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The Zero Waste Schools newsletter will help you get your school on a path toward
generating zero waste through waste prevention, recycling, composting, and food recovery. You’ll also find resources that connect zero waste to healthy eating, school gardens,
and environmental education and action.

Share the newsletter with friends, colleagues, and students interested in zero waste.
| | Check out two upcoming SGA webinars! | | |
On Sept. 15 at 4pm cst, the Zero Waste Schools team will be hosting Let’s Talk Zero Waste, a conversation about getting back into zero waste routines for the new school year. In addition to discussing waste reduction best practices, Katie Nahrwold, Illinois State Lead for the Illinois Climate Education Hub, will highlight free, standards-aligned classroom resources that can help educators connect waste reduction and sustainability efforts to meaningful, real-world learning.
To register for the conversation, click HERE.
Later in the month, Seven Generations Ahead and the Wasted Food Action Alliance will be hosting Decoding Food Recovery and Donation: Breaking Down Barriers and Misconceptions in Food Rescue on Sept. 28 at 2pm cst as part of the national Food Waste Prevention Week campaign.
This webinar will explore best practices for safe food rescue, highlighting successful initiatives like school share tables and donation to nonprofits. Click HERE to register.
| Food Waste Prevention Week 
Sept. 28-Oct. 4 | |
Food Waste Prevention Week (FWPW) is coming up on Sept. 28! Events taking place this week offer an opportunity for communities to learn, take action, and reconnect with the value of food.
Get students involved in FWPW by encouraging them to participate in the student poster contest and spark conversations about food waste reduction with these books.
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Toast 25 years of supporting local food
Oct. 7, 4:30 - 7pm, Midwest Coast Brewing Company
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SGA is celebrating 25 years of supporting local food on Weds., Oct. 7 at Midwest Coast Brewing. This farm-to-table event will bring together leaders in the local food movement, from chefs to farmers to nonprofits. Attendees will experience delicious local food and drink, learn about local farms and farm-to-school programs, and connect with other leaders and advocates who understand that building a local food system is critical to a more sustainable future.
Enjoy a beer and locally grown food prepared by Lula Cafe, Star Farm Chicago, and local chef entrepreneur, Alex Rubenic!
Be sure to donate to enter to win a farm-to-table dinner and wine pairing for two at Evanston's celebrated farmer-driven restaurant, Burl. Every dollar donated gives you an additional chance to win.
Tickets are $25 (not including processing fees) in celebration of SGA’s 25-year anniversary. RSVP here.
| NEW! Climate change education course for 
classroom teachers | |
This new microcredential offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a job-embedded Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved course designed for K–12 educators who want to confidently integrate climate change education into their teaching.
Developed in response to Illinois' new climate change education requirement, this course will support teachers in building practical resources that they can use immediately, including age-appropriate conversation starters, a hope-in-practice classroom checklist, a standards crosswalk, a whole-school climate education action plan, and a lesson or unit that they will teach and reflect upon. This microcredential will support educators in teaching their students about the world they are growing up in and will help them discover teaching strategies that foster climate literacy, justice, hope, and meaningful action.
| | Illinois Great Apple Crunch | | |
The Illinois Great Apple Crunch is a great first step into local purchasing and is a fun way to educate students about where their food comes from. Your Crunch can take any form that will work best for your site or group. Connect your local orchard to the Crunch and you've got a match made only in Illinois!
Any group in Illinois can celebrate the Great Apple Crunch. K-12 schools, homeschool groups, early care, after-school programs, farmers markets, farms and orchards, families at home, businesses, organizations, and agencies can buy local apples and Crunch! Share this event and help us move the needle for our Illinois orchards!

The Crunch is traditionally celebrated on the second Thursday in October but you can Crunch anytime during the month to help us celebrate Illinois apples!
Registration is easy and it's free! You can register HERE.
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Don't trash it, smash it! Facilitated by our friends at SCARCE, Pumpkin Smash is an annual effort to divert pumpkins from landfills through commercial composting. Last year, the Pumpkin Smash composted over 200.2 tons of pumpkins (that’s 400,393 lbs!), reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 144 tons of CO2e, and diverted 43,010 gallons of water from landfills. Find a Pumpkin Smash near you.
Interested in hosting a Pumpkin Smash at your school or in your neighborhood? City approvals require 30 day notice, so now is the time to start planning! Refer to SCARCE's How to Host a Pumpkin Collection guide for more information and register your site HERE.
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The second annual Chicago Youth 
Climate Justice Summit!
Oct. 27, Loyola University Chicago
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Chicago's second Youth Climate Justice Summit is coming up! For youth by youth! Hosted by It's Our Future, a program of Seven Generations Ahead.
The summit is a youth-led, day-long gathering focused on climate justice and solutions. YCJS will empower, connect, and educate high school students from a variety of backgrounds to take meaningful action in their schools and communities and foster community among young activists through fun, creative, hands-on activities.
Interested students, teachers, and organizations interested in sponsoring YCJS can click HERE to find QR codes for the forms.
| | Join the Illinois Green Schools Project | | |
Are you involved in a school and interested in sustainability? Then you should consider joining the Illinois Green Alliance's Illinois Green Schools Project (IGSP). The IGSP is an annual sustainability action and recognition program for K-12 schools in Illinois. Whether you're just getting started or looking to dive deeper, participation will help move your school's sustainability efforts forward through projects that reduce environmental impact and reduce energy, water, and materials usage. Registration is currently open and ends Oct. 9.
By joining the IGSP, your school will receive:
- A framework to help you design a holistic, impactful sustainability project.
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A personally assigned Green Schools Mentor to assist schools in completing their IGSP Sustainability Workbooks.
- An opportunity to apply for a mini grant of up to $1000.
- Communicative staff that are always available to help!
| | The Zero Waste Schools team is here to help! | | Please contact us at zerowaste@sevengenerationsahead.org if you need support 
with your existing waste reduction initiatives or if you'd like some help figuring 
out where to start. | | Grants and other opportunities | | |
Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) will focus trainings on the sustainability of our local food system. We’ll examine critical issues like food access, sustainable agriculture, and how to lower the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our food. We’ll also explore how we all can support Chicago’s growing urban agriculture and food rescue initiatives. Apply by Sept. 22.
Get Schools Cooking Grant helps school districts transition from a heat-and-serve to a scratch-cooking operational model so they can serve students fresher, healthier, and more appetizing meals. Apply by Sept. 30.
Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom: Teacher Grants offers K-12 Teachers in the State of Illinois book and project grants to incorporate agriculture into their content-area classrooms. Apply by Oct. 16.
Greenprints for the Classroom provides the tools, funding, and support to design and lead projects that address real environmental challenges in schools and communities. Through Wild Classroom, up to 15 educators will receive $1,200 to help students put their solutions into action. Apply by Nov. 16.
Illinois Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant can provide up to $2000 for the development of wildlife habitat at your school! Projects must emphasize student/youth involvement with planning, development and maintenance and increase the educational and wildlife habitat values of the site. Apply by Dec. 2.
Chef Ann Foundation: Salad Bar Grants is a grant program that provides schools and districts with everything needed to implement salad bars effectively as a part of a reimbursable meal, while supporting a journey to more scratch cooking and values-aligned procurement. The foundation's recent survey of 170 school districts in the Salad Bars to Schools program reported a 92% increase in fruit and vegetable selection after adopting salad bars! Apply by March 31, 2027.
SWANCC Waste Reduction Grants are a great opportunity for schools, libraries, and nonprofits in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) member communities. Funds can help cover the cost of materials and equipment that support waste-smart projects and sustainability initiatives. Apply for either $200 for clean up event supplies, NEW $300 Right NOW! Student Action Grant, or $1,000 for waste reduction themed projects. Applications are accepted year-round, based on funding availability.
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Climate Impact Assembly
Sept. 16, 6pm cst, virtual
Cafeteria Victories invites climate-concerned middle and high school students to attend this workshop where they will hear from high schoolers who have turned student-centered ideas into policy and moved practical solutions through real systems. The keynote speaker advocated for Maryland Senate Bill 124, the 2022 Grant Program to Reduce and Compost School Waste. Also hear from a high school junior who is seeking a legislative sponsor for his School Share Table and Food Recovery Act in California.
Faith in Place's 2026 Green Team Summit
Sept. 28 - 29, virtual
Join Faith in Place to experience diverse faith and spiritual practices and learn how they interweave with environmental care. The free summit will feature four sessions, diverse speakers, and plenty of opportunities for networking. Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act , will be the keynote speaker.
Cook County Climate Stewards Program- Fall 2026
October - November
The University of Illinois Extension Climate Stewards program is a four-week, interactive program led by university scientists and IL Extension that equips community members with the tools they need to communicate effectively about climate change, activate local collective solutions, and motivate others to join them.
2027 Green Schools Conference
Feb. 8 - 10, Hyatt Regency, Austin, TX
The 2027 event will feature two days of inspiring sessions, expert-led workshops, and dynamic networking opportunities, followed by optional post-conference tours, which offer attendees a chance to explore sustainability in action at local schools and organizations across the Austin area. Join education and sustainability leaders from across the country to connect, learn, and advance the movement for healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable schools.
ISBE Professional Development
Ongoing
Beginning this school year, Illinois schools are required to provide instruction on climate change. To support educators with this important work, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is offering a free Climate Education Professional Learning Strand as part of the FY 2027 Science Professional Learning Series. These virtual sessions provide practical resources, content knowledge, and classroom-ready strategies to help educators confidently integrate climate education into their instruction.
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This newsletter was created by Seven Generations Ahead.
Funding for Zero Waste Schools is provided by Food:Land:Opportunity, a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust and funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.
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