The very first step toward greening your school is to form a team of like-minded students, staff, teachers and parents to ensure that there is interest and commitment to support the effort. Once you have this group organized, you can meet to discuss priorities, potential projects, sources of funding, and identify other key stakeholders.

The good news is that you don’t have to start completely from scratch. One of the most easily accessible and comprehensive programs for greening your school is Eco-Schools USA. Their seven step framework is designed to be a flexible process, and one that any school can implement. Eco-Schools USA is a free program hosted by the National Wildlife Federation and is part of the international Eco-Schools network, which is active in more than 50 countries around the world. Watch this short video to learn more about EcoSchools USA or visit their website.

Most schools in Novato have some sort of school garden and the productivity of these gardens is often reliant on active parent, students, teacher and administrative involvement. Fortunately, there are lots of great resources available (including funding) to help make your school garden thrive! These include:

• KidsGardening.org

• FoodCorps

• Life Lab

• Occidental Art & Ecology Center

• Marin Master Gardeners

• Whole Kids Foundation

• GardenABCs

• Marin Community and School Garden Network

Safe Routes to Schools aims to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools. The goal is to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools, increase kids' safety and reverse the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity.

The Novato Safe Routes to Schools Task Force meets quarterly and meetings are open to the public.

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