Feb. 2025

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At Denver Public Schools, we believe in the power of action, innovation, and hope. Our students see the challenges of climate change, but they also see the incredible opportunity to create a better future. With your support and the passage of the bond, we are turning that vision into reality — investing in sustainability, reducing pollution, and leading the way toward a cleaner, brighter world.

No matter what happens nationally, our community is proving that change starts here. Together, we are not just imagining a sustainable future—we are building it. Together, we stand strong. Thank you for being part of this movement! 

Does your school have a green team, garden club, or a student leadership team? Does your school host community events that address environmental stewardship (e.g., trash clean-up day, walk/bike/roll event, clothing drive, etc.)?

The National Wildlife Foundation's EcoSchools certification program recognizes and provides a framework for school-level environmental action, and its "choose-your-own-adventure" format makes it easy to build on existing efforts and interests of your school community. 

If you are interested in learning more about EcoSchools certification, please complete this interest form.

The DPS Climate Action Plan has a goal that 25 schools have and maintain EcoSchools certification by 2028, and the Sustainability Team is here to support this effort.

Earth Month is just around the corner and with it the opportunity for action this April! 

• If your school is planning to host any events, please submit your event to let us know. We want to help get the word out.

• If you are interested but would like support in the planning process, email kelly_moses@dpsk12.net. 

In the meantime, here are some ideas to spark inspiration:

• Plastic-Free Lunch Day - choose a menu that does not require single-use plastics and bring a reusable water bottle

• Walk, Bike, and Roll to School - organize an event to promote environmentally friendly modes of transportation

• Conduct a waste audit - learn more about waste streams, why they are important, and how powerful behavior change can be

• Host a mini-environmental film festival - showcase a short-film and have a community discussion afterward

For even more ideas, check out NYC Public Schools’ Climate Action Day Roadmaps for a variety of options that can be tailored to the time and resources you have available.

Denver Urban Gardens is offering its first-ever Youth Service Fellowship for 10-12th graders who want to get involved in their community and gain leadership and skills across food, community, and climate.

The paid fellowship runs April to August 2025, and applications are due by March 5.

DPS and Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency teamed up to install a solar carport at Abraham Lincoln High School — a move that’s part of our commitment to urgent climate action.

This solar carport was funded by Denver's Climate Protection Fund, and:

• generates 235 kW of clean energy,

• supports 3 charging stations for electric vehicles, and

• provides about 40 solar subscriptions to income-qualified families in our community, saving each family an estimated $700 per year on their electric bill.

And this is just the beginning — we plan to install solar carports at 7 more DPS high schools in the next two years. Together, we’re building a cleaner, safer, livable future.

The Green Eagles at Asbury Elementary were highlighted by Denver7 for their amazing work reducing food waste, composting correctly, and recycling right!

Neighborhood Resilience Corps is a Denver-based nonprofit that provides programming for Denver youth to better understand climate-change careers. 

As part of this program, Students from Vista Academy and Northeast Early College toured the CSU Spur campus to learn about aquaponics, hydroponics, water capture & filtration, and more.

Learn more about Neighborhood Resilience Corps.

These tiny tree sprouts with bright green needles grew from seeds our second grade class planted at the beginning of the school year. The Colorado Blue Spruce was selected for this project because it is our state tree, and it has a slow growth rate that could be observed over the course of the year.

After the initial excitement when seeds begin to sprout, we then noticed some failed to continue to grow even with careful watering and light. This has been a good lesson in the importance of patience and the delicate nature of living things.

We’ll continue to nurture the sprouts we currently have and hope to have more in the spring! Our long-term goal is to have seedlings to plant at our school and in our community.

DPS switched to new printing software that provides valuable data insights about printing usage across the district. Learn about the impact of DPS' printing in 2024. How many sheets of paper do you think the district used in 2024? Find out below!

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• Share the Climate Action Plan that is driving this work.