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 at the Driscoll School in Brookline.
We have five branches to our KEEP club:
And, as KEEP club member Neil Saran said, reducing plastics connects to every one of our KEEP club branches.
- Reducing Single Use Plastics
- Animal Protection
- Reforestation
- Climate Change
- and our Driscoll Bird Sanctuary.
And, as KEEP club member Neil Saran said, reducing plastics connects to every one of our KEEP club branches.
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
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS!
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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.
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
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!
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.
JANUARY 20th!
The Story of Plastics!
NEW EXCELLENT FILMS
JUST COMING OUT:
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!
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?
Kids Expect Environmental Protection
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.
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...
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/
SAY NO STRAW PLEASE! Please join us to stop plastic straws close to home, far and wide!
http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/no-straw-please/
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.
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.
Sincerely,
Ms. Stark
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.
- www.thedp.com/article/2018/02/carlos-canada-goose-animal-cruelty
- www.onegreenplanet.org/news/canada-goose-is-killing-coyotes-to-make-jackets/
- Cruelty Inside Canada Goose Coats- link
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
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...
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
challenges.openideo.com/challenge/circular-design/research/assignments/track-plastics
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!
2018-2019
KEEP CLUB UPDATES!
KEEP Club will celebrate Earth Day in our Bird Sanctuary on Sunday, 4/21/19! We will assemble new planters, paint them and plant new pollinator friendly plants!
We will also do some collecting and documenting of litter in our neighborhood and create some earth day art- including the painting of rocks and bird houses for our sanctuary.
Earth day Network is making t-shirts.
Click here to see their shirts.
We can look at the company, Kastlefel, to see if they might be good for making our KEEP club t-shirts. They seem like a wonderful company, Here is their link: www.kastlfel.com
EARTH DAY IS COMING SOON!
Monday, April 22nd is Earth Day!
The theme this year is to protect our species!
Here is the official EARTH DAY link:
https://www.earthday.org/campaigns/endangered-species/earthday2019/
It's a school day, so the KEEP club will be making sure students are thinking about what they might do to honor this important day!
KEEP Club link for the presentation coming soon!
KEEP club has joined the #Break Free From Plastic movement: Here is their site!
In late spring, KEEP Club will have what could be the very first Earth Night. A celebration and inspiration to KEEP Earth Day on the move.
Earth Night will be an event that occurs after the sun has gone down. We will be showing a movie about plastics, eating organic popcorn, selling merchandise to raise money and awareness and having a gallery of art and information. The date has not yet been determined.
Go KEEP Club! |
Around 30 KEEP club students are showing up every Thursday. This week we welcomed two new members and Mr. Olivera too. One KEEP club member suggested that I (Ms. S) send out the agenda ahead of time so there is less talk and more actions taken in the time we have. That makes a lot of sense. We have a lot to do. Stay tuned.
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3/12/19: KEEP CLUB
TEACHING TEACHERS SUB-GROUP
PRESENTS AT FACULTY MEETING!
7th grade KEEP Club members Hattie and Lila created this flyer for families to KEEP their lunches and snacks earth friendly.
KEEP club raises awareness and over $200.00 at the Driscoll Science Fair! Go KEEP club!
KEEP Club Progress:
One of our KEEP club members, Kassra Shahbazi, designed and printed a KEEP club t-shirt with his own design. Photo coming soon.
Another member, Chris Chen has designed business cards for us and printed out some label/stickers.
Next we need to find companies that are environmentally friendly to make our merch! Any suggestions? Write to us at kidskeepclub@gmail.com
We have a lot of projects going on, once I (Ms. Stark) feel better after this bug, I will post more updates.
1/24/19 - KEEP Club progress
The KEEP club had a busy meeting today. We are learning more about what's been accomplished and what we will do for the science fair and for our community. We are creating checklists, certificates, merchandise plans, art work, podcasts and possibly, a little video clip for an up and coming movie. See this link: https://plasticoceans.org/submit-youth-videos/
1/21/19: KEEP Club- showed up, educated others and collected over 100 signatures to stop Ottos Pizza from using the plastic mesh liners. |
Some of the KEEP club doing work at the INspo Expo
Click here to read the letter written to Ottos Pizza |
Keep club signed up for a table at the INspo/ Expo on January 21st- MLK Day- Click here to read the flyer!
KEEPing up the good work...
Keep club members are making posters, designing web pages, making keep club scratch games, cleaning up trash, providing bird food for birds (and squirrels), writing letters to companies, and coming up with logos for up and coming KEEP club merchandise. KEEP club members are doing research into companies that treat their workers well and use eco friendly materials.
How to do a radio-podcast! Keep Club!
KEEP Club members made their case for why the new Driscoll should be a green school!
Calder Shen, Charlotte Toole, Sarah Mautner -Mazlen, John Watson, Hattie Liang and Rohan Brown each spoke in front of hundreds of people at Town Hall on Thursday, 12/13/18 and received such positive responses.
The vote?
"The amendment about not having fossil fuels passed 218 for it, 4 against and 2 abstaining."
Go Green, Go Keep Club!"
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING TO BE HELD Thursday December 13, 2018 at 7:00pm at BHS. Driscoll expansion and renovation will be discussed, so the 'A Better Driscoll' Sub group will be sharing some of their KEEP club ideas for the new building.
Warrant for Special Town Meeting 12/13/18 Article Explanations
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.
12/6/18- KEEP CLUB Sub-Committee - "A Better Driscoll" makes a 'public comment' at the Brookline School Committee Meeting!
On Tuesday, the KEEP club found out that the updated agenda for the Brookline School Committee on Thursday, 12/6/18 included a discussion around the Driscoll Education Plan and a possible vote on a Fossil Free School Building. This inspired the KEEP Club sub-committee made up of 7th graders to show up at the school committee meeting and share their hopes for a greener Driscoll school now and when the renovations occur. Go KEEP Club!
Driscoll KEEP Club will participate at the Brookline Inspo-Expo- on January 21st, 2019. See more information here.
KEEP Club is getting into gear with different teams!
A Better Driscoll:
This group is helping Driscoll to reduce it's use of single use plastic, expanding recycling, getting us to compost and will be working to help make sure the Driscoll expansion makes our school as green as can be!
Teaching Teachers:
This group is focusing on teaching teachers & staff at Driscoll how to reduce their single use plastics, recycle with more knowledge and purchase better materials for the environment.
Local Stores:
This group is focusing on local stores to get them to reduce (maybe stop) using unnecessary packaging and materials that can't be recycled. These include, but are not limited to plastic straws, styrofoam containers, that weird netting they put under pizzas at Ottos, beverages that have plastic caps instead of cartons, etc.
Whales:
This group is focusing on protecting our highly endangered whales. They will focus on preventing whale hunting mostly done by Japan, Norway and Iceland, and they will focus on the fishing gear that is entangling sea life and is the primary cause that there are only 450 Right Whales (our Massachusetts state whale) left in the world.
Packaging:
This group is going to focus on big companies like Amazon that are responsible for colossal amounts of unnecessary packaging killing our marine life, land and water.
Art:
This group is focusing on art projects that will support the different groups in the KEEP club
Technology:
This group will focus on technology that will help support the different KEEP club groups
All of the groups will be using a variety of mediums and methods to get the word out. These include but are not limited to:
websites, brochures, posters, Scratch games, news paper articles, cartoons, petitions, video-talks, fundraisers, letters, public artwork, and most importantly, our KEEP club caravan that will continue to go into classrooms, stores, festivals and other places where they can explain to children and adults why it's no longer okay to ignore what is happening to our planet.
If you have experience or expertise in one of these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can email:
francesca_stark@psbma.org
We are meeting again this Thursday, 11/29/18.
It will be great to reunite and review the progress you've made and plans we have for next steps.
11/15/18- No KEEP club meetings today (Thursday) due to grades 1-6 Early Dismissal and next Thursday due to Thanksgiving.
We will reconvene on Thursday, November 29th! In the meantime, I hope KEEP club members will continue to work on their own projects. I have been reviewing some of the slide shows, webpages and scratch projects you have been working on and they are EXCELLENT! They are well written and persuasive. I will post them on this webpage once they are ready to go. You can also share them on our KEEP Club Google Classroom.
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!
On Thursday, 10/25/18, KEEP club's
special guest, Ren Bettencourt,
from Bow Seat... arrived!
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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!
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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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SPECIAL GUEST COMING!
This Thursday, 3/22/18 at 2:35 pm Clint Richmond will be at KEEP CLUB!
Who is Clint Richmond?
Clint is a volunteer with the Massachusetts Sierra Club. He leads several areas including solid waste and toxics issues. This includes fighting plastic pollution. He serves as a member of Brookline Town Meeting and is the co-chair of the Green Caucus of Town Meeting Members. He is also a member of the Brookline Solid Waste Advisory Committee. He has successfully led efforts to pass Warrant Articles at Town meeting on topics such as plastic bags, polystyrene and food packaging.
Clint will be helping us to better understand the work he has been doing and how we can use his information in our
NEW KEEP CLUB CARAVAN!!!
Clint is a volunteer with the Massachusetts Sierra Club. He leads several areas including solid waste and toxics issues. This includes fighting plastic pollution. He serves as a member of Brookline Town Meeting and is the co-chair of the Green Caucus of Town Meeting Members. He is also a member of the Brookline Solid Waste Advisory Committee. He has successfully led efforts to pass Warrant Articles at Town meeting on topics such as plastic bags, polystyrene and food packaging.
Clint will be helping us to better understand the work he has been doing and how we can use his information in our
NEW KEEP CLUB CARAVAN!!!
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!
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!
Stay tuned for our up and coming events!
