Eliminating Tire Pollution and Upcycling Waste to Reduce Greenhouse Emissions

Ngalim Franklin is a rockstar LAUNCH facilitator based in Cameroon. Ngalim began his journey in sustainability as a high school Geology teacher, coordinating sustainability workshops and outdoor activities for his students. His teaching journey took a pause when he traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to build earthships – off-grid solar earth shelters made of both natural and upcycled materials such as earth-packed tires – to eliminate tire pollution.

While there, he learned that tire pollution exists in our air and oceans when synthetic rubber breaks down into microscopic pieces through burning or by wear and tear. Repurposing waste tires as construction materials can prevent tire burning and landfill disposal, creating a circular economy – a way of production that involves reusing and refurbishing products to reduce waste.

With the knowledge he gained constructing earthships, Ngalim returned back to Cameroon to lead sustainability and education initiatives with full force, becoming the Executive Director of his non-profit, The Greens, which focuses on educating young individuals from schools and football clubs on tire pollution and the utilization of tires as construction materials. One of his projects aims to construct a 150-meter-long tire embankment to act as a barrier for a football field, leveling the field and preventing erosion.

To clear the area for this project, Ngalim and his youth group utilized our LAUNCH Community/Beach Cleanup Eco-Lesson. He organized and mobilized over 600 students, informing them about waste sorting, waste management, and its effects when improperly disposed of.

With the area cleared, Ngalim and his student group can now lay the tire foundation and gain hands-on experience with using tires as construction material. Ngalim is a facilitator who inspires students to make a difference through project-based learning and community-led action.

Make a Difference

This year, we want to plant the seeds towards a more sustainable environment! During the month of April, we will be sharing all of the incredible projects that our students are doing from around the world. You can support their projects my making a donation to Grades of Green during our 2024 Root For Change Earth Appeal!

This year, we’re adding a special ~twist~ to our Earth Appeal!

  • Make a donation OR show your support during our 2024 Earth Appeal, and you’ll be entered into a giveaway to win 2 Platinum tickets to a LA Galaxy soccer game with free parking. It’s easy! Donate using the link in our bio and/or like, follow @gradesofgreen on your chosen platform, AND share this video on your story/post feed. The tickets can be used at any home game during the 2024 season, except when Los Angeles FC is the opponent. Travel and lodging is not included with the tickets
  • For every $100 donated during our 2024 Earth Appeal, our team will plant something in our home garden 
  • For every $1,000 donated during our 2024 Earth Appeal, our team will cumulatively hike a mile in our favorite location outdoors! 
  • Let us know what our team should do if we raise $10,000 in the comments!

For all of our students, we are also holding some fun competitions:

  • Best Environmental Meme
  • Best Reel/TikTok
  • Best Picture of You In Nature
Donate

Your Donations at Work

Every year, we are so proud to support all of the incredible students across the world. Learn how your donation makes a difference by seeing the incredible project our students are working on!

The Greens

Ngalim, a LAUNCH Eco-Toolkit facilitator, is leading six schools across Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions utilizing the lessons from our toolkits. Ngalim is empowering students to become environmental stewards by having them identify climate challenges such as waste management, deforestation, agricultural insecurity, and water scarcity. Then, using Grades of Green toolkits, students are further educated about each topic, inspiring action and commitment to environmental advocacy.

Support the Greens

Grades of Green Ambassadors

This year, Grades of Green piloted it’s first ever ambassador program to allow past Eco-Leaders to continue making an impact in their community. Ambassadors, Nkeng Joel Junior and Ayuk Marie Noel, have been leading a combined 9 teams out of Cameroon across various projects to address some of the most pressing environmental concerns such as waste management, pollution, and temperature increases. Some of the projects include tree plantings, waste collection, and waste sorting. Nkeng and Marie have been supporting their teams every step of the way by recruiting, offering on-site support, and supporting students/teachers with their expertise on environmental projects. Click the button below to continue supporting our incredible ambassadors!

Support Our Ambassadors

SOAR Eco-Leaders

Through Grades of Green’s SOAR Eco-Innovation Academy, students are working with businesses–Northrop Grumman, Beyond Meat, Subaru Pacific, Turner Construction, Build California, and Further Products–to address sustainable solutions to potential environmental challenges. After touring each business, the students have selected their groups and determined the solution they want to address. The students are underway creating their sustainability plans and are scheduled to present their solution to each business in June. Click the button below to support our SOAR Eco-Leaders!

Support SOAR Eco-Leaders

Shelter Island Home Getaway 

Donated By: Keith Granet and Jon Vaszauskas
$15,000

This exclusive offer is only available through the generosity of Keith and Jon in support of Grades of Green. All proceeds will go directly to Grades of Green, a nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of environmental leaders.  

Enjoy a 3-night, exclusive stay in a beautiful private home on Shelter Island NY, a secluded, 8,000-acre island a five-minute ride from the Hamptons, . This 6-bedroom house is newly built on Shelter Island, right off the coast of the Hamptons on Long Island and is not available for rentals. This is a one-time opportunity to enjoy the vacation of lifetime and support the efforts to create a more sustainable planet for decades to come. 

All a short ferry ride away: 

  • Montauk 
  • East Hampton 
  • Southampton 
  • Sag Harbor 
  • Bridgehampton 

Endless beaches, quaint historic towns and villages, gorgeous wineries, cute farm stands, and high-end art galleries await you! 

“Shelter Island is a special place and this brand new home is the perfect place to enjoy family, friends, or colleagues. Cocktails by the pool, a ferry ride to all the Hampton hot spots, and a short walk to iconic Sunset Beach are just a few of our favorites.” -Shaya & Grant Kirkpatrick 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/travel/shelter-island-nyc.html

https://www.shelterislandhouse.com/10-things-to-do-on-shelter-island

https://www.elle.com/culture/travel-food/a44642417/shelter-island-travel-review/

Exclusions and Conditions: Available on the following weekends in 2024: May 3-5, May 10-12, May 17-19, May 24-26, September 13-15, September 20-22, September 27-29.

Jump in before it’s too late- only one stay is available! 

Please email kims@gradesofgreen.org if you would like to talk with a board member and guest to learn more and/or secure this one available opportunity and pay by check.  

You can also reserve and pay for this amazing stay here: Shelter Island Getaway 

During his time at Whitney High School in Cerritos, California, Kyle became involved with Grades of Green through the Ecology and Wildlife Club at his school. In his initial year with Grades of Green, he took part in the RISE Climate Solutions Campaign, collaborating with Tree Plenish to replenish the paper used at the school through a community tree sale. Despite the global pandemic, Kyle and his team successfully sold 120 apple trees in an online sale.

Following the success of the tree sale, Kyle progressed within the club and assumed the role of director during his junior year. As director, he partnered with Grades of Green to tackle plastic waste on campus, specifically focusing on reducing the use of plastic-wrapped utensils. Through his efforts, his project raised funds to introduce compostable utensils in the school cafeteria. Kyle’s initiative extended beyond his school; he took the campaign district-wide, rallying support from both faculty and students through a petition. “Seeing people use compostable utensils at our schools is incredibly fulfilling,” Kyle remarked.

Despite graduating from Whitney High School in 2023, Kyle aimed to ensure his campaign’s legacy. Evelyn, his successor in the Ecology and Wildlife Club, has continued to expand the project, now including replacing plastic-wrapped napkins with napkin dispensers. “Encouraging younger students to take charge of their own initiatives is key,” Kyle emphasizes.

Post-graduation, Kyle plans to attend UCLA to delve into the intersection of environmental science and public health.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability is a mindset or perspective. It’s a combination of taking action and realizing that everything you do has an effect on the environment and the people around you. Whether it’s dropping a piece of trash on the floor, the food you are eating, the house you are building, everything has an environment. Sustainability is being engaged and taking action to combat that.

What has been your favorite memory of Grades of Green?

Last year, leading the Grades of Green campaign and bringing such an ambitious project to our school is my favorite memory, even though there were so many challenges. With guidance from our advisor, Mrs. Perry, and everyone from Grades of Green, I was able to break out of my shell and develop leadership qualities I never would have imagined developing before. It showed me how resilient and determined I was. It also showed me the power of students to make an impact on our community.

For those who are new to Grades of Green, what would be one piece of advice you would give them?

Take advantage of all the resources Grades of Green has. They have a wealth of resources and experts from all sorts of fields. Whenever I reached out to Grades of Green, they offered guest speakers, volunteering or internship opportunities, and interviews. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Take advantage of everything they have to offer because really, that’s their goal: to inspire action and help students explore the environment.

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Climate Solutions Campaign! Learn more about the student teams who won Eco-Grants for their incredible environmental impact and those honored for their amazing efforts. You can also relive the fun by watching a recording of our live virtual announcement event!

LAcarGuy International Changemaker Grand Winner – $1,000

Matungu Community Development Charity
Nairobi, Kenya

Addressing large-scale issues of waste in their community, Team MCDC reduced 5,000 kgs of waste from the environment and educated students in local schools and across social media platforms. This ambitious team established 4 micro-gardens with the ability to feed up to 200 people monthly while planting 3000 trees. Team MCDC also furthered their efforts by processing 5,000 kgs of organic fertilizer, which were used to plant crops and indigenous trees.

Environmental Impact Grand Prize – $1,000

Mary Bragg Green Team
Cerritos, CA

The students at Mary Bragg Elementary School took on the ambitious feat of addressing multiple topics of the Climate Solutions Campaign. They managed sorting stations on their school campus, planted trees, held an E-Waste drive, encouraged alternative forms of transportation, participated in beach clean ups, and raised money for students in Africa. Mary Bragg also worked with a school in Nigeria, JSS Tudunwada, to learn more about their culture while fundraising money to beautify their community. They also were the recipients of the EPA Presidential Environmental Youth Award and the California Green Ribbon School Award.

Green Campus Leaders Award – $500

The Pear Tree Foundation
La Crescenta, CA

This enthusiastic team set up composting stations across 3 elementary schools, in addition to their own campus. They also created an animated video to educate viewers on composting on school campuses.

Habitat Heroes Award – $500

Kishoka Youth Organization
Mombasa, Kenya

The Kishoka Team educated their community on the impacts of climate change. They planted 2,500 mangrove trees and collected waste, which they reused to construct buildings in their community.

Community Rubbish Reducers – $500

Malezi Community Center
Nairobi, Kenya

The Malezi Community Center educated over 1,800 students amongst 4 different schools about the effects of waste. This passionate team collected over 25,000 kgs of waste and planted 120 trees.

Green Thumb Award – $500

Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA

The Agoura High School team educated over 3,000 students about regenerative gardening and built an edible garden on their campus. They connected with local farmers to promote organic and regenerative farming methods while raising $100 for the Kiss the Ground organization.

Eco-Influencer Award – $250

Team University of Buea
Buea, Cameroon

Team University of Buea recovered 4.5 kgs of waste and educated their community members on the impacts of waste. Through appearances on national television, this driven team reached audiences of over 30,000 people. 

Hydration Heroes Award – $250

Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School – The Water Team
Bayside, NY

The students at Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School purchased reusable water bottles for over 1,300 students and staff and educated their community on plastic waste. In addition, they raised $300 for students in Africa.

Planet Protector Award – $250

For the Love of Frogs
Carlsbad, CA

Justin S. has worked diligently to save acres of the Ecuadorian rainforest by participating in the Reserva letter campaign. He has collected over 1,500 letters and held a Raffle for the Rainforest that encouraged his classmates to join his mission. 

Rookie of the Year Award – $250

Akili STEMARTS Academy
Kisumu, Kenya

The students at Akili STEMarts Academy learned vertical gardening methods to build gardens at their homes and school. This ambitious team used composting to reduce waste in their community while improving soil quality and crop yields.

Honorary Awards

Student of the Year

Cordelia O’Rourke
Crescenta Valley High School
La Crescenta, CA

Facilitator of the Year

Kerry Flores
Mary Bragg Elementary School
Cerritos, CA

International Student of the Year

Ayuk Esame Marie Noel
Team IRIC
Yaounde, Cameroon

International Facilitator of the Year

Dhanam Sivalingam
PSGR Krishnammel Nursery and Primary School
Coimbatore, India

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 Climate Solutions Campaign! Learn more about the student teams who won Eco-Grants for their incredible environmental impact and those honored for their amazing efforts. You can also relive the fun by watching a recording of our live virtual announcement event!

LAcarGuy International Changemaker Grand Winner – $1,000

Malezi Community Centre Primary School
Nairobi, Kenya

This team addressed the large-scale issue of waste in their community. The ultimate goal of the Malezi team was to construct a centralized waste holding facility away from the community. The students did door to door campaigns across the community to educate families about the benefits of reducing waste in addition to more information about their cleanup efforts. This ambitious team collected 2 tonnes of trash and are planning to purchase trucks for waste transport that is independent of the government. Simultaneously, they also created a rooftop garden at their school to support further efforts in greening their community.

Environmental Impact Grand Prize – $1,000

Mary Bragg Green Team
Cerritos, CA

The Mary Bragg Green Team stepped up to  take on every single environmental topic for their RISE Campaign! This student team sold trees via Tree Plenish, sold rain barrels, established a Trash Free Lunch Sorting Station, held beach clean ups, and began a food recovery program by donating edible food through Food Finders. On top of all this, they donated $500 to Matungu in order to help another team plant more trees internationally. Additionally, this team is participating in activities with This Little Light Africa to plant gardens and purchase new desks for a school.

Sustainable Impact Award – $500

Matungu Community Development Charity
Nairobi, Kenya

This year, Matungu continued with their project from last year and this time they planted 5005 trees. They met their goal  quickly while utilizing help from their community. In addition to tree planting, Matungu also created micro gardens to plant food items such as spinach, kale, coriander, etc. Furthermore, they conducted many outreach and educational events within their community. This team also worked with Mary Bragg Elementary in California to extend the reach of their project and they continue to inspire others with their dedication to the environment.

Community Trailblazer Award – $500

Team University of Buea
Buea, Cameroon

This team’s goal was to plant 500 trees in their community to reduce the amount of CO2 in their home, and they partnered with multiple organizations to complete their goal. Eco-leader Joel not only reached out to local organizations, he also met with multiple government officials and news outlets to spread the word. In the end, he gathered 400 trees and planted them throughout his whole community. Joel and his team made countless flyers, social media posts, and even made certificates for all of the students who participated. He also reached out with local radio and news stations to cover the tree planting event which helped  broadcast and widen the reach of his team’s goals.

Community Eco-Activists Award – $500

Cooking Up Less Food Waste from Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School
Bayside, NY

This team of middle schoolers from New York are a determined group who pushed really hard past many hurdles. Initially, this team set out to implement a food donation station at their school, but met a challenge when they found out that the Department of Education prevents this action. The team  took this as an opportunity to shift their project towards changing the laws. They contacted multiple government officials to gain support in changing the laws in addition to making a petition. The team continues their work to change the laws and aims to complete this ambitious task by the end of the school year.

Campus Waste Warriors Award – $500

Poly Green Team
Long Beach, CA

The Poly Green Team addressed waste and sorting in their large High School by installing 65 recycling bins on their campus. They also created and implemented food waste sorting stations around campus and created videos/presentations to educate students on how to properly sort waste. This dedicated team of students worked hard and showed real leadership throughout their year-long project.

Green Campus Leaders Award – $250

Whitney High School
Cerritos, CA

This team of students set out to change out their district’s utensils from plastic into compostable. This was extremely ambitious which caused them to meet many roadblocks. They shifted their efforts from targeting the district to their school only. The students made multiple petitions, flyers, social media posts etc. to gain support. They held many food fundraisers to purchase their own compostable utensils that the school could use in addition to utensil dispensers. Moving forward, they are looking to have a district meeting to campaign for the district wide shift as they originally planned. If that does not work, they are also campaigning to switch from a plastic packaged utensil, napkin, and straw to single items.

Eco-Preneaur Award – $250

Justin Sather from For the Love of Frogs
Carlsbad, CA

Justin has done many presentations to promote his own work and the new Grades of Green toolkit he has been developing. Justin also worked with multiple businesses to advocate for more sustainable products including ECOS and Native Shoes. He also won the Crate & Barrel Kids Changemakers prize and is currently aiming to advocate towards bigger businesses. Justin also did many outreach events/presentations with multiple organizations.

Eco Innovator Award – $250

For the Greener Good from Mira Costa High School
Manhattan Beach, CA

The students at Mira Costa High School decided to take on the topic of waste by educating their community and hosting multiple events. Their first event was a clothing swap to raise awareness about the harms of fast fashion and textile waste on the environment. This student-led team educated their school community about reducing textile waste while promoting sustainable fashion. Another event they hosted was a harbor clean-up event in which club members and friends took to the water on kayaks and paddle boards to clean up litter in the harbor.

Rookie of the Year Award – $250

Eco Crew from EDUSN International Digital School
Myanmar

Eco Crew was our first team from Myanmar that completed a social media/presentation campaign on how to reduce litter. This included many posts, videos, and graphics to express their care for the planet. They held multiple webinars about their initiatives and worked closely with other teams in the area.

Honorary Awards

Student of the Year

Ruthie Heis
Long Beach Poly High School
Long Beach, CA

Facilitator of the Year

Kerry Flores
Mary Bragg Elementary School
Cerritos, CA

International Student of the Year

Deshna Jain
To Environment, With Love
Kolkata, India

Over the past few months, Kathy Kellogg Johnson of Kellogg Garden Products and Organic Control has partnered with Grades of Green to rejuvenate the school garden at Kelso Elementary School! We’ve had a blast spending time with the students of Kelso as they learned about where their food comes from and how quality, organic soil and helpful insects work together to create a wonderful garden of tasty food.

Support Grades of Green’s Students

Kathy Supports Grades of Green as its First Mother Earth Award Recipient

This year at our annual gala, Verte, Grades of Green was so honored to present Kathy with the first-ever Mother Earth Award for Global Impact to recognize her incredible environmental impact across the globe as a champion of regenerative agriculture.

Verte is Grades of Green’s #1 source of fundraising throughout the year, and we were so thankful to Kathy, her network and all our supporters for making the event a success! Their support is critical to providing schools just like Kelso with Grades of Green’s award-winning programs. You can learn more about Verte 2021 and see pictures from the event, here.

You Can Help Grades of Green’s Student Eco-Leaders, Too!

Grades of Green can’t empower and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders alone! We need supporters like you to help our team continue to provide students with the guidance and resources they need to change their world for the greener!

Click here to join Kathy and support Grades of Green’s students, today!




Kelso’s Garden Made the News!

See the full coverage on ABC7.

Check out Harvest Time at Kelso!

We would like to give a warm welcome to the newest members of the Grades of Green team, Katie and Malcolm!

Katie and Malcom join us as 2020 – 2021 Climate Corps Fellows. Grades of Green has been partnering with the award-winning fellowship program to support emerging sustainability leaders as they tackle today’s most pressing environmental issues.

Climate Corps is powered through AmeriCorps, the renowned network of national service programs. The fellows who work with us receive valuable on-the-job training while Grades of Green gets dedicated full-time staff members who support the day to day operations and programming of our organization. Check out more about what they’re working on at Grades of Green below!

Katie, Program Communications Associate

As a Program Communications Associate, Katie helps tell the stories of Grades of Green’s awesome student Eco-leaders. She produces and refines communications, marketing, and program materials like social media posts, blog posts, newsletters, graphics, guidebooks, and other content as needed. Katie is also responsible for implementing elements of Grades of Green’s internal and external communications strategies and tracking performance metrics.

Link to bio

Malcolm, Program Advisor

As a Program Advisor Associate, Malcolm works both with the Programs team as well as the many motivated Eco-Leaders. He helps guide teams through the Climate Solutions Campaign by providing climate advice, leadership skills, and helpful insight. Malcolm also has a hand in helping with the development of Grades of Green programs by hosting Webinars, Facilitator Trainings, and looking to further practices through data management and mapping.

Link to bio

We are proud to host Climate Corps fellows and have seen first-hand how they provide valuable insight and passion to help our programs reach their maximum potential!

More than 150 Grades of Green students took an exclusive tour from the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (LACSD) on Saturday, October 8th!

We learned a ton about how the Sanitation Districts protect public health and the environment, and you can, too! Find our recording of the tour below! Watch it to find out how LACSD converts wastewater into recycled water and learn about the fascinating innovations they’re making to the process of turning food waste into useful resources. 

The Virtual Field Trip consists of two tours – one of the food waste recycling program and one of the water reclamation program. Find out more about each of the tours below!

Tour #1: San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant

The Sanitation Districts’ staff take you through what they do at the San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant and show you how this facility serves LA County. For those of you that don’t know what a wastewater reclamation plant is, it is where wastewater is treated to a very high level so that it can be reused. This is especially important here in Southern California where the weather is dry and we have water shortages. San Jose Creek WRP can treat about 60 million gallons per day – that’s a lot of water! 

Tour #2: Food Waste

Did you know the average household in the US wastes 25% of the food they buy? We throw out 4,000 tons of food waste every day in Los Angeles County. This waste includes dinner scraps, ugly-looking fruit, and vegetables from your local grocery stores, and uneaten food from restaurants. Let LACSD show you how they are recycling food waste into green energy!

Learn more by checking out LACSD’s website.

Here are just a few of the students who joined LACSD’s staff and Grades of Green’s team for the virtual tour!

Thank you for joining us!

Our students are excited to share with you their presentation for the United Nation’s World Oceans Day week of events!

The presentation is titled ” Motivate Your Audience to Take Action: Lessons Learned by Student Advocates from Grades of Green.” During the 25-minute video, you’ll learn all about the 4 key elements of a powerful, convincing advocacy message. These elements were learned by the presenting students as part of the

Join us on Facebook for the live airing of the presentation where we’ll be responding to comments and questions.

Join the Conversation!


Watch the Presentation Now

If you’d rather watch the presentation here, that’s great too! Simply click play on the below video to watch their presentation in full!

Motivate Your Audience to Take Action: Lessons Learned by Student Advocates from Grades of Green