Getting Ready: The Green Team is an example of volunteerism at its best

This morning I interviewed Molly Johnson LaVecchia, a volunteer at Coastal Ridge Elementary School (CRES), to learn about the wonderful things going on with the school’s Green Team.

I had never heard of a “Green Team” and was thrilled to hear that our youngest children are being exposed to existential environmental issues and that they are actually doing something about it! 

It turns out Molly LaVecchia went through the York school system in the 1990s. When she was in fifth- or sixth-grade her combination of teachers called themselves “The Eco Team.” She distinctly remembers weighing trash, having a gardener come to speak, and a representative of Tom’s of Maine talk about their environmental slant on doing business. Even as a 12-year-old, she was glad to learn about nature, our planet and our environmental issues, and she appreciates their efforts even more now as she raises her son. 

When her son was much younger, she started a “Southern Maine Forest Playgroup” (patterned after a similar program in Portland) for preschoolers and their parents. Once her son was in elementary school, Molly just couldn’t stop instructing and teaching young ones about our environment. So in the fall of 2022, she offered to volunteer her time to continue with her own “forest playgroup” within CRES. Their activities took place after school and centered around play. She started with about 10 children, and by this spring the group had grown to 17: they are the Green Team!

Getting Ready: Here's why you shouldn't mow your lawn this May

So far this year, the Green Team has purchased a compost subscription from Mr. Fox Composting for the cafeteria, started composting their leftover lunch food, added bird feeders to hang outside their cafeteria and provided bird identification information in the lunchroom.

The Green Team also petitioned for a switch back to stainless steel flatware that they now use in the CRES cafeteria (instead of plastic utensils). Next, they will construct bluebird nesting boxes and begin making a pollinator/ sitting garden. 

At the beginning of all this activity, Molly LaVecchia applied for and received a grant to pay for the composting service for a year. Then she realized she would need more funds for her burgeoning list of ideas, so she decided to offer a “TrashAThon.” Bright orange and green compostable trash bags were offered to the children to take home and fill with trash they could find around their neighborhoods. Friends and family donated or bid on the amount of time each student would spend picking up litter. Once the online pledge page went out into the community, the students were able not only to raise more than $3,000, but they removed 85 bags of litter from our town’s streets!

Getting Ready:  York’s new Climate Action Committee

You may have seen these orange bags around town – perhaps at York Public Library, Town Hall, Grain, or Rick’s Blue Jay Restaurant. These are all part of Molly’s other project, the Orange Bag Project. Along with her sister, Amy Fullerton, Molly has purchased and provided bags in convenient locations for the public to take and fill while they are on a walk, hanging out at the beach, or looking for ways to make a positive impact on the town and its roadways and neighborhoods. If we all do a small part, together we can make a big impact. For more information on the Orange Bag Project, check out their Facebook or Instagram pages.

This is the story of just one volunteer doing what she loves. Worldwide, over 1 billion people volunteer. One in four Americans volunteer. Volunteering statistics show that their efforts are incredibly beneficial, contributing $200 billion and an average of 52 hours per person a year to their communities, and their labor is valued at $28.54 an hour. Volunteer organizations provide a long list of benefits, including fostering a sense of unity, involving people who rarely participate in community projects, and improving residents’ overall physical and mental health. (Calnonprofits.org).

Currently, York Ready for Climate Action and its programs - York EcoHOMES, Energy Coaches and WRAD (Waste Reduction and Diversion) - are hoping to add to their volunteer list. If you are interested in volunteering, contact us at info@yorkreadyforclimateaction.org.

Linda Drew is on YRCA’s board of directors and an avid community volunteer. YRCA is a nonprofit citizens’ organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the causes and effects of climate change and advancing environmentally friendly and inclusive policies and behaviors. Volunteers are welcome. See yorkreadyforclimateactio.org or email info@yorkreadyforclimateaction.org. EcoHOMES is on the same site.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Getting Ready: The Green Team is an example of volunteerism at its best