The Green Team

Our Mission

We work to support and empower Vestal students, families, and staff to make our school community more sustainable and climate friendly through advocacy, action, and strategic partnerships. Our vision: one, that our local action and advocacy will have a positive impact on our larger Montavilla community, making it more livable, equitable, and healthy for all, and two; that Vestal students grow to feel a sense of stewardship for their environment that will carry into their adult lives and impact their decision-making.

Our Values

Our students deserve a clean and safe space to play. We support this by organizing regular grounds cleanups and keeping the school yard clean, safe, and free of litter. Involving students in these regular cleanups helps foster their sense of responsibility for their grounds and the environment.

We are working towards the continued greening of the Vestal campus. In addition to providing greener, healthier, and safer places to learn and play, this supports climate change resiliency now and into the future.

We believe all students have a right to walk, bike, and roll safely in their neighborhoods. We work with community partners to advocate for safer streets and better infrastructure to improve safety in our community. We promote active transportation for students and families in their commutes to and from school, including promoting the Vestal Bike Bus.

We support our school’s thriving garden education program, which engages students and fosters connections to food, nature, and each other. We support the care and health of our school garden plot through regular garden cleanups and summer watering.

As a School for Social Justice, we support students in identifying and articulating local environmental injustice and in developing local action to advocate for changes. We aim for our school community to be a center for dialogue and discourse around both local and global social justice issues.