In honor of their contributions to “green programs” for the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), the U.S. Department of Education is including both Bay Farm School and Edison Elementary School on this year’s Green Strides Tour.

The Green Strides Tour highlights the achievements of schools that have received federal Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) awards for school sustainability. It is intended to promote state and local collaboration regarding school facilities, health, and environmental education. By highlighting schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices, ED-GRS celebrates these schools and brings more attention to their work.

ED-GRS honorees have shown progress in reducing environmental impacts and costs, improving health and wellness, and offering effective environmental and sustainability education.

This year’s theme is “School Climate Solutions.” The tour will take place in central and northern California Sept. 19 to 21. The tour will stop in Alameda on Sept. 19.

Host sites for the tour are planning engaging activities ranging from tours led by students, featuring local officials and community members, to meals prepared from food grown on campus.

The schools featured on this tour have been honored in recent years, and the community looks forward to learning how their efforts have grown since the time they were recognized.

Bay Farm School received the award in 2016 for its innovative efforts that include:

Edison Elementary was a recipient of the award in 2020 for efforts that have included:

• Helping to initiate and now model AUSD’s Go Green recycling and compost program
• Leading outreach efforts for the county’s Reusable Bag Ordinance
• Leading outreach efforts for the installation of three-stream recycling bins in Alameda’s downtown areas, Alameda’s “Straws on Request, “and the compostable foodware ordinance for restaurants
• Developing and maintaining a school garden with a butterfly habitat, fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables that is used for teaching about environmental science, sustainable agriculture, gardening, composting, cooking, and nutrition
• Encouraging students to use alternative transportation to get to school, including walking rolling, and 2 percent carpooling, as well as establishing a “no idling policy” for vehicles anywhere around campus to lower local air pollution

The formation of a “Green Otters” student group focused on raising awareness around plastic pollution, fundraising for endangered animals, planting trees, and teaching peers about why eating too much meat is not healthy for people or the planet.

The three-day tour through central and northern California also includes stops in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Altos, Woodside, Livermore, Clovis, and Atwater.

Contact Sun staff at editor@alamedasun.com.