainability followers, fans, and collaborators,

Last month, our newsletter got sent to spam. :( So welcome to S’MORE, our brand new Newsletter Application. We hope you like the new look and feel.

You can still find all our past Newsletters here and you should definitely check out last month’s to learn about everything from bats to bike buses. For weekly stories and updates, including opportunities for students and community to get involved and voice their ideas on PPS climate and sustainability work, follow us @pps_sustainability.

This month we’re talking trees, shade, and what heat islands in Portland Public School neighborhoods have to do with climate justice and the PPS Climate Action plan. We’ll also take you to Hayhurst Elementary to check out their fabulous work to reduce waste in the cafeteria.

Let’s get started!

Hayhurst Elementary School has a rich history of waste reduction! For over 10 years, students there, with the help of parent volunteers, have been waste-sorting at the end of every lunch.

As students go through the waste line, they recycle milk cartons, food waste, and dispose of garbage. Volunteers like Kendall (pictured above) rinse the milk cartons and then put them into a large mesh bag that the custodian will hang up to dry after lunch. Once dry, the milk cartons are recycled! But what about unopened packaged food? Students have the opportunity to set unopened food on a Share Table, where other students who are still hungry can grab it to eat! This amazing volunteer-led program helps to reduce the amount of recyclable items and food waste that goes to landfills, and reduces overall food waste.

Hayhurst also has a volunteer-run school supplies closet with everything from composition notebooks to colored pencils. These supplies are given out to students community-style at the beginning of the year, and then are re-collected at the end. Volunteers check for which supplies can be reused the next year before storing them back in the closet for the summer; supplies that can’t be reused are recycled when they can be or are thrown away. This program ensures every student has a full set of supplies for the school year!

If you'd like to hear more about Hayhurst's waste reduction initiatives, you can contact their PTA here. Looking to reduce waste in your school but don’t know where to start? Reach out to sustainability@pps.net!

On October 19th, PPS staff hosted the Climate Justice Youth Advisory Kick-off Meeting! Did you miss it? Don’t worry– there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved! Not sure what the Climate Justice Youth Advisory is? Keep reading.

The CJYA is a centralized space for High School and Middle School students from across the district to come together to deepen their understanding of climate justice, share resources, collaborate, and be empowered leaders in a climate-changed world.

Many PPS students are already leaders in climate advocacy (video), founding environmental clubs, organizing school strikes, activism trainings, walk-outs and sit-ins, serving on the PPS policy committee to shape the PPS Climate Crisis Response Policy, and testifying at Board of Education meetings. With student support, the Board unanimously passed the PPS Climate Crisis Response, Climate Justice and Sustainable Practices Policy on March 1, 2022.

The CJYA is a space where students have the opportunity to continue their climate justice advocacy and advise on the implementation of the PPS Climate Crisis Response Policy.

Our goal between now and January is to build the CJYA membership. We would love to have at least two students from every high school! We hope you’ll consider joining and sharing this opportunity.

If you are part of an environmental club or class, get in touch with our team – we’d love to visit, support your work, and share more about PPS’s climate crisis response and the Climate Justice Youth Advisory. The CJYA will be open to new student members joining through the Spring.

Email Hannah Skutt, the PPS Climate Justice Project coordinator at hannah.skutt@gmail.com to connect.

Have you heard of the “heat island effect”? Urban heat islands refer to areas that experience higher heat because of roads, buildings, pollution, and lack of plants and shade. In nature, forests and water bodies absorb and diffuse heat. In the city, buildings and roads re-emit the sun’s heat, contributing to temperatures 10+ degrees hotter than in a forest.

Take a look at the map below. The red areas are HOT. And the blue areas are much cooler. Notice a pattern? In the city of Portland, heat islands disproportionately occur on the Eastside, especially in BIPOC and low-income neighborhoods, that lack trees and parks as a legacy of redlining and under-investment.

Tree planting and urban forests are some of the best ways to capture carbon and start to reverse the urban heat islands. Plus, they improve air quality and physical and mental health.

The City of Portland wants to plant more trees in order to improve air quality and increase green space, focusing on neighborhoods with fewer trees and more heat islands.

Similarly, the PPS Climate Crisis Response Policy states, “PPS will maximize the carbon sequestration potential and other environmental benefits of green school yards and increase the ability of school grounds to adapt to climate extremes. – Increase shade trees, green spaces, and de-pave projects, with highest priority in low-canopy neighborhoods.”

It might seem like a tree will take FOREVER to grow up and provide shade. But, as the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today.

To learn more about local urban heat islands, check out the Columbia Slough Watershed Council’s blog post, “Urban Heat Islands: A Peek Into Portland’s Shady Past,” by Thomas Meinzen.

Since we’re celebrating trees this month, we have to mention Learning Landscapes, our wonderful city tree planting partner that helps us plan for, plant, and maintain new trees on school properties, all for no cost, and all with the hands-on educational help of students! Through this partnership, we help meet both the city’s and PPS’s goals around tree planting. Why is tree planting an important environmental and climate justice goal? Learn more in our Did You Know section above.

Want to learn more about how we are designing green schoolyards and naturescapes? Check out Learning Landscapes, Oregon Green Schools-PDX and other experts from around the Northwest as they discuss ways to reimagine schoolyards in our communities.

In January, the PPS sustainability team is launching a new collaborative learning network for school staff: School Sustainability Champions (SSCs).

Over the past two years, we have routinely heard from teachers that they want to be supported in creating and implementing school sustainability programs. And that to do that effectively, they need more resources and opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration. We also know there are many incredible climate related programs happening in schools across the district. AND, PPS district sustainability staff regularly have important climate justice and sustainability program information and opportunities we want to share with teachers and students.

The school sustainability champions network will be a platform for all this! Collaboration between PPS climate and sustainability staff and sustainability champions, channels for school-to-school peer support and story sharing, and quarterly network meetings to share successes, challenges, ideas, and inspiration.

For now, we would love to get a sense of teacher interest. If this sounds like something you or another teacher at your school might be interested in, please fill out this survey and we will add you to our SSC mailing list for updates and announcements

Looking to get your students a hands-on learning experience in a forest? Check out Forests Today and Forever! FTF’s mission is to promote forest stewardship through education and to connect people with Oregon’s forests. They offer a variety of programs, including free field trips for high school classes. Over the field trip planning process, FTF will work with teachers to ensure the field trip will meet learning objectives and the organizational mission.

This Fall, the City of Portland is giving away 2,000 Free Trees, and free professional consultation for planting and care. Saturday, November 5th is the last tree pickup event for this season, and it will take place in SE at Mt. Tabor Community Garden. Delivery is available to homes in the St. Johns, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Cully, Centennial, Glenfair, and Sumner neighborhoods. Delivery and planting available for people who need accommodation.

Registration Required to receive a tree.

Interested in learning about how green schoolyard projects go from idea to reality? Check out this incredible resource and panel discussion on Reimagining Schoolyards in our Communities! Join experts from Oregon Green Schools and the Pacific Northwest as they sit down for a conversation as part of Sustainable Building Week.

Join the Arbor Lodge Tree Team for a work party at Rigler School Arboretum with Portland Parks & Recreation.

When: Saturday, November 5, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

Where: Rigler School Arboretum (5401 NE 52nd Ave, Portland, OR 97218) Entrance on NE 52nd Ave.

Free Yard Tree Giveaway - This Fall, the City of Portland is giving away 2,000 Free Trees, and free professional consultation for planting and care. Registration is required to receive a tree. Register here.

When: Saturday, November 5th

Where: Pickup location is in Southeast Portland at the Mt. Tabor Community Garden, enter at SE 64th Ave and SE Lincoln St.

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District has some great webinars coming up! Topics covered this month include outdoor water conservation, urban weeds, creating an edible landscape, native plants, and climate resilience: at home, in your yard, and beyond. Click here to sign up!

NOVEMBER 15 is America Recycles Day! By recycling, you can help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserve natural resources, and support those working in the recycling industry. If you need a refresher on what can be recycled, check out the City of Portland’s helpful recycling guide!