Green Ambassador program expanding reach in Huntsville-area schools

Published on August 30, 2024

From Joel Donelan's perspective, environmental education doesn't have to be limited to science. It flows seamlessly into literacy, math, and social studies as well. As Green Team's Environmental Education Coordinator, Donelan works to bring those concepts to Huntsville-area schools as part of the Green Ambassador program.

Donelan frequently meets with educators to raise awareness about the Green Ambassador program and the curriculum that's expansive enough to reach kindergarten students to high school seniors.

"It will work with any class curriculum," Donelan said. "It's very adaptable."

[Link]In the first year of Huntsville's Green Ambassador program last academic year, more than 7,000 participated and Donelan said the numbers are expected to increase for the 2024-2025 school year.

But what, exactly, is the Green Ambassador program? Its mission statement is, "To motivate, educate and engage students, teachers and administrators in the Huntsville area about sustainability, STEM-focused environmental education and agriculture." Essentially, it's to equip students to be ambassadors for the environment.

The environment, of course, is a big place so the education programs narrow its focuses to three areas. One is sustainability and conservation, which includes examples such as water protection and preserving tree canopies as well as the reduce/reuse/recycle concepts.

Next is STEM-focused environmental education, which could include field experiences such as waste-to-energy or solar energy projects along with the work done at Huntsville Botanical Garden and Hays Nature Preserve.

Finally, there is agriculture and gardening that analyzes concepts such as community or urban gardening as well as understanding the value of keystone and pollinator plants along with learning about invasive and native plants.

"The Green Ambassador program will help work to inspire and engage educators, students and community members to bring about a community of environmentally focused citizens acting in ways that meaningfully and effectively protect the environment," Donelan said.

It's a program that's not only educational but fun for both students and teachers while stressing to future generations the importance of caring for the world we live in. The first year of the Green Ambassador program in Huntsville culminated in May with an awards ceremony that recognized students, their schools and their teachers.

For more information about the Green Ambassador program, email Green Team or call Joel Donelan at 256-427-7219.

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