At the start of her tenure at Forsyth School, Melissa quickly introduced an array of sustainability-themed programming and instructional initiatives, including storytimes for younger students about caring for the planet and each other and encouraging older students to use information literacy strategies to evaluate recycling facts and myths and communicate their findings. Because of her efforts and their success, she received the school’s annual “Go Green” award within her first year.
One nominator highlighted a multi-week, cross-curricular event Melissa planned in collaboration with the school’s sustainability teacher that focused on single-use plastics and plastic bag usage that would be visible and meaningful to the entire school. Students applied research skills to learn more about the plastics industry lobby, plastic bag production, recycling and alternatives to plastic bags, then calculated how many bags most families use. The students then shared their findings with younger students in a hopeful, empowering way.
