Green Across the World, Inc.

Green Across the World, Inc. (GATW) was established as a corporation in Vermont in April 2020, and received Federal 501(c)(3) not for profit status in May 2001.  For over two decades, GATW’s Founding Executive Director has developed experiences and associations which place the organization in a strong position to establish long-term, sustainable exchanges and curricular programs for middle and high school students and teachers between Vermont, China, Japan, Bhutan and Senegal.  We believe that effective, long term cultural and environmental exchange between regions of the World is beneficial to developing international relations through peace and reasonable prosperity.

We are particularly proud of our recent role in helping to establish a Sister State Agreement between Vermont, USA, and Tottori, Japan, which was signed by Governors Phil Scott and Shinji Hirai on July 18th 2018.


 The "First 5" Students! Untitled-6a  Untitled-1   gap3

IMG_7697  IMG_4532   

What have we learned?

The human economy is a small, but important part of the natural economy.  Design and policy that recognizes the importance of linking economy to environment will lead to a more peaceful and just World.  The power of this vision rests on the foundation that GATW has established since our founder’s first expedition with students in 1995.  The strength of the thoughtful and engaged community that our activity has spawned is our greatest asset.  The enthusiasm with which former participating students, teachers and consultants look forward to learning about GATW’s next program is a heartening expression of hope for a troubled World.  This vision can, will and in fact must succeed.

History by year:

  • July 1995: Green Across the World’s Founding Director, Peter Lynch, brought five students from Fair Haven Union High School, Vermont, where he taught at the time, to Hong Kong to study with Dr. James D. Lazell, a field biologists with The Conservation Agency (TCA), Jamestown, Rhode Island.
  • July 1996: Another group of students traveled to South China with Lynch and Lazell.  This expedition included a visit to the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University (Hua Shi Fu Zhong- HSFZ)), Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.  Program director Peter Lynch met with Principal Wu Yingmin of HSFZ to discuss establishing a summer exchange program in field biology and natural resource management.
  • July 1997: The exchange program with HSFZ began with a one-week program organized by Xia Tao, Biology Chairperson at HSFZ.  Xia is currently serving as Dean of Students at HSFZ.  He is an Honorary Director of GATW.  This was embedded in the three weeks that Fair Haven Union High School students spent in South China.  The field apprenticeship program continues to be available today through collaboration between TCA and GATW.
  • July 1998: A delegation consisting of eleven students, three teachers, and one professor of biology traveled from Guangzhou, China, to Vermont, USA, to study field biology and natural resource management with Vermont students in a three week program organized by Lynch.  To the best of our knowledge, this was the first delegation of Chinese high school students to visit Vermont (and possibly the United States) for purposes of exchange and academic study since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
  • September 1999: Lynch traveled to HSFZ for one week to help the school prepare for and implement a visit from Vermont Governor Howard Dean who was in East Asia on a trade mission to Taiwan.
  • February 2000: A delegation from HSFZ Leland and Gray Union High School, Fair Haven Union High School, Mount Abraham Union High School, and The Gailer School.  This three-week exchange focused on theory and practice in education as well as cultural exchange.  Governor Howard Dean opened an exhibit, including twenty-five student drawings from the 1998 summer exchange, at the State House in Montpelier, Vermont.
  • April, 2000: GATW was incorporated in Vermont.
  • May, 2000: Collaborating with The Gailer School, GATW organized a visit to Hiroshima, Japan, in which six members of the 12th grade class shared their interdisciplinary study of the end of World War II and the bombing of Hiroshima with the staff of the Peace Museum in Hiroshima.
  • July 2000: Vermont high school students and educators traveled to Guangdong Province, China to begin the second round of the exchange in field biology and natural resource management.  Xia organized activities and home stays in the northern Mountains of Guangdong, the city of Guangzhou, and the coastal island of Nan Ao.
  • May 2001: GATW received 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service.
  • July 2001: a delegation from HSFZ, including Principal Wu Yinming, visited New England to study field biology and natural resource management with American students and teachers to complete the second round of this exchange.  Three weeks of events were organized, primarily in Vermont.   A brief visit to coastal Rhode Island gave students experience with marine ecology.
  • February 2002: a delegation from HSFZ shared two weeks of classes and events at Rutland High School, Middlebury Union High School and Leland and Gray Union High School.  An intended follow up trip to Guangzhou, China was not carried out due to travel restrictions following 9/11.
  • July 2003: Exchange activities were cancelled due to the SARS epidemic.
  • July 2004: Vermont high school students traveled to South China for a summer exchange in field biology and natural resource management in Hong Kong and Guangdong, China.  Following a one-week introduction to the region in Hong Kong by Dr. Lazell, HSFZ carried out a two-week program for Chinese and American students focusing on marine resources and problems associated with development in Guangdong Province.
  • July 2005: Students and teachers from HSFZ joined GATW for three weeks of activities in Vermont.  During this program, we increased the role that businesses played in our study of natural resource management, and instituted projects designed to explore specific and current environmental topics in Vermont.
  • July 2006: GATW began a brief collaboration with Champlain College, hosting Chinese students and teachers to work with American students and teachers in a three week, field based program centered at Champlain College.
  • July 2007: a delegation of students from Vermont, New Jersey and Washington State visited South China.  Following an introduction to the region in Hong Kong SAR, HSFZ organized a two and a half week program including urban and coastal resources in Guangdong and rural challenges along the Fujian Guangdong border.
  • July 2008: GATW at Champlain College included Chinese and American students and teachers for a three-week, field based program centered at Champlain College.  Access to the resources at Champlain College and ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, greatly enhanced the quality of our program, resulting in the most powerful and successful domestic program to date.  Students closed the program with interactive public displays at ECHO.
  • July 2009, the threat of the H1N1 influenza prevented us from working with HSFZ. GATW collaborated with The Nature Conservancy of Jamestown, Rhode Island, to organize a biology field trip to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.  Five high school students from Vermont and New York participated in field studies with students from South China Normal University in Ding Hu Shan, and Shantou University at Nan Ao.
  • March 2010: Tottori Prefecture, Japan, and GATW initiated a youth exchange with a ten-day program in Vermont.  Harwood and Mount Abraham Union High Schools hosted Japanese students from 7 high schools and Tottori University of Environmental Studies.  The program focused on green, affordable housing design.
  • July 2010, 2016 and 2019: GATW hosted Chinese students and teachers to work with American students for a two or three week Environmental Leadership Program.  This program was based at the University of Vermont.  GATW began working to establish a relationship with The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont.
  • March 2011: GATW continued student exchange with Tottori Prefecture hosting students and adults at Mt. Abraham and Harwood Union High Schools.
  • April 2011: A scheduled student trip to Tottori, Japan, was cancelled in the wake of the Tsunami and problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan.
  • July2011: a delegation of Vermonters traveled to South China for a program hosted by HSFZ in Guangdong and Hainan Provinces.  Students spent time in Hong Kong as well.
  • March 2012: GATW’s Executive Director Lynch traveled to Bhutan with the Director of the Center for International Virtual Schooling (C4IVS) to visit schools and meet with officials in the Ministry of Education in anticipation of establishing physical and virtual exchanges with Bhutan.
  • March 2012: GATW and Mt. Abraham Union High School hosted a delegation from Tottori, Japan.
  • July 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2019: GATW hosted our summer Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Vermont where we continue to strengthen our connections.  We established an informal partnership with the University through the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.  This program has included students from the United States, China, Thailand and Bhutan as well as two teachers from Bhutan.
  • September-December 2012: GATW helped C4IVS initiate a virtual exchange between Burlington High School, Vermont, and Sherubling Higher Secondary School, Bhutan.
  • October 2012: GATW, Mt. Abraham Union and Burlington High Schools hosted a student delegation from Tottori, Japan.  This program focused on food and food systems.
  • April 2013 to Present: GATW organizes trips to Tottori, Japan, for students from Burlington and Essex High Schools, Vermont, as part of reciprocal Youth Environmental Exchange in Japan.
  • October 2013 to Present: GATW, and Burlington and Essex High Schools host student delegations from Tottori, Japan,  for exchange focussed on Culture and Environment.
  • November 2014 & 2015: GATW hosted International Conferences at the University of Vermont to begin work on a model for virtual exchange and to build community for this purpose.  Representatives from Vermont, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Thailand, Nova Scotia, Ghana, the Netherlands and Kenya attended.
  • 2015 to Present: GATW built a website for youth exchange with significant help from the Young Writer’s Project.  The site is called Youth Green International.  GATW is preparing migrated this site to a new platform to modernize and improve functionality late in 2017.
  • 2016 to Present: GATW has donated video conferencing equipment, and teacher and student laptops to schools in Bhutan and Senegal for virtual exchange.  Students at Essex Middle School and Woodstock Union High School have donated close to 90 refurbished laptops for Bhutan and Senegal and cash for improved internet connections in Senegal.  The Vermont Air National Guard has helped to transport a number of laptops.  GATW has helped Ousmane Diop Coumba Pathé, an upper level school in Dakar, Senegal, prepare a room for a Library Media Center.  This has been useful to the larger community as well as the students.
  • February 2017: GATW organized its first travel exchange to Senegal.  17 students and three chaperones from Woodstock Union High School joined us for a ten day trip packed with environmental, historical and cultural experiences including school visits and activities with Senegalese students.
  • July 2017: Vermont Governor Phil Scott met with Governor Shinji Hirai of Tottori Prefecture, Japan, where they discussed the possibility of establishing a Sister State relationship.  A draft agreement is under consideration.
  • November 2017: Five young musicians and Mark Sustic from Young Tradition Vermont taveled to Tottori, Japan, for performances and music sharing.  GATW helped with preparations for this inuagural trip.  We hope that it will lead to additional exchange activities.
  • July 2018: Governor’s Phil Scott, Vermont, and Shinji Hirai, Tottori, Japan, signed a Sister State Agreement in a ceremony at the State House in Montpelier, Vermont.  GATW assisted with arrangents and communication.  We continue to work with Vermont State Government to create a Sister State Commission to build on this relationship.