1. Skills and Experiences Gained
Results and Outcomes
The Greening Preschools Program
4R’s Education: Waste Diversion:
Above: Students and staff throughout Alameda County participated in waste related trainings and
education. In total, 499 students received waste related education and 179 staff were trained in
proper waste management.
Evaluation:
Right: Students were given a pre and post test to
determine sorting competency. Of the nine
classrooms participating in the survey, seven
increased their sorting knowledge, while two
experienced no change at all. Overall, the nine
classrooms increased their sorting knowledge
by an average of 178%.
My work at Alameda County as the Greening Preschools Coordinator has taught me invaluable skills in
program design and implementation. Outlined below are three of my key findings that made programming
successful;
1. Defined four specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound goals and objectives to reach a
minimum of 30 new program sites, improve waste related knowledge, and ensure sustainable behavior
change.
2. Developed an outreach plan to engage with multiple organizations from varying demographics through
print and web publications, public meetings, and face-to-face interactions.
3. Designed and implemented a monitoring and evaluation plan that assessed student knowledge change
and program delivery through specifically developed pre and post questionnaires and evaluation forms.
These practices ensured quality programming and supported the goals of Alameda County’s Early Care and
Education Program
Jessica Byron
Jess graduated from Miami University in 2011 with a degree in Geology and Environmental Science. Jess has a broad range of professional experiences in environmental education, leadership development, program evaluation and
project coordination and is excited to bring a sustainability focus to her line of work. Jess is interested in continuing her professional career in the environmental and sustainability fields with a focus on education, consulting, scientific
research and project management.
Acknowledgements:
Jess would like to thank her supervisor, Ellen Dektar, and the rest of the ECE team for their continued guidance and support while navigating the world of early care and education. She would also like to extend gratitude to her Alameda
County cohort of fellows, Hana, Hannah, Alice, Cait and Messay, for their hard work, positivity and friendship. Thank you CCBA for this wonderful professional opportunity, enthusiasm for the program and continued interest in our
development as thinkers, scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders.
The Greening Preschools Program is a project of the Green Child Care Program of Alameda County’s Early
Care and Education Planning Council. With a focus on environmental health, the program’s goal is to educate
all Alameda County child care providers and children on proper waste, recycling and compost best practices
through technical assistance and innovative 4R’s(reduce, reuse, recycle rot) education programming.
Project 1: Program Expansion and New Partnerships
• Recognizing a need to reach a broader and more diverse audience, in 2015, I developed and piloted a family
child care specific environmental education program. The pilot program was designed to address the smaller
class environment and broad age range often associated with the family child care setting. 10 providers
participated in the pilot program and staff received trainings on waste management, children learned about
littering and the 4R’s, and sites received free compost and recycling bins.
• As the development lead, I spearheaded the first partnership in the program’s history. The Greening Preschools
Program joined Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Green Gloves Program to support sustainability
initiatives in Child Development Center (CDC) classrooms and cafeterias. 9 classrooms from 3 OUSD CDC’s
received support from the Greening Preschools Program with anticipated program roll-outs to 4 more OUSD
sites by August 2016.
Project 2: 4R’s Education
Teachers, staff and children from a record number of 33 preschool
sites throughout Alameda County participated in our developmentally
appropriate 4R’s(reduce, reuse, recycle, rot) education programming.
Project 3: Waste Diversion
Provide technical assistance at new program sites to increase
compliance with waste hauler agreements and support the county in
reaching their waste reduction goals. Conduct waste audits to
determine waste diversion rates before and after program completion.
With continued technical support, program sites are reducing the
amount of waste that ends up in landfill.
Project 4: Evaluation
Developed a never before used evaluation program to better assess
the relevance and effectiveness of the Greening Preschools Program.
With a pre and post questionnaire for children and an evaluation form
for staff, we are able to quantifiably measure knowledge and behavior
change while improving program delivery.
Above: I engage the children in recycling as Rocky
the Recycling Raccoon.
Below: Children play with worms from their
vermiculture bin.