MAGNET GREENS

       Caddo Magnet's Greens Club was founded in the 1990s by retired biology teacher Mrs. Ruby Blackwell. Students interested in sustainability were involved in a variety of activities, from taking field trips to Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center to supporting local conservation and wildlife preservation projects in conjunction with Caddo Parish's Walter B. Jacobs Park. In 2013, Greens Club received a generous grant from a regional International Paper to greatly expand our school's recycling efforts and minimize landfill waste. Since then, we have facilitated the school's recycling and landscaping, and our club continues to grow every year. We meet on 1st club rotation in the gym and dues are $10. Greens Club is also a Project Green Schools chapter, and students must pay their fees and earn at least 20 environmental service hours each year in order to remain a member of good standing. Most of our members will easily earn well over that amount of service hours within one semester. 

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       Greens Club has increasingly become more engaged with the local community. In the past we've worked with the Valencia Center in their community garden. Members volunteer by helping take care of and improve our pollinator-friendly National Wildlife Federation Certified Schoolyard Habitat. We work hard to sustainably remove waste from our waste stream by composting or recycling paper and recycling aluminum and plastic with the help of our friends at ReneWaste Solutions.  We are also active in taking care of the Coates Bluff Nature Trail that is adjacent to our school, cleaning up trash and creating interactive and interdisciplinary plant labels for trail tours. Members also volunteer with some of our friends at the We Grow Together Community Health Hub, Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center, Red River National Wildlife Refuge, Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, and SPAR.

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       We continue to initiate environmentally-focused traditions at Magnet. In April 2018, we started Earth Fest, an after-school party around Earth Day aimed at creating interest in environmentalism and spreading information. We also collect Mardi Gras beads the week after Mardi Gras and return them to krewes to reuse. We encourage our members as well as every student at Magnet to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, reducing their waste and carbon footprints. On this website, you can find tips on living a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Remember, the best way to change the world is to change yourself first! As our former principal Michael Ilgenfritz reminded us, we need to "walk the walk" and inspire others to do the same. 

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        In 2017, our Greens Club became part of the Project Green Schools network. Our past president, Sarah Salvatore, 

served on the Project Green Schools National Youth Council. We debuted this website as part of our presentation

at the 2nd NYC Green School Conference on September 24, 2018 as part of Climate Week NYC, sponsored by The Climate Group and the United Nations. We wanted to educate others about what we learned and who we met, such as top-notch climate scientists, innovative NGO leaders, and colleagues at Project Green Schools. Keep checking out what we share here and follow us on our Instagram, @magnetgreens! In September 2024, our officers plan to return to Climate Week NYC & bring back what we learn to the campus and our larger community! 

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