The GREEN Team

by Abby Marcus

The Torah contains an abundance of sources on protecting the environment and its creatures. One interesting example is a migrash, an open field. “Open space shall be for their animals, for their possessions, and for all the amenities of life,” is written in Vayikra 35:3. Although the migrash was supposed to belong to the Levites, Maimonides explained that the land is everyone’s responsibility. In today’s world this means we are all responsible for the care of our planet.

Another beautiful reason for why we should save our environment hails from Devarim 20: 9-20. This is the law of bal taschit, which means that one should not destroy or waste. In the Torah this is discussed in regard to ruining fruit trees during wartime. In connection to today’s world this means that we should not waste food or natural resources.

The Green Team is the environment club of our school that meets every Wednesday. At one meeting someone mentioned an article about a competition to become the greenest school in America. With this goal in mind, we began to think of ways our school could help the environment.

With the backing of our administration, we were able to immerse ourselves in the green revolution. “We owe it to future generations to be able to preserve the planet for them so they can enjoy the bounty that Hashem granted to us,” said our principal, Rochelle Brand. Here are some simple steps you can apply to your school.

Step one: Increase awareness. Did you know that by buying one special bracelet for $10 saves one acre of rainforest for a year? (www.saveyourworld.com) Imagine an entire student body buying one bracelet each. In my school that would save nearly 300 acres of rain forest. We plan on selling these bracelets during the upcoming school year.

Step two: A paper bin. We placed a paper bin in the lobby of our school to remind everyone to recycle. Our bin, five feet tall by three feet wide, was filled to the brim by the end of the school year. The paper was recycled through special New York City Department of Sanitation pickup.

Step three: Can and bottle collection. You can bring your empty bottles and cans to your local food market. Many markets have machines that exchange your containers for cash. In New York the price is five cents per container. You can donate that money to a charity or save it for your school. We’ve been collecting cans and bottles. Although we only raised $5 (that’s 100 cans), we plan on continuing this chessed project in the upcoming year.

In addition to these steps you can change your light bulbs to compact fluorescent lights (CFL). Although these are a little more expensive, they last 10 times longer than traditional bulbs and you will be saving 75 percent more energy too. Our school installed motion sensor lights that turn off when people leave the room and turn on when they enter.

Our school has been double siding handouts, tests and assignments to reduce paper waste. All school notifications are sent via e-mail to the parents and students. Furthermore we are conducting a reusable shopping bag sale to support the environment. The bags, which cost $2.50 each, have our school’s name and a green logo on them.

In the race to make our school the greenest school in America, we took a few basic steps in the right direction. So can you.

Abby Marcus is a junior at Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) in Queens.

Signup for our weekly email newsletter here.

Check out the Jewish Week's Facebook page and become a fan! And follow the Jewish Week on Twitter: start here.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization