Articles

Dear GreenStep Schools Community: Reflecting on the Transition

By Jonee Kulman Brigham, Retiring GreenStep Schools Program Leader
Published June, 2026

Photo: Members of the GreenStep Community gather on stage to receive the Partner of the Year award from the Minnesota Association of Environmental Education (MAEE) on May 17, 2026. GreenStep staff and interns are represented alongside district leaders, teachers, and students from three GreenStep awarded Districts and Schools: Roseville Area Schools and Roseville Area High School, Shakopee Schools and Shakopee High School, And Eden Prairie Schools. Students from GreenStep Clubs were well-represented. Shakopee High School's SUN Club (Students Understanding Nature) are on the left, and second from right, is Chiara Carignan, also an MAEE award winner, and leader of Roseville Area High School Students for Climate Action club.

Jonee Kulman Brigham,
Retiring GreenStep Schools Program Leader

Hello, I’m Jonee Kulman Brigham. For the last 13 years I’ve had the privilege of leading the development and pilot launch of the Minnesota GreenStep Schools program. For the past year, in anticipation of my retirement and completion of the pilot, a transition team has been meeting to plan the exciting next phase of GreenStep Schools as it moves into a new non-profit and transitions into a full program. At this time of transition, I'd like to offer some reflections on the program history and themes and to acknowledge the many partners and participants that have made this program possible.

Image: Cover of "Minnesota GreenStep Schools Sustainable Best Practices Framework Phase 1" Last Update June 4, 2018

Program Roots and History

Minnesota has a long history of environmental education and stewardship, from Tribal nations that have always learned from and cared for the land (and continue to do so), to the history of the modern Minnesota environmental education movement (well-documented by Minnesota Association for Environmental Education or MAEE). Minnesota also has a long history of green building, including green schools that respond to environmental, health, and educational needs. In 2012, the first Minnesota Green Ribbon Award schools were announced, and our state’s schools have received state and national awards nearly every year since.

in 2013, a community of green school experts and practitioners, a group formed a group to address the need for a beginner-friendly green schools framework, building on the successful delivery model of Minnesota GreenStep Cities and the nationally-recognized green school performance areas of Green Ribbon Schools. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) provided a grant for Phase 1 to create the “Minnesota GreenStep Schools Sustainable Best Practices Framework.” A 35-person project team, including a large advisory group, worked over several years to create a document that harvested insights from experience and filled the needs of interested schools. The first framework was published in 2016-2018.

The team then implemented the recommendations of the framework, and in January of 2020 launched the pilot and website, ready for the first school participants. Though progress was slowed by the pandemic, interest grew and schools began to work towards the GreenStep Schools Step 1 Award. Today, there are 3 districts, and 12 schools in the program, ranging from Step 1 to Step 3 level awards, and contacts from over 50 districts and schools have expressed interest in joining the program. Interest has also grown from students in GreenStep Clubs, and from GreenStep Resource Organizations.

Image: MN GreenStep Schools Connects Communities of Practice across the state for peer to peer learning and inspiration.

Connecting Communities

The program continues to be built on partnership. On May 17, 2026, MN GreenStep Schools received the Partner of the Year award from Minnesota Association for Environmental Education. At the awards ceremony, we asked everyone in the audience related to GreenStep Schools to come up on the stage to accept the award (see the featured photo). GreenStep Schools is a program built by and for its school communities and it was wonderful to have school leadership, staff, teachers, parents, and students all there to celebrate.

The program provides a green school best practices framework that serves as a common language and flexible menu of ideas supported by a network of resources across the state. Schools themselves then become a resource as they share their green school progress and project stories to educate and inspire other schools. There is nothing like real life examples to prove what is possible. The shared stories do something else as well. They build a sense of community. Schools, teachers, volunteers, partners, and students have all been making progress on environmental operations and education for decades. But it isn’t always easy to know about all the great work being done. GreenStep Schools makes those stories visible for mutual learning, and makes the commitment and momentum more visible as well. It matters that we see each other caring for our environment, our communities, and our students.

Photo: Youth Climate Walkout at Roseville Area High School, March 25, 2022, photo provided by youth organizers.

Youth Leadership

School communities are designed and operated to care for and nurture students, but they also provide opportunities for students to care for and nurture their school, their communities, and their world. One of my favorite developments in the evolution of GreenStep Schools is the addition of GreenStep clubs as a way to acknowledge and support student leadership. In 2022, a student climate club in Roseville Area Schools organized a 600 student climate walkout, with a march from the high school to city hall. I was there and I choked up at the scale of the march and the commitment of so many concerned students. The students had met with the district and the city ahead of time, and created a well-thought out and well-researched event with a list of environmental demands for the city and the school. On their list of goals was for the district and high school to join the GreenStep Schools program. Inspired by this, we created the GreenStep Club facet of the program. Roseville Area High School Students for Climate Action became the first GreenStep Club, and students played big role in Roseville Area Schools and High School becoming the first awardees in the program. Students in environmental GreenStep clubs from all our GreenStep Schools continue to be active and share their stories.

GreenStep School parent and green team member, Sean Quartz shares how green schools protect what he loves: "Sledding with my daughter."

Protect What You Love

In 2024, the GreenStep Schools team hosted a white board activity at its booth at the Minnesota School Boards Association conference after reading about studies showing that nothing brings people together more than caring for the next generation (funny how studies reinforce what we know in our hearts). The activity invited participants to write their response to “How Green Schools Protect what I Love?” Photos of their responses were posted on social media. It made the participants smile, and it reminded those around that green schools ultimately affect us personally.

“How Green Schools Protect what I Love” is a question that reveals the way everything is connected. For example, a waste reduction project protects what people love. It helps the local and regional environment and public health, it saves money so that more is available to educate students, and it engages students in leadership growth, making their school more efficient and responsible. An environmental science class can protect what people love, by helping students to deepen their understanding of how to care for their human and natural communities.

Katie Piehl, Executive Director of Bold Futures Now, and incoming MN GreenStep Schools leader

Time for Transition - Bold Futures Now

After a year of planning, GreenStep Schools is ready to transition into its next stage as part of a new non-profit called Bold Futures Now in continued partnership with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Katie Piehl, Executive Director of Bold Futures Now, will become the new head of GreenStep Schools and I could not be more pleased with this development. I know that the program is in good hands. You’ll be hearing from Katie in the near future.

Bio: Katie Piehl draws on a foundation in education, love for the environment, and social service to lead Bold Futures Now. Her career spans teaching, school and program leadership, and systems design—work that has shown her how powerfully schools shape what students and communities believe is possible. Through Bold Futures Now, she helps advance environmental literacy and community engagement.

Thank you to the GreenStep Schools Community

GreenStep Schools is grateful for all of the people and organizations that make up the GreenStep Schools Community and make the program possible.

Thank you to the districts and schools and their students, teachers, parents, staff, and leadership. This program is all about the good work you do and your generous sharing of lessons learned along the way.

Thank you to the GreenStep Clubs and GreenStep Resource Organizations that partner in green school projects.

Thank you to the many partners and advisors over the years, from the initial advisory group to our current network of state agency staff, non-profits, consultants and more. The program relies on your insights and expertise.

Thank you to the MN GreenStep Schools program staff, consultants, and many interns that have helped to build and maintain the program.

Thank you to Institute on the Environment and Minnesota Design Center at the University of Minnesota for providing a place to incubate and pilot Minnesota GreenStep Schools, and the staff that supported the grants and projects.

Thank you to our GreenStep Schools Steering Committee that has guided the direction of GreenStep Schools through the pilot and beyond.

And thank you to our funders, particularly Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the GreenStep suite of programs.

Picture this: One step at a time…, teams of schools, districts, students, parents, and a supporting community of volunteers, non-profits, businesses, and local and state government agencies all working together to help schools and their community take actions and build their capacity to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future: preparing children for a changing economy, protecting our environment and community health, and harvesting the benefits of a clean energy future—all with guidance, assistance, and recognition from Minnesota GreenStep Schools.

As the GreenStep Schools program launched its pilot phase, it imagined a bright, collaborative future on the home page of its website. Now, with our broad and committed GreenStep Schools Community, it is well underway.

I look forward to seeing GreenStep Schools and its wonderful community flourish for decades to come.

With appreciation,
Jonee Kulman Brigham
June 2026

About the Author

Jonee Kulman Brigham is an environmental architect, artist, educator, writer, researcher, and sustainability leader whose career has been dedicated to advancing environmental education. With a background in sustainability consulting, sustainable architecture, and 24 years as a researcher at the University of Minnesota, she has brought a creative, systems-based approach to environmental challenges and learning. From 2013 through June 2026, Jonee led the development and pilot launch of the Minnesota GreenStep Schools Program. Jonee recently received the Lifetime Achievement in Environmental Education award from the Minnesota Association for Environmental Education.

After her retirement from the University of Minnesota and MN GreenStep Schools in June 2026, she can be reached at JoneeKulmanBrigham@gmail.com

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