NMHS recognized as a Green Leaf School

NEW MILFORD, Conn. — One of the town’s schools is the first in the state to achieve a special designation that celebrates sustainability.

New Milford High School was presented the Connecticut Outdoor & Environmental Education Association’s (COEEA) Green Leaf Award Friday, June 6, in a special ceremony at the school.

“I’m so impressed by you all and so excited to have heard from you,” said Kim Hughes of COEEA to a small gathering in the theater Friday afternoon.  “I have chills.”

At the ceremony, Hughes announced NMHS is the first school in the state to achieve the highest level – Mighty Oak – for a Green Leaf School, all thanks to the efforts of the school’s Environmental Impact Club (EIC).

A round of applause erupted from the audience, including Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janet P. Parlato, school administrators and teachers, club members, and members of the press. Cheers rang out from EIC members.

The COEEA’s mission is “to work with schools and districts to “plant, nurture and grow the seeds of environmental literacy in a way that builds more sustainable and just communities.” It offers resources and encourages schools to focus on three pillars: reduced environmental impact and cost, improved health and wellness, and effective environmental and sustainability education.

“We meet every school, every district, everywhere wherever they are, and move along the journey with them to whole school sustainability,” Hughes said.

Recently, the COEEA redefined its Green Leaf School designation at three levels, rather than one. Officials want to acknowledge schools as they move at their own pace.

GLS levels are now: acorn, sapling, and, its highest level, Mighty Oak.

Deborah Rose/New Milford High School was designated a Green Leaf School Friday, June 6, at a special ceremony. Above are, students, beginning fourth from left, Fernando Alonso Ortiz, Connor Ring, David Palmer, Phebe Seppa, and Emma Coleman, are shown at the ceremony with, from left to right, Allison Pilcher, a member of theConnecticut Outdoor & Environmental Education Association's Green Leaf Schools Advisory Board, New Milford Superintendent Dr. Janet P. Parlato, NMHS Assistant Principal Anthony Blake, teachers Noah Hurlburt, Joseph Fusco and John Boothby, and Kim Hughes of the COEEA.

The EIC was founded a few years ago by five students, Phebe Seppa, Madison Fesh, Ava Biondino, Kat Taborsak, and Maayan Rosenberg.

Its mission is to create a sustainable future at the school “and beyond through education, action, and advocacy….to raise awareness about environmental issues and empower students to become responsible caretakers of the planet…. to reduce our ecological footprint, protect natural resources, and inspire lasting change.”

“This club is the result of Maayan’s persistence and the deep passion these girls have for the environment,” said Cara Abraham, NMHS Teacher of the Year 2025 and the club’s advisor. “They were adamant that ‘impact’ be part of the name, that this club would not be a resume build or a social club.”

Abraham described the “high goals for environmental stewardship and civic engagement at the high school,” she continued. “Through their leadership and positive energy, they have recruited more students for our club to continue its work.”

Its work

Among the club’s eco-friendly happenings, they have: planted seedlings in the school’s greenhouse to educate others about gardening and prepare for future projects; reinstated the school’s greenhouse that was partly destroyed by a school fire in the past; and purchased hydroplonics towers and other tools.

In addition, they've educated others about EIC events, activities, and eco-friendly practices – like the importance of recycling your spoon in the cafeteria – on posters and using other means of publicity; offered an Earth Day scavenger hunt; worked to revamp the school’s courtyards, including designing, building, and planting flower beds; and worked on a Moon Tree with the Science Department.

Two seniors, David Palmer and Connor Ring, widely contributed to the club’s impact.

When the club shared some of its ideas of what it wanted to do, it needed support to implement them. David and Connor readily stepped up and assisted in bringing the ideas to life, such as building the garden boxes in the school’s courtyard, among other things.

Courtesy of David Palmer/The New Milford High School Environmental Impact Club has revived the school's greenhouse.

Courtesy of David Palmer/Garden beds like these are now a feature of one of the school's courtyards, which the school's Environmental Impact Club has initiated as a means of promoting sustainability.

Courtesy of David Palmer/Seniors Connor Ring, left, and David Palmer prepare to spread four yards of mulch in the garden beds at the high school.

“They had some really good ideas, and we wanted to make them come to life,” David relayed as he and Connor took the stage. 

Two years ago, the school began following the COEEA pillars. David said when the school began filling out the paperwork to become a Green Leaf School, it “really made me think what we aren’t doing and wanting to go more in depth.”

At the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, the teens brought a bin into the cafeteria to collect leftover food waste and fruits and vegetables students didn’t eat. Early on, they discovered if the bin was left unsupervised, the number of scraps increased.

The scraps were collected and delivered to New Milford Farms in town for composting. The compost came full circle, coming back to the school for use in the school’s garden boxes where fruits and vegetables are grown.

Over spring break, Assistant Principal Anthony Blake, David, and Connor Ring constructed eight small garden beds and four small beds to accommodate the growing needs of a variety of vegetables. 

With the addition of the five built by the EIC, the courtyard now boasts 17 garden beds that serve as “an outdoor learning for the school community where students can learn about pest management, bio culture, monocultures, intercropping, and other soil conservation techniques,” David explained.

This year, about 2,000 pounds of waste was collected, 

The boys also coordinated a community Earth Day event, the Lorax Project, consisting of the planting of 77 saplings off Scoville Street in town, near New Milford Community Ambulance and part of Public Works. Four different flower species were planted so support biodiversity and pollinators “because nothing can exist, really, without our pollinators,” David continued.

The project was supported by the Town, volunteers, and New Milford Farms, which donated 20 yards of compost.

Courtesy of David Palmer/Seventy-seven saplings of four different flowering species of trees were planted on these grounds off Aspetuck Ridge Road. The project was a part of the school's outreach into the community promoting sustainability.

Phebe, club president from 2023-25 and students Emma Coleman, the club’s 2026 president, and Fernando Alonso Ortiz, the 2026 vice president, addressed guests, sharing the story of how the club came to be and the work it has done to create, implement, maintain, and sustain programs and projects promoting conservation and green living at the school and in the community, all in cooperation with the school and school district.

Emma expressed her initial skepticism of the club and what could be accomplished through it given how the large issues of climate change and sustainability. “They feel beyond what we’re able to do but [Maayan] had a vision and I supported her through it and I learned that it was definitely possible.”

She shared how her belief in the club’s ability to make an impact was possible, especially after visiting Sarah Noble Intermediate School where fifth graders created sustainable inventions. 

“It really felt like we could be the hope for the future,” she said. “That someone cares about them and the world they’re entering.”

Fernando highlighted how club members have participated in cleanup days on the school campus and in the community, such as Harrybrooke Park.

Students as 'stewards'

“What’s so fulfilling and inspiring about this day today is how much of this work was student led,” said Blake at the ceremony, “I think our role as administrators and educators is to put our students in positions to be leaders… to set them up to be stewards of our community, our environment.”

He described the students as an “amazing group” who worked with community organizations and their peers and teachers, managed grants, and identified problems in the school and found solutions.

Hughes praised NMHS youth for citing how connection, community, leadership, and shared leadership are key components of the work they’ve done.

“We work with a lot of districts,” said Hughes. “There are so many out there who would benefit from your expertise,” she added, addressing the students.

Allison Pilcher, a member of the Green Leaf School Advisory Board, is a professional climate policy advocate. She praised the students for their “impressive and inspiring work.” 

“You didn’t just talk and think about the changes they would like to see in their community , but then to actually go implement them. You are not just leaders, you are change makers, policy makers, and you are community organizers and coalition builders,” she said.

“And the partnerships you have built and the outreach you have done is a really great model not just for the work you’re doing here at NMHS, but for the community as a whole.”

Students created a guide to sustainability so future generations can build upon it.