How it Works (the GRS website and how to publish)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Green Ribbon School?
Q. Why Green Ribbon Schools are important?
Q: What is the Green Ribbon School Program?
Q. How do we get started?
Q. Are you under 13 years of age?
Q: What is an Organizer?
Q: What is a Contributor?
Q: What is a Moderator?
Q: What is a Reader?
Q: As a teacher, how much of my time will it require to do the GRS Program?
Q: What are the 4 Cornerstones of a Green Ribbon School?
Q: What is the difference between a Cornerstone and a Category?
Q: How do I navigate through the GRS Program Online?
Q: How many activities must my school complete to be a Green Ribbon School?
Q: How will this benefit my school?
Q: We need help coming up with ideas for activities...what should we do?
Q: As a parent, how can I get involved?
Q: How can I make a suggestion or give feedback on the program to the GRS Team?
Q: How do I contact the GRS Team if I have an issue?
Q: What is a Green Ribbon School?
Healthy and growing. Holistic. Purposeful. A Green Ribbon School takes a comprehensive approach to help students reach their potential. Green Ribbon Schools promote healthy living for students, parents and staff. Green Ribbon Schools incorporate a connection to nature. Green Ribbon Schools create their own vision and plan and improve over time. Green Ribbon Schools are healthier, happier and smarter.
Q: Why Green Ribbon Schools are important?
Our children may be the first generation at risk of having a shorter lifespan than their parents. Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity have contributed greatly to the numerous health problems plaguing today’s children. Outdoor activity in the natural environment has taken a back seat to television, video games, the computer, and a demanding extracurricular schedule. Today’s youth are losing the contact with the natural environment that is beneficial to their development and well-being. Chronic conditions such as childhood obesity, asthma, and attention-deficit disorder have all increased over the past few decades. These chronic conditions may lead to pulmonary, cardiovascular, and mental health problems in adulthood. For the first time, a recognition program will act on the best research regarding children’s health, physical activity and the importance of a connection to nature to encourage a comprehensive, whole-child approach. Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) will encourage robust participation in Coordinated School Health. Through varying levels of recognition, all schools have the potential of improvement and achievement toward healthier, happier and smarter students and GRS recognition. Students can easily lead many of the campus initiatives and engage community participation. Research shows that children who are physically fit, connect with nature and eat nutritious foods are healthier, happier and smarter. Benefits of the GRS program include:
- Cognitive benefits: increased creativity, problem solving, focus and self-discipline
- Social benefits: increased cooperation, flexibility, and self-awareness
- Emotional benefits: stress reduction, reduced aggression and increased happiness.
- Absenteeism and discipline problems: decrease as students become involved in projects that have an environmental focus.
Q: What is the Green Ribbon School Program?
Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) is an initiative to promote healthy living for students, parents, teachers and communities. Schools participate in an online system of student created and student driven activities to achieve recognition as a Green Ribbon School. The goals within the program’s structure are to:
- Promote Nutrition, Fitness and Health
- Promote Environmentally-Friendly Campuses
- Promote Outdoor Physical Activity and Nature Play
- Integrate Nature Education
Q: Are you under 13 years of age?
PARENTAL CONSENT FORM (PDF 62KB): Members under 13 years of age must have parental consent to participate on the 4empowerment website.
An Organizers is a verified teacher or advisor who can create activities. They can create or start activities, invite people to join them, approve and disapprove of assets, approve activity results for public publishing, and can change each user's role within the activity at any time(e.g. change a contributor to a moderator when they want to.)
Within this role you have the ability to participate in activities, upload content, and add results pages for publishing. But a contributor is not able to approve files or results pages for publishing.
This role is given to the participant(s) that the organizer trusts to make approvals and report inappropriate results content. Within this role you have the same abilities as a contributor, along with the ability to edit and approve content within an activity. A moderator cannot create activities or change a participants role within an activity, but otherwise has the same abilities as an organizer.
Within this role you have the ability to view an activity, but you are not able to contribute files and results pages or make any type of moderating action (such as approvals).
Q: As a teacher, how much of my time will it require to do the GRS Program?
The GRS Program is actually developed to save teachers time. Many teachers have told us that they just don’t have the time to research projects or try to locate resources and funds for activities. We have developed a program that not only provides this information, but is also designed to be student driven. Check out the Resources page for more information on this.
Q: What are the 4 Cornerstones of a Green Ribbon School?
Environmentally Friendly Campus
Nature Adventure
Health, Fitness and Nutrition
Natural Classrooms
Q: What is the difference between a Cornerstone and a Category?
A Cornerstone is one of the 4 major areas of a Green Ribbon School.
A Category is one of the more detailed areas within each Cornerstone. For the Cornerstone: Environmentally Friendly Campus,
the Categories are: Energy, Water, Recycle/Waste, Pollution, Transportation and Green Spaces.
Q: How do I navigate through the GRS Program Online?
Register and Login from the Homepage: Upon logging in, you will be automatically directed to your personal My Activities page. This page will display all of the activities you have either started (teachers) or invited to (students and all other users).
FOR TEACHERS (the steps to completing an activity):
1) Start an Activity (teacher only): Click on the Start New Activity button on your My Activities page after logging in. Or you can click on a Cornerstone (at the top of the site) and then a Category within that Cornerstone, and then click on the Start New Activity button. Once you have started an activity you will land on the activity Wall and the left navigation checklist will appear. Follow those steps:
2) Invite Students and Other Participants
3) Upload Files
4) Create Results Page
5) Publish the Results Page
6) Check out your published work on the Involved Schools page and see your Cornerstone badge appear.
FOR STUDENTS (steps to completing an activity):
1) Join the activity (enter the Invite code at Registration if you have not been to the site before, or enter the Invite Code in the Quick Join box on your My Activities page if you have already registered)
2) Collaborate and Comment on the Wall
3) Upload Files
4) Create Results Pages
5) Submit Results pages to teacher for Publishing Approval
FINAL SUBMISSION: At the end of the school year, each school must make a FINAL SUBMISSION of all of their activities for that year. You will receive notification from the GRS Team, of the final submission deadline date, well in advance of this deadline. You can only make one Final Submission each year. So be sure all activities for the year are completed, that the principal has approved your submission, and then hit the FINAL SUBMIT button on your SCHOOL PROGRESS page. Be prepared to enter the total number of students and teachers at your school, as well as the number of those involved in the GRS Program.
Q: How many activities must my school complete to be a Green Ribbon School?
Each school must PUBLISH at least 1 activity in EACH of the 4 Cornerstones.
Q: How will this benefit my school?
Every school has unique needs. We have designed a flexible program that will address those needs. While completing the planning steps of the GRS Program, students are encouraged to discuss the needs of their particular school with their Principal, Teachers, PTA/PTO and other groups. Where one school might want to save money by reducing energy usage, another might want to improve the abundance of healthy cafeteria options. This program is not built to fit only one type of school, but rather all schools.
Q: We need help coming up with ideas for activities...what should we do?
We have provided you with a number of activity ideas and activity resources within the program. You will find an Ideas and Resources tab on each Category page, as well a Resources page that includes ideas and resources for all 4 Cornerstones in one place.
Q: As a parent, how can I get involved?
There are many ways in which a parent can be involved in the program, from the planning process to doing the actual activities. Students are encouraged to talk with their parents while getting their GRS Program plan together. They are also encouraged to involve parents in their activities. You might lend a hand when they build a vegetable garden, or perhaps you or someone you know owns a hardware store that would like to donate the equipment needed to build that garden. Talk to your student about how you can help them achieve their goal of becoming a Green Ribbon School.
Q. How can I make a suggestion or give feedback on the program to the GRS Team?
Provide the Green Ribbon Team with feedback using our Contact Us page. Tell us what you like and don’t like, suggest changes to the site or program, and offer activity ideas. This is your program; tell us how we can make it better.
Q: How do I contact the GRS Team if I have an issue?
Visit the Contact Us page for the contact information that pertains to your issue.
