Our Mission

The West Chester Green Team is a non-governmental civic organization in Chester County PA, that works to educate the local public and to establish and nourish green initiatives in the community in harmony with nature and each other, promoting the health of all living things and of planet Earth.

As an independent environmental organization, we help our communities become more environment-conscious and sustainable, educate residents about green living, urge municipal and county governments to support our efforts, and ask businesses to become our allies.

WCGT is passionate about helping people live their daily lives in a green, sustainable and community-oriented manner. We work through a board of a dozen activists, plus hundreds of supporters. We invite all area residents to join us in taking action! We need you; the planet needs all of us!

Our Inspiration

“I believe that natural beauty has a necessary place in the development of any individual or any society. I believe that whenever we destroy beauty, whenever we substitute something man-made and artificial for a natural feature of this earth, we have retarded some part of man’s spiritual growth.” — Rachel Carson

Our History

The West Chester Green Team (WCGT) was formed in January 2019 as an alliance of four local environmental groups: Don’t Spray Me!, Plastic-Free Please, Ready for 100, and Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection.

Don’t Spray Me! originated in 2015 in response to the threat of pesticides being sprayed in West Chester Borough by the Chester County Health Department. Mayor Carolyn Comitta encouraged residents under the leadership of Graham Hudgings to gather signatures objecting to pesticides being sprayed. Volunteers went door to door, obtaining over 400 signatures and informing residents of the threat from pesticides. Overwhelmingly, people were in support of preventing pesticides being sprayed in their home area. DSM in its first year signed up 120 block captains throughout the Borough, who educated the community on the dangers of pesticides and other chemicals and worked alongside local government to avoid the spraying of pesticides.

Don’t Spray Me! subsequently incorporated activities involving chemical-free growing of vegetables and flowers, which has become one of our most popular and visible areas. See Don’t Spray Me!’s web site here and Facebook page here.

Plastic-Free Please was created in 2017 in alliance with West Chester Mayor Dianne Herrin, who worked with local students to bring forward an ordinance to ban plastic straws and bags in the Borough. In a historic moment, on July 17, 2019, in a packed room after a public hearing with numerous residents speaking in support, Borough Council passed the ban by a vote of 4-3. See more on that memorable meeting here. But then State legislators snuck a “ban on bans” into a budget bill, and for the duration West Chester promoted a voluntary Sustainable Storefronts program, signing up businesses to voluntarily adopt green practices. Now West Chester and West Goshen are 2 of the 6 Chesco communities to have enacted bag bans; see more info from the Chester County Plastic Pollution Task Force here.

With help from WCU students in Professor Megan Schraedley’s communications class, as of November 2021, 17 businesses had signed on. The ordinance finally went into effect on January 2, 2022, and several other Chester County municipalities have done similarly. See us on Facebook here. See more about our local campaign against plastics proliferation in the worldwide context here. See the countywide initiative to help municipalities pass single-use plastics bans here.

Ready for 100 (RF100) Chester County, a program of the Southeastern PA Group of The Sierra Club, is part of a national grassroots movement of people working to inspire our leaders to fight climate change and embrace a vision of healthier communities powered with 100% clean, renewable energy. RF100 seeks to create safe, livable communities that protect and bolster public health, improve air and water quality, and foster sustainability, equity and resilience in the face of climate-related disruptions. RF100 has set community goals for transitioning to 100% renewable energy and urges all Chester County officials to set a 100% clean energy goal. Although Chesco RF100 is no longer an official SEPA Sierra Club committee, we remain allies and share the same energy and climate goals.

Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection (4CP) was founded in 2008 to further community education on climate change and green energy solutions. Over the years, 4CP held a stimulating series of lecture/discussions in locations like WC Borough Hall, maintained a web site and Facebook page, and published a newsletter. In 2021, 4CP decided to turn its role and resources over to the WC Green Team.

We founded in 2021 and continue to lead West Chester Area Transition, an organization dedicated to enhancing community activity in the context of sustainable living, involvement of children, and enjoyment of our surroundings. See more information here. One of Transition’s salient initiatives is the annual West Chester Porchfest, a large community-oriented music festival including information on green living and many activities (see separate web site here).

Our history is reflected in our logo, which has evolved over the years.. For issues that we are currently involved in, see the pull-down menu under Issues.

Our Newsletter

Keep up to date with what is happening with West Chester Green Team!

What Else Have We Been Doing?

In cooperation with West Chester University’s Office of Sustainability, WCGT has for several years sponsored events in the Fall Film and Forum series aimed at informing and engaging the public about how to live sustainably.

WCGT organizes Earth Day activities each April, including rallies, marches, talks, and chalking sidewalks.

We have been conducting a summer educational series for families centered on the local Lenape traditions and Native American connections to the environment. See the 2023 series here, anf 2024 plans here.

We have spread the word about our programs through our various yard sign designs. Some of the most memorable signs are the baby in the gas mask (2016) and most recently an image from Transition symbolizing our diversity and growing together.  

Due to their mission and involvement in WC, Green Team leaders were honored in recognition of service to the community by West Chester Mayor Jordan Norley in 2021.

The Green Team is a founding member of the Chester County Environment Alliance, an umbrella organization that brings together some 30 groups committed to enhancing environment and. sustainability in our county. See more about CCEA here.