By Deborah Rogers, Green Schools Coordinator for Missouri Gateway Green Building Council
Are you a student excited about improving the health of our planet? Are you a teacher or school staff member ready to empower students through hands-on learning with a real-world impact? Are you a professional eager to support a school on their sustainability journey? The Green Schools Quest is for you! The Green Schools Quest is one of three programs within Show-Me Green Schools; each program is a state-wide recognition program for school sustainability initiatives for PreK-12 schools across Missouri and Southern Illinois. The Green Schools Quest asks students to design and implement a low- or no-cost sustainability project for their school and report on its success to a panel of judges for the chance to win prize money.
This completely free program provides professional development to teachers throughout the school year as well as pairs a Mentor to the school for the duration of the project. Mentors volunteer up to two hours per month to work with their school to design and implement a sustainability project of their choice. In March, 2026, schools will submit their projects to a panel of judges who determine winners across several age and content categories. All participants will be celebrated at the Annual Green Schools Event in April, 2026, where the winners and prizes will be announced.
The 2025-2026 Green Schools Quest’s theme is water, and schools are invited to take on a project related to this complex and nuanced topic. Some project ideas include: exploring a local watershed and implement a plan to keep it clean; tracking, analyzing, and reducing water usage on school campus; implementing a plan for stormwater runoff through native plant gardening, rain catchment systems, or other creative solutions; researching and addressing water environmental crises over history and creating solutions for ongoing injustices; understanding Indigenous Knowledge water stewardship throughout the United States and Missouri/Illinois that has kept the water systems alive and well for millennia. Projects on theme receive extra points on the scoring rubric, but schools are free to pursue any sustainability project of their choice.
Enrollment in the Green Schools Quest is open until September 15th, 2025 for both schools and Mentors. Interested school leaders and potential Mentors can sign up at showmegreenschools.org/gsq or email info@showmegreenschools.org with questions. Over 200 schools have participated in this program since 2013. Join the school sustainability movement today!