Awards Spotlights Organizations and Individuals Dedicated to Sustainability in Schools
Hope Gribble, Green Schools Manager for the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council, has been named a 2023 Best of Green Schools Award recipient for the Michelle Curreri Collaborator Award category, presented by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Schools National Network.
The awards celebrate the hard work being done by people, schools, campuses and organizations to push the green school movement forward. For over a decade, Hope Gribble has led the development and management of multiple school sustainability programs that have driven the green school momentum in the state of Missouri and has included the Green Schools Quest: A Project-Based Challenge and Missouri Green Schools. The suite of programs, which have engaged over 200 Missouri schools to date, provide schools with guidance and resources for integrating green and healthy practices across their buildings and grounds, educational programming and school culture.
“I’m grateful for the many partners, teachers, students, school staff and volunteer mentors who have helped shape these programs and truly brought them to life,” remarked Hope Gribble. “Collaboration, creativity, and passion for elevating the nexus between human and environmental health are at the heart of this work. It’s incredible to see what we can accomplish together with these as our driving forces!”
“The Center for Green Schools relies on the hard work of volunteers and advocates who are committed to sustainable schools that enhance the health and wellbeing of all students and prepare them to lead a more sustainable future,” said Anisa Heming, director at the Center for Green Schools.
“The 2023 Best of Green Schools honorees represent a group of incredible individuals and organizations who have done extraordinary work for the green school movement.” The Center for Green Schools and Green Schools National Network received hundreds of nominations of individuals and organizations that have made an impact in advancing green schools in 2022. The 2023 recipients of the Best of Green Schools Award were announced during the Green Schools Conference in New Orleans.
Show-Me Green Schools: Pathways to Whole-School Sustainability is a suite of programs that support and recognize schools for their achievements across all three “pillars” of a green school: Reduced environmental impacts and costs; Improved health and wellness of schools, students and staff; and Effective environmental and sustainability education.
Managed collaboratively by the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council and the Missouri Environmental Education Association, the suite of programs include: The Green Schools Quest, a project-based, student driven challenge honoring teams of students who implement a low-or-no-cost sustainability project at their school with the help of a community mentor and a school staff lead. Missouri Green Schools, guiding and honoring schools across multiple levels of achievement recognition, from just starting their green and healthy journey to making significant gains in wellness, student engagement, cost-savings, and reduction of the school’s ecological footprint. The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Award, a prestigious one-time only award for up to 5 schools per state who have made significant strides in each of the 3 green school pillars listed above.
