CVSan ‘Green Ribbon Schools’ Check Presented to Palomares Elementary

Palomares Elementary School students (in the front row) and CVSan General Manager Roland Williams, CVSan Board Member Timothy McGowan, and CVSan Zero Waste Supervisor Naomi Lue (in the back row).

On Friday, October 18, Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) presented a $1,130 Green Ribbon Schools Program Award check to Palomares Elementary School for their 2023/24 certification. 

In 2007, CVSan launched the Green Ribbon Schools Program to guide schools towards sustainable waste reduction. This past year, schools were required to complete a minimum of 32 activities, such as providing recycling and organics containers in all classrooms. 2023/24 Green Ribbon certified schools received $20,360 in awards (funded by Measure D) across 14 schools. 

Palomares has been a Green Ribbon school for over 13 years and has a recycling and composting rate of 91%! The school completed 43 activities last school year and one of the extra activities completed was Palomares’s Waste Free Wednesdays. This activity kicks-off, during Palomares Elementary’s Green Week events in mid-November, when students participate in environmentally conscious learning activities including a discussion about Waste Free Wednesdays.  

Students and families are encouraged to pack a waste free lunch on Wednesdays throughout the rest of the school year with items such as reusable: bags, water bottles, utensils, food storage containers, thermos, and more.  

All 17 public and private schools located within the CVSan and/or Castro Valley Unified School District boundaries were eligible to participate in the Green Ribbon Schools Program. For more information on the Green Ribbon Schools Program and to view the application, please visit cvsan.org/GreenRibbon.