Green School Grant Program

NYSAR3 established a grant program for public and private K-12 schools for implementation or expansion of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling, and composting programs. Since 2005, NYSAR3 has awarded 100+ schools throughout New York State that have implemented a variety of successful programs that benefited schools across the state.

NYSAR3 is pleased to announce a new round of funds for 2024, for projects implemented during the 2024-2025 school year. Multiple projects will be awarded for a maximum of $1,000 per award. The goal of this grant program is to provide funds to develop new programs or support existing programs related to the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle), composting, and outreach. There is a limited pool of available funds and not all projects may be awarded, and awarded projects may not receive the full funds requested. Special consideration will be given to schools located in an area identified as a disadvantaged community*. View map of communities here.

 

ELIGIBILITY 

All public and private, K-12, schools in New York State are eligible to apply for funding.  Applicants and programs must:

  • Be a public or private school, Grades K-12, located in New York
  • Include a goal to increase awareness or minimize waste through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and/or composting and outreach
  • Agree to share program information and data with NYSAR3

 

This round of 2024 applications is due on May 17, 2024

If you have any questions email: nysar3greenschoolsgrants@gmail.com.

View Grant Application Package Here


 

Congratulations to the 2023 Grant Winners:

Attica Central School District, Attica, NY:
Create a composting program for food waste at the school.

Bennett Elementary, Boiceville, NY:
Purchase storage shed to keep collected plastics from local businesses to participate in the annual plastic film recycling challenge with the Trex® company.

Bennett Park Montessori Center P.S. 32, Buffalo, NY:
Reduce the amount of single use water bottles used in school by installing a water refill station and providing reusable water bottles to students.

Crown Point Central School, Crown Point, NY:
Create a schoolwide recycling program with a speaker to educate students about recycling.

Olmsted High School, Buffalo, NY:
Improve current composting and gardening projects at the school with better irrigation systems.  Also, improve the collection of 5 cent cans and bottles.

Smithtown Central School District, Smithtown, NY:
Provide recycling bins in each classroom to encourage paper recycling on a classroom level.

Spencer-Van Etten Central School District, Spencer, NY:
Regenerate student-led sustainability initiatives impacted by the pandemic.

Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, New York, NY:
Launch an educational campaign for students, staff, and faculty on recycling, composting, and waste management.

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Congratulations to the Fall 2022 Grant Winners:

PS 19 Native American Magnet School, Buffalo, NY:
Reducing the amount of water bottles used in their schools by supplying fresh water through filling stations, increase knowledge about reusing items in a school setting and promote recycling practices in their school.

School 2 Troy City School District, Troy, NY:
Educating their building as a whole as to the importance of environmental conservation.

Leonardo Da Vinci High School, Buffalo, NY:
To more effectively recycle plastic and aluminum in their school.

Lafayette International High School, Buffalo, NY:
Teaching hands-on environmental skills with students relating to composting, healthy soil, and rainwater capture and harvesting from reused / salvaged materials.

Otselic Valley Central School District, South Otselic, NY:
Educating students on recycling basics to ensure collection bins are used correctly and efficiently.

P721K Roy Campanella OTC, Brooklyn, NY:
Maximizing student engagement and creating a connection to our earth through Environmentally Friendly lessons, activities and events.

Trinity Elementary School, New Rochelle, NY:
Expanding the gardening program to include composting and summer caretaking, with the goal of using their garden as an interdisciplinary instructional space, particularly for special education students, as well as a way to build community with their families.

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Congratulations to the Fall 2020 Grant Winners:

The Harley School, Rochester, NY:
Creating a composting system that reduces waste and supports learning of sustainable behavior by Harley students, faculty, and staff.

Pleasantville High School, Pleasantville, NY:
Creating a worm composting program within the school system. 

F.E.Smith Intermediate School, Cortland, NY:
Promoting composting and gardening practices through a student-run composting program. New composting receptacles and compost equipment will be purchased.

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Congratulations to the Fall 2019 Grant Winners:

Seth Low IS96, Brooklyn, NY:
Expanding their current recycling program to include composting and vermicomposting fro their school garden.

John Dewey High School, Brooklyn, NY:
Setting up a compost program to take the waste from their culinary class to convert to compost for the outdoor garden and compost tea for the indoor hydroponic system.

Edward J. Russell Elementary, Pine Bush, NY:
Creating a uniform, functional recycling program with a newly formed Green Team.

Harmony Hill, Cohoes, NY:
Creating a closed-loop organics program where vegetables are grown for local use and organics are composed for use in the garden.

Shenendehowa HS West, Clifton Park, NY:
Expanding their recycling program to recover bottles, including at special events.

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Congratulations to the Spring 2019 Grant Winners:

Finger Lake Technical and Career Center, Stanley, NY (FLTCC):
Purchased several vermicompost bins, their associated equipment, and a bin to collect and hold food scraps, all to accommodate the amount of compostable material generated by the Culinary Program at FLTCC.

Jesse T. Zoller Elementary School, Schenectady, NY:
Purchased a half dozen compost and vermicompost (worm compost) bins, as well as supplemental educational materials. Diverting more of their school ground trimmings and meal program’s food scrap (gardening vegetables, fruits, herbs, plants and composting some of their yard’s grass and leaves).

French Road Elementary School, Rochester, NY:
Purchased supplies needed to implement a “Backyard Vermicomposting” workshop. Organics collected from the cafeteria will be hauled to local farms and vermicomposted.

Lake Placid Central School District, Lake Placid, NY:
Retrofitting a shipping container to house a high flow drum composter arriving this summer as part of a grant from North Country School Camp Treetops (NCT). Aimed to process the school's food waste along with residents’ and a local deli.

Hermon DeKalb Central School, De Kalb Junction, NY:
Retrofitting a shipping container to house a high flow drum composter arriving this summer as part of a grant from North Country School Camp Treetops (NCT). Aimed to process food waste generated by the school, SUNY Canton, and two local restaurants, as well as sawdust from Amish sawmills.

McGraw Junior/Senior High School, McGraw, NY:
Purchased materials needed to build a composting bin to start a composting program, and a Terracycle bin to collect snack wrapper packaging.

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Congratulations to the Fall 2018 Grant Winners:

United Nations International School, New York, NY:
Purchased new cafeteria sorting station for improved flow of people and supplies for station monitors as part of its, “ultimate goal of sending little or no waste to landfill.” Their zero waste program will also include education by Green Guides (a program created by Cafeteria Culture).

RT Hudson Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary School, Bronx, NY:
Purchased equipment and tools for implementation of a food scraps recovery program. They plan to grow produce in a nearby community garden, harvest it for consumption, sale and donation, and compost the remainder.

Cayuga Heights Elementary School, Ithaca, NY:
New classroom compost and recycling bins, a cafeteria compost bin, and bin signage to encourage proper waste disposal and decrease contamination to zero to five percent.

Olmsted Highschool, Buffalo, NY:
Purchased three new compost tumblers and one paper shredder to accommodate its growing compost program.

Hawk Meadow Montessori School, Poughkeepsie, NY:
Implement a vermicomposting program for its students to understand the process of composting and purchased equipment for the program (worms, and a start infographic). 

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Congratulations to the Spring 2018 Grant Winners:

Roy Campanella Occupational Training Center, Brooklyn, NY:
Expanded the school’s recycling collection efforts through the purchase of a large Rubbermaid tilt hand truck, a large,wheeled garbage can for hallway recycling pick up; and assorted other recycling equipment.

East Moriches School, East Moriches, NY:
Created plastic water bottle receptacles for each classroom. Made from refurbished 5-gallon pickle buckets donated by a local restaurant and painted blue (with donated paint).

Kingsford Park, Oswego, NY:
Vermicomposting (worm composting) stations in eight select classrooms, which will each receive components to set up a simple vermicomposting system.

P.S. 116 Mary Lindley Murray, New York, NY:
Purchased recycling bins for classroom use to collect paper, as well as large bins for hallways, for larger items such as large pieces of cardboard. They will also begin collecting used writing and art implements, such as crayons, to be recycled.

Seneca Middle School, Holbrook, NY:
Expanded middle schools recycling efforts (which is now primarily paper recycling) to
include food waste composting. Four large recycle/compost bins were purchased for use in the
cafeteria.

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Congratulations to the Fall 2017 Grant Winners:

Edison Career and Technical High School in Rochester, NY:
Leaf composting project to redirect yard waste into school's garden space and provide compost education to community.

Frewsburg - RHJ Elementary School in Frewsburg, NY:
Garden compost demonstration site and vermicompost project.

Olmstead High School in Buffalo, NY:
Cafeteria food waste recovery compost project.

Peachtown Elementary School in Aurora, NY:
"Zero Waste School" project with an emphasis on food waste composting.

Sweet Home Middle School in Amherst, NY:
Recycling sorting stations throughout the school.

Cooke Elementary and Rutherford Elementary Schools in Monticello, NY:
Food recovery project to collect surplus school foods and donate to hungry students and/or local homeless via the County shelter.

HFM BOCES Agriculture PTECH in St. Johnsville, NY:
Waste reduction projects including textile reuse and recycling, composting, and bottle and can recycling.