How Evenson Fellow Christine Kelly Uses Sustainability to Inspire Next Generation

Allendale Middle School science teacher Christine Kelly is introducing students to sustainability by infusing sustainable business and the school’s sustainability features into curriculum.  For her efforts, she was named the first C.R. Evenson Foundation Fellow in 2022. 

Kelly is a teaching veteran of 20 plus years that was inspired by environmental education considering the impact that it could have on her students.  She is also a longtime member of Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.

“I started seeing all of these different takes with environmental education and how we can make a difference, especially with middle school students. They’re often told no, or they’re too young and I think that if you’re going to be a great teacher you have to find ways to empower your students,” says Kelly.

Kelly is a certified Environmental Educator by Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) and the state of Michigan Department of Education. When teaching science classes, Kelly focuses her teaching through an environmental lens and strives to involve her students in bettering the environment. Partnering with other local groups, they have adopted the Eastmanville Bayou, and removed invasive species yearly in Ottawa county parks.

The CR Evenson Foundation Fellowship is modeled after the MacArthur Fellows, with no public selection process of application period.  Foundation trustees quietly solicit suggestions from the Forum network for individuals and companies deserving recognition and support.  

When Kelly was selected, she opted to use the cash award for her students.  She identified and submitted five targets she wanted to improve in her school to reduce energy emissions and waste. This included installing a railing on the school’s green roof, addressing the continued use of energy to heat and cool the building, limiting excess air pollution around the school due to parents leaving their engine running during pickup, and installing a rain garden.

“This school was built with a lot of environmentally forward thinking in mind. A green roof was put on this building but it’s never been taken care of. I can’t bring students out on the roof because there’s no railing. I could only go out on the roof with other teachers or with some students and their parents, and only to a certain area but we can’t take care of the whole thing,” says Kelly.

Planting Seeds for Future Sustainability Leaders

The $15,000 award allowed her to purchase temporary railings to improve access to the school’s green roof. The funds were also allocated to cultivating green walls and student cultivated environmental experiments. Experiments were carried out on the green roof measuring plant growth, the temperature of the green roof compared to other roofs on the building, and the angle of the sun on the roof. The grant has allowed for more opportunity for Kelly to encourage her students to take control of their education and learn more about the environment.

In the future, Kelly hopes to do more work with her students for the environment and implement more green stormwater infrastructure. She also hopes to install signage encouraging parents to turn off their cars during pick up and bike racks to encourage more bike riding to school.

“As a teacher, if I can just light that little fire just a little bit and get students interested and motivated in the environment, they’re going to run with it. It’s my responsibility to be able to offer that to them and to guide them. The Evenson Foundation and this grant was such a beautiful gift because we’re finally able to use our green roof instead of staying at the windows and look at it, and we’re finally able to run the experiments that we always wanted to. We can use the building more fully and have the students appreciate these new additions,” says Kelly.