Manchester by the Sea,
Chapter Info: Level 3 - 200 hours – 80 Students
Contact: Eric Magers 978-525-6469
The towns of Essex and Manchester are located in an ecologically important area, with open spaces, streams, wetlands, coastal plains, salt marshes, ocean tidelands, beaches and rocky shores. The Middle High School is a cutting-edge “green” facility built with recycled materials using an energy-efficient design. With this state-of-the-art school as a foundation, the district was given a unique opportunity to develop an environmentally sustainable program to work alongside and support the energy-efficient choices that were made in designing the new school.
Founded in April of 2009, the Green Team’s mission is to promote and improve environmental stewardship, teach civic responsibility and nurture a passion for sustainable living practices in order to strengthen our community. The Green Team is committed to supporting Essex and Manchester in building environmentally sustainable communities by bringing together individuals, households, neighborhoods, businesses and government in a comprehensive and collaborative effort. The program’s main focus is to inspire Manchester Essex students, staff and community members to embrace environmental sustainability and focus on reducing each individual’s negative impact on the earth—to think and act globally, not just locally!
Students are able to participate in Green Team as scholars, taking a full year class, or as an apprentice, a half year class. Scholars take on a project at the beginning of the year that they work on throughout the rest of the year. Projects range from hands-on work such as aquaponics and hydroponics, to more business-like such as event coordinating. Both styles of projects are crucial to the success of the Green Team. Apprentices, considered the ‘backbone’ of the Green Team, engage in work that has a wider effect on the Green Team, greater community, school district, the Advisors, Directors and the student.
The Green Initiative is organized into three interdependent components. The design aims to provide a structure by which the multifaceted program can provide experiential hands-on learning, real-world application and interaction with the world of work and within the local and global community. Informal collaborations and partnerships, innovative thinking and student-teacher collaborations have powered this movement to state and national recognition. MERSD proudly recognizes these achievements, and recognizes that sustainability education is a district commitment aligned with our Core Values and specifically identified for development, which has allowed for the program to grow from its grassroots origins to become institutionalized and sustained over time.
