Roosevelt Elementary School has been named a 2025 California Green Ribbon Schools Bronze Award winner, joining just 30 schools statewide that have been honored for environmental innovation, student wellness, and hands-on sustainability education. Theodore Roosevelt Elementary in Burbank Honored with Prestigious California Green Ribbon Schools Award (CA-GRS)
This distinction recognizes Roosevelt’s steadfast commitment to sustainability, environmental education, and wellness—thanks to a passionate grassroots movement led by a team of parent volunteers, dedicated staff and teachers, environmentally-minded students, and Principal Matt Osmond.
“Our staff, students, and families have taken many deliberate steps over the past years to reduce our environmental footprint and increase how we practice sustainability. From classroom lessons, to schoolwide policies and practices, we’re proud of the work we’ve done and how thinking about environmental sustainability is now built into our programs and events,” said Principal Osmond.
Third grader Isabella Shipp says, “I think it’s beautiful to see our whole school come together to make the Earth better. When we take care of our planet, we are taking care of our future.”
What began seven years ago as a simple goal to green the school site has blossomed into a powerful model of student-led and community-driven sustainability. Known as the Roosevelt Planeteers, the PTA’s Sustainability Committee spearheaded numerous initiatives, including:
- Banning plastic water bottles on campus for all school and PTA events
- Launching an Organics Waste Sorting program in 2019, well before it became mainstream practice or legal waste contamination compliance
- Planting native drought-resistant plants around the school,
- Creating a sensory garden
- Creating an outdoor classroom
- Installing air quality monitors ahead of California’s recent wildfire crises, raising awareness about air pollution and the importance of clean air on campus
- Creating a reusable Plates, Cups, and Utensils system and an overall reuse culture, cutting down significantly on single-use waste in the classrooms
- Creating a 100% zero-waste annual Fun Run fund-raising event
- Spearheading a beloved Bike Bus program, promoting active, safe, active transportation and community-building, healthy practices while mitigating dropoff traffic congestion
- Planning for a community demonstration garden with BWP, offering hands-on learning opportunities for students and families alike
- Creating a schoolwide Halloween costume swap to decrease waste and increase reuse
- Having reusable decorations for schoolwide events and classroom parties
These efforts align with the California Green Ribbon Schools program’s three pillars:
1) reducing environmental impact and costs
2) improving the health and wellness of schools
3) providing effective environmental education
“Our students are growing up not just learning about science and sustainability, but actively living it,” said one parent volunteer. “They’re becoming environmental leaders by example.”
The Theodore Roosevelt Elementary community celebrates this distinction as a milestone—but not the final destination. With a culture of innovation, collaboration, and environmental stewardship at its core, the school is already planting the seeds for the next chapter of green excellence, and hopes sister BUSD schools will join in this worthwhile pursuit of green excellence and leadership as a district effort.
