KEEP Club 2022-2023  

Welcome to the K.E.E.P. Club! 
K.E.E.P. stands for 
Kids Expect Environmental Protection.  And they do. 
We are a grades 5-8 Environmental Club in Brookline.
​
We meet on Thursdays from 2:35-3:40
and at special events throughout the year.
We officially began in 2015- we plan to KEEP going! 

KEEP CLUB & PROJECTS IN MAY!
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Baby ducks and busy mom duck at Jamaica Pond 5/13/23

KEEP in mind - MAY news


No Mow May and Low mow after that... Here's MORE to Learn.  
"No Mow May encourages garden owners not to mow their lawns for the month. Pausing mowing is meant to allow flowers in the lawn to bloom and help early season pollinators, such as bees." 
Thursday, May 18th- There IS KEEP Club
We will be getting ready for the Spring FEST- Saturday, May 20th- DPW Olmsted Park, Allerton Overlook (203 Pond Ave) 11 am -2 pm Lawn Games  *  Food  *  Music  *  Crafting and the KEEP club will be there to KEEP things green. 

Also on Thursday, 5/18 We will be showing up to support KEEPer Ariel Horberg-Decter as she speaks to the School Committee about her

Saturday, May 20th, KEEP will be at SPRING FEST!
Come join us! Click here for more details: 

KEEP NEWS: KEEP holds successful waste audit: More pictures here!

SCRAP THE CAP: We have 608 signatures! Click here to sign & share

WARRANT TREE ARTICLE IS PASSED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL! See video below that helped inspire people to pass the bill. We celebrated in KEEP club with pizza brought by the authors of the bill, Joslyn Murphy and Olivia Fox. .  

On November 16th, 2022, KEEP Club presented a video in support of Warrant Article 10 at Brookline Town Meeting to support the protection and preservation of our trees! On April 12th, it was passed! 

This is a great first step...
but we have to get to the root of the problem. Pun intended. 
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Currently, our biggest focus is on why and how we can be conscious consumers.
We are creating awareness of and protections for our vulnerable ecosystem by... 
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  • Slowing the flow of Single Use Plastics
  • Composting
  • Signs of Nature- Community Eco System Attention
  • Reforestation & reduction of deforestation (see warrant article 10 which we supported) 
  • Journalism (current: Fast Fashion, Whale Entanglement, Happy Trumpet (good eco news), and other articles, podcasts, PSA's)  
  • KIT (Keepers in training) 
  • Clean Up Crew- a litter brigade 
  • Earth friendly events 
  • Meatless Mondays (new) 
  • River and ocean clean ups
  • and our Driscoll Bird Sanctuary & Garden

See this new series on 'Solving Plastic'

KEEP Club Podcast Crew! 

Want a KEEP Club T-Shirt or Sweat Shirt? Order forms coming soon! 

SCRAP THE  CAP ON CHANGE.ORG HAS LAUNCHED!

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THE PETITION 

A few years ago, KEEP Club students Noah Ditzion, Noga Ayzenberg, and Nam Danh wrote a petition to get Whole Foods to 'Scrap the Plastic Caps' on the Whole Foods 365 brand. The original idea was to get 365 signatures for the 365 brand. Over time we realized that the petition would be more effective if we put it onto Change.Org to get a much larger audience. We are hoping that everyone in our community and beyond will sign it.
It really is time to Scrap the Cap. Below is the link: 

https://chng.it/svBjQGg52

Questions or comments, feel free to let us know. We hope you will share the petition as well. We could really make an impact if we get a large enough group to sign.  
 

Starting 2023- Trying to be plastic free! 

Success! After writing the flyers below, Driscoll families and staff came through and now we have a plethora of eclectic dish and silverware to use for our school events. Each piece is labeled and ready to serve. 
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KEEPers Brought the donations and supplies to the teacher's lounge to get things ready. 

They labeled, made signs and organized the dishware! 

LEAVE THE LEAVES! 
Please spread the word! Here are articles in support of this! 
     Why leave the leaves? by National Wildlife Federation
     Why Experts Say you shouldn't bag your leaves 

KEEP members spoke
at the Brookline School Committee on October 27th.
To watch the spotlight in excellence on youtube click here..  

We began our year with an EXPO on 9/22/22 the Fall Equinox   
It was called, KEEPing the Earth in Balance! 

Final KEEP Club of 2021-2022 year- we looked at our victories and reviewed next steps...KEEPers got new KEEP Club stickers and then we had popsicles and did some chatting and working in the bird sanctuary

KEEP CLUB WATCHED A POWERFUL MOVIE FROM:  ​TURNAROUND FILMS - SEE IT HERE. 
Turnaround films-FINDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
KEEP also made signs and rocks for the bird sanctuary!

KEEP CLUB IS BUSY! Some projects include: 
  • Our KEEP composting project to get more of our community to compost - If you have signed up for Black Earth, please let them know you are part of the Driscoll Community!  We are collecting data to show progress. Also, they cannot give us names, so if you did sign up for Black Earth Compost, please write me back so we can put your last name on your own paper worm that will go on our compost chart... 
  • Educational Presentations created by KEEPers for Driscoll students
  • KEEPers In Training (KIT): including younger students in our environmental protection projects
  • SCRAP the Plastic Cap Petition- we are continuing to work on a petition to get Whole Foods and other companies to reduce plastic by eliminating non-necessary caps 
  • PSA (public service announcements) written by KEEPers 
  • LITTER BRIGADE: Cleaning and clearing up the land around us 
  • We will be speaking at a town meeting for a warrant article that reduces single use plastics in Brookline
  • We are learning more about the Better Bottle Bill and about what PFAS is 
  • We are learning about trees and how to protect them from Methane and other human made problems 
  • We are creating presentations for the community for our KEEP EARTH NIGHT FESTIVAL 
  • We are planting, painting rocks and making signs to keep people aware of our ecosystem! 

Speaking of our ecosystem- There was a major honey bee swarm on Tuesday, 5/10/22. The photos is where they settled down on the telephone pole across from the bird sanctuary. 



NO MOW MAY! 
"The No Mow May campaign doesn’t ask you to do much. In fact, it asks you to not do anything at all… Just lock up your lawnmower in May and let the wild flowers in your lawn bloom, providing a feast of nectar for our hungry pollinators." 
For more information about No Mow May
You can click here for a NYT article 
Here for a short podcast story about it 
And here for the Plantlife site about it! 

Click HERE for LINKS to KNOWLEDGE IS POWER... 



KEEP Club Celebrated Earth Day on Sunday, 4/24/22 with a wonderful group of families:  We had parents, grandparents, kids from 2nd-8th grade and a new puppy. We planted perennials that attract pollinators, painted rocks, picked up litter, put together a new raised bed and shoveled a lot of dirt! The Red Wheelbarrow came to our rescue! 
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CLEAN UP SUCCESS!
NOTHING BEATS GATHERING OUTDOORS TO ENJOY
NEW AND OLD FRIENDS AND FAMILY  AND DO SOME GOOD!
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 KEEP CLUB MEMBERS, BU ROTARACT STUDENTS, BROOKLINE ROTARY CLUB MEMBERS, MOTHERS OUT FRONT, DRISCOLL FAMILIES, STUDENTS AND FACULTY ALL SHOWED UP!

Almost 40 large bags of garbage collected!
Plus a bike seat from a tree, a bee house, a backpack and flag pole, and other large and small pieces of litter. More photos coming soon and an analysis of what we found! Sadly lots of styrofoam. 

KEEP CLUB BULLETIN BOARD

TOP 5 OCEAN POLLUTERS!! 

Bulletin Board In Progress...

We have around 50 members (grades 5-8) 
KEEP club is ready for action. 

KEEP Club will be trying to get the BOTTLE BILL PASSED! See the slide show here! 

KEEP Club on 1/20/22- so many wonderful people to the earth's rescue!  

One way to reduce single use plastics is to SCRAP the CAP! 

Please see this latest two part article/radio story 

22 Tips for Reducing Plastic in 2022:

An SOS From The Ocean 

 - Cl- ClALSO LEARN ABOUT GREENWAVE- and KELP Forests"For centuries, humans have relied on the oceans for resources and food... but even the deepest sea has its limits." Listen to TED speakers discuss how we can save our seas to save our planet.
THE KEEP CLUB is on a mission to reduce plastics by scrapping the cap. We are starting with businesses who are committed to reducing plastics yet continue to package with unnecessary plastic packaging like caps. Some KEEP club members did a field trip to check out and collect data around all the unnecessary plastic beverage containers and caps at our local Whole Foods. The goal is to get 365 signatures to stop the caps that Whole Foods Uses for its packaging. We want them and other 'environmental' businesses to walk the walk. Please join us and sign our petition. Coming soon one will be on Change.org. 

KEEPers Complete the AMAZING SNAG 2.0- Conceived of by Victor Kusmin and built by KEEPers...

KEEP Club's original Snag was destroyed over time. We think people did not realize it is a unique composting system for leaves and vegetation. Leaf blowers are not needed when you have a remarkable and beautiful SNAG.  KEEPers got back on track and rebuilt it this fall and will now make more signs and go into classrooms to explain its use. See the photos below to see Snag 2.0 being created. 
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KEEPers march to help Mother's Out Front stop gas leaks and send the postcards off to National Grid!

Over the last few weeks, Keepers got over 46 postcards signed and then on November 17th, we headed out along Washington Street to the Brookline Village Station T stop to support the send off.   
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The Litter Brigade sorts what they found in around 20 minutes around our school 

At the Driscoll Fall Fling, the following happened: 

  • Alice and Katie helped get 40 postcards signed for Mother's Out Front
  • Noah, Noga and Nam got 67 signatures on their petition for the Scrap The Cap campaign
  • The KEEP club sewing circle of Katia, Avera and Zara raised $165 selling their handmade. beautiful hair scrunchies. 

It Smells Like Climate Change Rally on October 16th, 2021
includes the words of three KEEP Club Members 

Phoebe Reid - Shares her thoughts

Calista Garms- Has more to say! 

Abby Deutsch - has some final words and a message for National Grid

10/21/21 T​oday was a glowing day at KEEP club. 
We had over 40 students, and it was calm and happy and focused. 

10/21/21 - We started with updates: 
  • KEEP club will have a table at the fall fling
  • There is a competition at Bow Seat they might want to try
  • We have a new member/mentor at KEEP club. BHS junior Azavia Barsky-Elnour who is the student editor at Greenzine will be joining forces with the KEEP club to get the word out and the information in. 

Today: KEEPers did the following
- planted pollinating perennials purchased and organized by Nitasha Manchanda
- made signs showing what is being planted and a Maxim worked on a map of the bird sanctuary
-  worked to rebuild the composting SNAG  with Victor Kusmin
-  the KEEP sewing circle sewed hair scrunchies to raise money for KEEP causes 
- learned more about Gas Leaks in Brookline and will be supporting Mothers Out Front by organizing a postcard collection (*** please note KEEP club members rocked it at the rally last Saturday) 
- made other signs to reduce plastic consumption and one poster about sustainable fishing
- researched fracking
- organized a petition hoping to get Whole Foods "365" to reduce it's plastic caps and plastic containers - the petition- conceived of by Noah Ditzion is hoping to start with 365 signatures... 

AND, we ate the DELICIOUS and homebaked (and nut free) brownies by Orson's mom, Phoebe, Oatmeal cookies by Alice's mom Heather and corn muffins by 5S student Jaina. 

Next week, 10/28/21 the focus will be single use plastics at Driscoll and beyond. Students can also keep going with the projects they have begun. 

OUR WORK IS UNDERWAY! Most current news on top! 

10/14/21: The KEEP club worked on learning about the problem with gas leaks in communities close to home and beyond. The KEEP club made signs and wrote speeches for the rally that will happen this Saturday, October 16th at the Ridley School from 10-11. 

KEEP CLUB WEBSITE IS BEING UPDATED... Getting cleaned up and rearranged... you are welcome to explore, but if you see repeats or cluttered  pages- please be patient while we get it spruced up and ready for all to be inspired by. 

2019-2020 KEEP Club... Due to Covid we did not meet in 2020-2021 

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12/12/19 - KEEP club meeting! We are working hard on a number of projects to KEEP our planet cared for and our community informed. Stay tuned for 2020 actions.
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Mural completed 2/13/20 by KEEP club 8th graders Calder Shen, Charlotte Toole, Hattie Liang, Lila Horberg Decter, Rohan Brown, Sarah Mautner-Mazlen


If you want more information about the KEEP club or want to join us, please contact: kidskeepclub@gmail.com 
or.. you can contact: Francesca Stark: Driscoll School Teacher and Founder of KEEP Club francesca_stark@psbma.org

KEEP CLUB   
​UPDATES & Environmental News! 

KEEP CLUB WON HONORABLE MENTION IN THE INTERNATIONAL
BOW SEAT MARINE DEBRIS COMPETITION! 

KEEP CLUB- TEACHING TEACHERS SUB-GROUP
PRESENTS AT FACULTY MEETING! 

Keep club signed up for a  table at the INspo/ Expo on January 21st- MLK Day- Click here to read the flyer! 

1/21/19: KEEP Club- showed up, educated others and collected over 100 signatures to stop Ottos Pizza from using the plastic mesh liners. 


​Driscoll KEEP Club will participate at the Brookline Inspo-Expo- on January 21st, 2019. See more information here. 


​EARTH DAY- KEEP CLUB STYLE!
On Sunday, 4/22/18, the KEEP club met in the bird sanctuary to plant some bird attracting plants and to pick up litter around the school! It was a beautiful way to spend the day.  
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11/8/18- Below are a few photos of the KEEP club working in their teams.

​We are having between 30-35 students showing up every week! Go KEEP Club! 

KEEP Club is reuniting this Thursday, 12/13/18 from 2:35-3:45 - We can't wait for everyone to KEEP going with all the inspirational work going on. 

On Thursday, 10/25/18, KEEP club's
special guest, Ren Bettencourt,
​from Bow Seat...   arrived! 

After the KEEP club reviewed Bow Seat's student designed artwork from around the world,  and watched a video about an award winning advocacy project, we reviewed next steps for our KEEP club teams. Next week, each team will get right to work making their action plans. 
Although at first it was hard to find Ren, after a few search parties, she was found and we all clapped when she came in loaded with thought provoking art work, a video she had on a disk drive, and paper for the KEEP club to write down their thinking. We had an excellent turn-out and many thoughtful responses. See below. 

SPECIAL GUEST COMING! 
This Thursday, 3/22/18 at 2:35 pm Clint Richmond will be at KEEP CLUB! 

On Thursday, 10/25/18, the KEEP club will have a special guest. Her name is Ren Bettencourt and she is the project coordinator of a great organization called: Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs. Click here:  You can see what a great organization it is. ​

Plastic Has A Big Carbon Footprint by Chrisotpher Joyce, 
Plastic waste gets a lot of attention when photos of dead whales with stomachs full of plastic bags hit the news. Pieces of plastic also litter cities, and tiny plastic particles are even floating in the air.Largely overlooked is how making plastic in the first place affects the environment, especially global warming. Plastic actually has a big carbon footprint, but so do many of the alternatives to plastic. And that's what makes replacing plastic a problem without a clear solution. Read more here... 

6/17/19: Replacing Plastic: Can Bacteria Help Us Break The Habit? Cool article that connects to our goals! You can LISTEN to it here! 

KEEP Brushing... but brush with eco friendly brushes- take a look at the National Geographic article below!  

How your toothbrush became a part of the plastic crisis
A billion toothbrushes will be thrown away in the U.S. this year, most of them plastic.
How did we get here, and can we change? 

KEEP Club is in the news! KEEP club member Neil Saran wrote an article and it was put in the Brookline Tab- Click here is the link! 

KEEP Cutting Back on Plastic:
It's not easy to purchase without plastic- here's one company who is helping... Read this article: Shampoo And Ice Cream In A Metal Can? Meet 'Loop,' A New Way To Cut Down On Plastic Waste

"I don't know if you've ever seen a plastic bag on a fence flapping away until it disappears," he (Steve Allen, a researcher at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland) says. "Well, we thought that maybe it just doesn't disappear, so we started looking for it a bit higher up." 
Higher up meaning 4,500 feet up a mountain. Allen's team set up collectors there for five months to trap plastic particles as they fell to Earth. "We expected to find some," Allen says. "We didn't expect to find quite as much as we did." Read on here... 

The Story of Plastic has a lot of information and videos to help us spread the word: https://www.storyofplastic.org/learn-crisis 

More movies from The Story of Plastic movies: ​https://storyofstuff.org/the-story-of-plastic/the-story-of-plastic-videos/

They are a series of small documentaries. 
One is called:
The Story of Plastic:
How plastic production pollutes small towns. 

​Another one is called:  

The Story of Plastic:
The plastic bag diet! 

Both are excellent and should be watched! 

Where will all the plastic go? 

KEEP Club will participate in Zero Waste Week! See more information here! 

 Have you seen the little video Man vs.
Earth? KEEP club members found it.  
​Click here to see it!  

It is by the spoken word artist, poet and film maker who goes by the name Prince EA. The film sings and shows the message we are fighting for. 

5/7/19: HERE IS THE TIME FOR KIDS VERSION 
​CALLED- CLIMATE CRISIS

EARTH DAY is coming... Last year, the focus was preventing plastic pollution. I found this AMAZING plastic pollution primer and action tool kit with every type of resource, article, video, fact collected to help us on our mission: Click here for the link: 

Treehugger.com is a great site for eco-green news, ideas and education. I highly recommend it for all KEEP club members. Here is one page from their website with many good links.  www.treehugger.com/science/

Here is an article about why we should avoid using plastics food containers: www.treehugger.com/plastic/avoid-plastic-food-containers-new-report-says.html


4/16/19: Study Shows Decline In Wild Bees That Pollinate Major New England Fruit Crops- Click here! This is another reason why we need to protect our birds butterflies and bees and take care of our flora and fauna! 

4/16/19: GO MAINE!!! 
FIRST STATE TO BAN STYROFOAM:
Maine lawmakers last month became the first in the country to approve a statewide ban on styrofoam food containers. Can we (KEEP club) help to make Massachusetts next?

​Listen to and/or read this article called: Meet Mr. Trash Wheel: Baltimore Harbor's Googly Eyed Garbage Gobbler

3/23/19- Click here for BBC Plastic News - more about the whale and also a family going single use plastic free! Check it out! 
**The Story Of Plastic Film has a large portion of it set in the same place as the whale was found. ​​

BBC- NEWS: 
See two legged and four legged mammals helping to save our earth- by BBC Earth! 

BBC PLASTIC POLLUTION NEWS-
12/31/19- Microplastics in 'every animal' in marine study.Click here to read the article. 

Lots of news items in this link about plastic pollution and who and what is helping- click here to learn a lot! 

Just in... sad whale news: 
NPR: Stomach Of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing But Plastic'  March 18, 20193:06 PM ET
​Here is the link: Click here

The silver lining to this horrible news is that it was all over the news. People are starting to wake up and see this problem affects us all. Maybe this poor whale's death can cause some good in the world. 

January 24th, 2019: 
News about BIG companies like Nestle and Pepsi who are starting to ease up on plastics and use more glass and metal. Things can change. It's happening, we can nudge it along faster! Each day counts. Each life matters. 

KEEP club members want to be part of this 

This is another EXCELLENT film called Plastic Ocean that the KEEP club might show at Driscoll to help others understand the magnitude of plastics! 

JANUARY 16th, 2019: Radio story on news!
More news about PLASTICS: connected to the other story below. It's about stopping the oceans of plastics in our oceans! Packaging group - and others - lots to consider! Click here!  

JANUARY 15th: 
An Island Crusader Takes On The Big Brands Behind Plastic Waste! Read this excellent article!!! It is exactly what the KEEP club is all about! 
www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/15/683734379/an-island-crusader-takes-on-the-big-brands-behind-plastic-waste

JANUARY 5th Plastic News:
​The Ocean Clean-Up hitting snags, but still raising awareness and doing some good. Clearly there is more we can all do! 
​Read more here! 

Monday, 12/17/18: 60 Minutes (the t.v. news show) focused their latest segment on all the PLASTIC!
CLICK HERE TO SEE what they have to show and tell us all. 
Maybe more people will see why the KEEP Club is working so hard to slow down the use of plastic. 

 Boston Bans Plastic Bags Starting Today, 12/14/18- Here's the news article! ​​Some small businesses are exempt if they can prove it is too much of a hardship. 

​Right Whales Arrive Early In Cape Cod Bay- December 12th- 2018- Click here

Watertown Becomes 1st Town In New England To Require Solar Panels On New Commercial Constructions- Click here for more info. 

New Nature movies- For KEEP Club inspiration! Click here! 

11/23/18- BIG CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS:  
From the New York Times: 
A major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies... of the consequences of climate change
See the rest of the article here:  ​

CLICK HERE:FOR THE ACTUAL FEDERAL REPORT:  

Below is a sad, sad photo from recent news, but I think you will agree it is important to see the effect of plastics... 

11/20/18- Sad whale news -
​National Geographic Version Click Here

​BBC News  Dead sperm whale found in Indonesia had ingested '6kg of plastic'. The sperm whale, which washed ashore in Indonesia, had ingested nearly 6kg of plastic waste. Read the full story

11/15/18- Very sad news related to sea turtles! Ocean plastics and marine debris once again! Click here for the article! 

​11/15/18 -RIGHT WHALE NEWS! - Fewer right whales than they thought! :( - Click here for more... there is some hope... 

Lonely Whale is an organization that has successfuly reduced people's use of plastic straws and is doing a lot to reduce plastic. 
​See this little video of their story- Click here

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Plastic Pollution 
in the NEWS- BBC

October 17th:
​Plastic & Salt: ​See this article about why there is so much plastic in the salt we eat! 

Student Activism!

Click here to see the climate change slide show by KEEP club member Noah Kleiner 

Education: Many adults and children do not yet know what can and can't be recycled. Here is a video to help: 
www.casella.com/services/recycling/recycle-better

 What do you think of the logo below? How does it connect to the KEEP club?  

4/2/19: More sad whale news. National Geographic reports: Pregnant whale died with 50 pounds of plastic in her stomach: The Mediterranean Sea is choked with plastic waste, and the sperm whale may be the latest casualty of the pollution problem.
Click here to read the National Geographic article - we will use it to continue our work. 

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Kids Expect Environmental Protection
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STOPPING THE USE OF PLASTIC STRAWS

We are starting with some work right at our school.

The Keep Club is working to get straws removed from Driscoll
and around our community. 
 Help us out. Let people know why they need to stop using them! See more information in the plastics branch of our webpage. As we say in the KEEP club, one little straw can do a lot of damage.  Don't let it be yours. 
​

One little straw and one plastic cup becomes millions... 

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Break up with Plastics
- a funny, little movie! 

​See some information about this at this link if you click 

Trash Talk- A little movie about what is happening in our oceans and what to do

NO STRAWS! 
​
Here is the #Stop Sucking Link with alternatives to plastic straws! 

https://www.strawlessocean.org/alternatives/

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SAY NO STRAW PLEASE! Please join us to stop plastic straws close to home, far and wide! 
http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/no-straw-please/

GUEST VISITOR
Marianna Hagbloom  is coming to the KEEP CLUB  on 1/25/18 to share her experiences and knowledge about the highly intelligent and critically endangered Right Whale - Read her blog here- 

 RIGHT WHALES CRITICALLY ENDANGERED! Radio Boston has a news story about our state whale! Helping these whales can help lots of sea life and our life too! See this story. 

Our beautiful, intelligent state whale is at high risk of extinction- fishing nets causing a great deal of harm! - new lobster traps could help! click here for the story! 
​
More info about them here- 

Sylvia Earle - Ted Talk Wish for Oceans! Mission Blue... 

Learn more about dolphins and whales from a group trying to protect them- Click here

GHOST GEAR (Discarded fishing gear) KILLING MARINE LIFE! - See the article that explains more 

LAWS TO CHANGE AND WORK ON

Plastic Bag Reduction
H.2121 / S.424 Sponsors: Rep. Lori Ehrlich, Sen. Jamie Eldridge. Would ban single-use plastic shopping bags statewide and require that the alternatives be more sustainable (such as paper bags must have at least 40% minimum post-consumer content).

Public Water not Bottled Water
H.3451 Sponsor: Rep. Chris Walsh. Stipulates that state funds shall not be used to purchase bottled water for use in facilities that are served by public water supplies or potable well water, except when required for safety, health or emergency situations. This bill will save the Commonwealth money, and reduce solid waste and litter.

​Polystyrene Food Ware Ban
H.3252 Sponsors: Rep. Frank Smizik, Sen. Michael Barrett. Would ban the sale of polystyrene foam food containers and their use by food establishments.

This year's Earth Day is set to focus on...  
Plastic Pollution- Click here to learn more! 

Officially Earth Day is Sunday, April 22nd, but that is during our April Vacation, so the KEEP club will be doing something before or after spring break?
​Stay tuned!   

LOCAL NEWS: Have you noticed more Canada Goose coats around? DID YOU KNOW THAT FUR TRIM ON A CANADA GOOSE COAT IS COYOTE FUR? 

Did you know the torture these canines go through in the process? 

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Recently, one can see more and more people around Brookline and Boston wearing Canada Goose coats with fur trim.
​Many coats have fake fur trim, but Canada Goose uses real coyote fur and there are HORRIFYING videos and photos showing the way these poor animals are trapped and killed just so people can wear it on their coats!

I can't and won't look, but if you own a Canada Goose coat or know someone who does, you should know what you are buying. I don't think people realize the cruelty these coats cause, and on top of it they cost close to a thousand dollars. If you see someone wearing a Canada Goose coat with fur trim, ask them if they know about the coyotes and the way they treat the geese too. 

Sincerely,
Ms. Stark
​
GOOD NEWS!!
 ​5 ways the United Kingdom is leading the fight against plastic pollution - Great news for us to try- click here
Blue Planet 2 - Helping people around the world to see how plastics are destroying so much life... 
Two sad videos--- don't watch if you can't bear it, but do show to others who don't understand how each of the plastics they use and throw away can harm so much life... 

So many people mean no harm, but don't understand. 

--- this one shows the albatross birds with plastic 

-- Here is a sad, sad clip of a mother pilot whale and her calf that died... probably from plastics... 
NEWS TO KNOW: Tide of plastic rubbish discovered floating off idyllic Caribbean island coastline - and what to do... click here

Coffee cups... paper & the plastic you don't see- little video...click here 

​CHALLENGE FOR US ALL! “Do you still use plastic garbage bags? Plastic soda bottles? Zip lock bags? Plastic wrap on your food? Do you buy toilet paper that comes wrapped in plastic instead of paper? Do you put your fruit and vegetables in produce bags at the grocery?" Challenging everyone to track their rubbish for a week, she said people would be “disgusted” at how much plastic they would find.
Here are some links for tracking your plastics:
challenges.openideo.com/challenge/circular-design/research/assignments/track-plastics
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We launched the club on Thursday, November 9, 2017; we will meet every Thursday for the rest of the year unless there is a vacation or other closing of school. Once we are up and running, there will be many ways to participate and stay connected. Keep (no pun intended) checking back to see the latest news. 

Every day is Earth Day!  

 

Go KEEP Club!  

KEEP Club raised over $500 at the spring fair! And NO PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES WERE SOLD! 
We will donate a portion to the Driscoll PTO for agreeing not to sell plastic water bottles! Go KEEP Club! - #Less plastic more fun!
​ More photos here!  

Plastic Alternatives- Shampoo And Ice Cream In A Metal Can? Meet 'Loop,' A New Way To Cut Down On Plastic Waste- Read/Listen here! 

Friday, September 20, 2019
Students around the world (and adults too), came together to stand up for the planet! 

​July 30, 2019
Plastics Or People? At Least 1 Of Them Has To Change To Clean Up Our Mess:
by Christopher Joyce:
The avalanche of plastic waste that's rolling over land and sea has inspired numerous potential solutions. Some involve inventing our way out of the mess by creating new kinds of natural materials that will harmlessly degrade if they're thrown away. Others say it might be quicker to change people's throwaway behavior instead.
Among the first group is Stephen Mayfield. He's a chemist who figured out how to turn various kinds of algae into raw plastic --

June 2019: Excellent series on plastics called, The Plastic Tide... see/hear all the excellent stories by clicking here! 

June 6:​ Microplastics Have Invaded The Deep Ocean — And The Food Chain
​Click here to listen and read

5/6/19: One million species face extinction, U.N. report says. And humans will suffer as a result.Click here to read the report! 

5/6/19: The news below is not a complete surprise to environmentalists like members of the KEEP club, but it is a wake up call to those who don't realize how important it is to pay attention and act NOW! 

We are starting to go into new KEEP club teams. Below you can see some of the work/goals/questions  KEEP  10/18/18 meeting. 

We had our first meeting! It was fun and inspiring to see everyone. We are learning about each other,  sharing what we discovered over the summer and goals for this year. There is a lot to learn and a lot to do!


Greetings! 

The KEEP CLUB will have its first meeting of the 2018-2019 year on Thursday, October 11th from 2:35 to 3:30 in room 302. 

At this meeting we will explore new goals, news,  and different ways people can stay involved whether or not they can or can't come to every meeting.

I am looking forward to seeing you again and hearing what you are hoping to accomplish this year. 

Sincerely,
Ms. Stark

Some latest victories written in National Geographic in the fight to reduce single use plastics- updated October 2018

Picture
The KEEP Club is invited to set up a table at the New England Right Whale Festival in front of the New England Aquarium. It will be a chance to share more information about how we are working to reduce and clean up plastics in order to improve the world we're in! 

Using and Abusing Mountain Peaks! ​

A record number of Mt. Everest climbers are scrambling to the top and littering the mountain from top to bottom! 


​KEEP CLUB CARAVAN WILL BE GOING ON THE ROAD!

That's right, the new KEEP Club Caravan is gearing up to take our message on the road. We are learning that in order to make change you can't just put up posters and write about it. You have to be willing to get up and  speak directly to people.

The KEEP club is getting ready to go into classrooms, faculty meetings and town meeting. Stay tuned!  

KEEP Club raises $200 at Science Fair! 

Below is the flyer Marty and Alon made to educate others
Stay tuned for our up and coming events! 

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