If you think small hands can’t make a big impact, you’ve never met the kids at Shirlee Green Preschool.
Over the past four years, they’ve been on a mission: turning food scraps into compost, ditching paper towels, and learning how their everyday actions can help the planet. This spring, their efforts paid off, as the preschool at Congregation Shaare Emeth became the first Jewish school in Missouri to earn the Missouri Green School certification—a milestone that shows their sustainability push is paying off, one compost bin at a time.
“We are honored to be added to the list of Missouri Green Schools,” said Brandi Kanoya, Director of Shirlee Green Preschool. “Our faculty and community at Congregation Shaare Emeth have committed to create a culture of high environmental standards for all schools to aim for.”
What is Missouri Green Schools all about? Think of it as a statewide high-five for schools taking big steps to reduce their environmental footprint and create healthier spaces for kids. It’s part of the Show-Me Green Schools network, a joint effort of the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council and the Missouri Environmental Education Association. The program takes a whole-school approach to sustainability, focusing on long-term, planet-friendly changes.
And as they say, it took a village. Parents, teachers, and other departments came together, taking a systems-based approach to making long-term changes for the betterment of everyone.
“From small changes to large, every member of the school community came together and set robust goals for creating a school that is healthy for the children and teachers in it,” said Kanoya.
In addition to the health, environmental, and behavioral benefits of being a green school, the initiative aligns with the synagogue’s Reform Jewish values.
“The Jewish value of Shomrei Adamah, protecting our environment, calls us to be responsible for the protection of the earth for ourselves today and for future generations,” said Rabbi Lori Levine, Associate Rabbi and Director of Education at Congregation Shaare Emeth. “We’re so proud of our preschool community for stepping up to the challenge of becoming a Missouri Green School and giving our teachers and children the opportunity to be changemakers.”
