Congratulations to Johnson Park and Littlebrook for earning bronze-level certifications from Sustainable Jersey! The two schools were recognized at the recent New Jersey School Board Association Convention in Atlantic City.

Special thanks go to the Green Teams at Johnson Park and Littlebrook including Littlebrook’s Martha Friend, PTO Green Team member Julie Ambra, and Principal Luis Ramirez. At Johnson Park, Lindsey Garrison, Lora Hobart, Lindsay Weiss, and Principal Angela Siso Stentz were all part of the effort along with students, parents, and staff members.

“Sustainability in schools is about understanding the interconnectedness of natural systems and the human role, and impact, on those systems,” said Ms. Friend, an Elementary Enrichment Teacher. “This new school year is so exciting for so many reasons but moving away from pandemic-necessity single-use plastics is one of them! "

"Just wait and see what we accomplish this year,” she added. She thanked Littlebrook students, staff and families who made the certification possible.

Ms. Garriton, Special Education Teacher at Johnson Park, said: “We are so fortunate to have the help of our STEAM teacher Ms. Lora Hobart, the many green team members and parents, who instill the importance of sustainability in our students and help to support the cause. We are so excited for this honor and are ready to take on even more!”

With assistance from Jenny Ludmer of Sustainable Princeton, the schools received recognition for tracking energy and water use, developing a school carbon footprint, and exploring workplace charging, among other initiatives.

In addition, the Johnson Park and Littlebrook Green Teams worked to manage food waste and communicate effectively with the school community. Littlebrook also utilized school gardens and improved pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives.

Sustainable Jersey for Schools developed the voluntary certification program in 2014 as a roadmap for pre-kindergarten through twelfth-grade public schools to reach their fullest potential.

Each school that is certified at the bronze-level must submit documentation to show it has completed a balanced portfolio of the program’s sustainability actions, attaining a minimum of 150 points. The more advanced silver-level requires a minimum of 350 points of sustainability actions.

Below: Princeton Board of Education members accept the official certification plaque on behalf of Johnson Park and Littlebrook. From left: Sustainable Jersey’s Executive Director, Randall Solomon, Mara Franceschi, Debbie Bronfeld, Jenny Ludmer, Susan Kanter, and Sustainable Jersey Board President, Gary Sondermeyer.