New
School Facilities and Sustainability Research, Trainings, and Articles
This month, I had the opportunity to visit with the National
Council on School Facilities, state agency top facilities officials who work
together to advance policy, planning, and practice for K-12 school
facilities. Among other initiatives, they offer training videos
on K–12 facilities planning for local school boards, district administrators,
and communities. Another school facilities partner, the Educational
Facilities Clearinghouse, underscored the power of outdoor learning and facilities impact on teacher retention.
Also this month, in the Journal of Sustainability Education, a new article by Sterrett and Imig offers examples
from a range of ED-GRS honorees as well as tips regarding school sustainability.
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The 2015 ED-Green Ribbon
Schools Director’s Award: Nominations Due March 1st
The Director’s Award
recognizes state education authorities’ exemplary efforts to administer U.S.
Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS). Annually, the
Director’s Award goes to the state education official who does the most to
advance sustainable education in their state, by such means as running a robust
nomination process; connecting more schools, districts, and postsecondary
institutions to sustainability resources; amplifying the stories of their
applicants and honorees; helping schools, districts, and postsecondary
institutions connect and learn from one another; partnering with a variety of
state and non- and for-profit private sector entities; and exhibiting a
dedication to exceptional school facilities, health, and environmental education
through activities outside of the award. If you wish to nominate a state
education official, please send your nomination and justification to ed.green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov by March 1st.
Any state education official who is involved in implementing the ED-GRS award
and who has not already won the Director’s Award is eligible for
nomination. Read about the work of past Director’s Award
recipients. >>>>
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The ESEA Reauthorizes with Support for Environmental Education
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the
federal government’s most significant education legislation, providing some $40
billion a year to support K-12 education in the United States, includes
language supporting student learning about the environment, conservation, and
field studies as part of a well-rounded education. >>>>
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Outdoor Industry Associations Launch Fundraising Platform for
Outdoor School Projects
The Outdoor Industry Association and Outdoor
Foundation have launched a fundraising mechanism to help schools implement
their outdoors projects, including plans to take fourth grade classes to
federal lands and waters as part of the Every Kid in
the Park initiative. The
campaign’s online platform will connect funders from the outdoor industry with
specific park experience projects. Schools
and non-profits can complete a brief project registration including
photographs, experience descriptions, locations, number of youth, and goal. The first 100 schools that sign up will
receive $100. >>>>
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Centers for Disease Control Releases 2014 School Health Profiles
The CDC School Health Profiles is a system of
surveys assessing school health policies and practices in states, large urban
school districts, and territories. Surveys are conducted biennially by
education and health agencies among middle and high school principals and lead
health education teachers. The report includes
results from surveys conducted in: 48 states, 19 large urban school districts,
and 2 territories. It includes a fact
sheet highlighting key 2014 results and a presentation that presents state
results, by quartiles, on a U.S. map; information on how to obtain Profiles
datasets; and technical documentation for data analysis. >>>>
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U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, District Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary Sustainability Awardees are demonstrating innovative practices for others to follow:
Bluff
Park Elementary School, Hoover, Ala.
Thanks to an outdoor classroom built in 2009,
learning experiences start at Bluff Park with bug catchers, nature walks, tree
identification, vegetable gardens, Backyard Bird Count, nestbox data, and
weather monitoring, and extend beyond school grounds through field trips to
Baker’s Farm, Birmingham-Southern’s Environmental Center, Aldridge Gardens,
DeSoto Caverns, Vulcan Materials, and Dauphin Island. Alabama Wildlife Resources and the Junior
Master Gardener Literature in the Garden series provide concepts that can be
adjusted to specific understandings and grade levels. All grades use the outdoor classroom for
planting vegetables and collecting data on birds, trees, plants, and insects of
all types for individual research or online Citizen Science projects such as
eBird, Project Noah, or iNaturalist.
Bluff Park hosts an Outdoor Classroom Social where students demonstrate fitness
activities, offer tours, and local individuals and businesses educate families
on beekeeping, raising chickens, gardening, hydroponics, cheese making, and
other sustainable projects. Students
worked with Alabama Power and Hoover HVAC after completing a Cool Schools
Challenge energy audit. Bluff Park was
the first school in Alabama to receive the USDA HeathierUS School Challenge
Award and all students receive 30 minutes of daily physical education. >>>>
 Bluff Park Elementary School’s Junior Master Gardeners work with seedlings for their vegetable and butterfly gardens.
Los
Cerritos Elementary School, Long Beach, Calif.
Los
Cerritos Elementary School’s Urban Farmyard is a place of environmental
stewardship and learning for every student.
It has received numerous awards and grants totaling over $40,000, is a
designated Wildlife Habitat and a Monarch Butterfly Waystation. In addition to fruits and vegetables, it
features a seasonal flower garden with a Peace Pole and solar-powered
irrigation. Along with a composting
area, chicken coop, small fruit orchard, and red tool barn, the school brings
lessons alive by incorporating outdoor classroom seating on its grounds. The outdoor spaces are used for buddy
reading, observation, lessons, games, movie nights, sleepovers, graduation, and
potluck dinners. Classes take walking
field trips to the Dominguez Gap Wetlands and use California state
environmental education standards. The
school offers Cool the Earth and Roots and Shoots program participation; a
sustainability afterschool club; a comprehensive recycling program; and an
active Green Team. Reusable plates,
silverware, and cups all are a part of the school’s cooking lessons, teacher
potlucks, and student lunches, especially on Trashless Tuesdays. The Green Team leads in recycling lunchtime
food waste and Terracycle Brigades. It
also offers valet parking to promote safe drop-offs and reduce vehicle idling,
the walking school bus, Walk-to-School Wednesdays and Bike-Friendly Fridays,
and a page on the Los Cerritos website devoted to healthy lifestyle choices and
tips. >>>>
 Los Cerritos Elementary School’s 4th Grade students tend to their garden plot and track leaf growth.
Kirk
Middle School, Newark, Del.
Kirk
Middle School students have built a Monarch Butterfly Waystation, attended
field trips enhancing environmental literacy, participated in a tri-state
contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Zoo, and conducted energy, waste, and air
quality audits at their school. The
school participates in an energy demand reduction program and renovated
restrooms, installing waterless urinals, metered flush valves, metered faucets,
and hand dryers. Kirk conducted a survey
about IAQ, with measuring parameters including temperature, humidity, air
movement, ventilation, filtration, bioaerosols, and pressurization. The agriscience program offers instruction on
environmental, plant, and animal sciences.
Students monitor the box turtles in the courtyard, daily weather
conditions, and the development of embryonic chickens, using date to track
changes, make predictions and modify variables.
The school’s 8,000 square-foot courtyard is the perfect outdoor space
for learning. Teaching students about
composting, raising and harvesting food plants, reducing erosion and pollution,
and fostering habitat for wildlife are integral components of the program. The space includes a pond area and duck
enclosure, poultry enclosure, wildfowl enclosure, rain garden, compost areas,
raised gardens, in-ground gardens, greenhouse, herb garden, bird and butterfly
garden, and mini-orchard. >>>>
 Students from Kirk Middle School visit Delaware Technical Community College to devise solar-powered cars.
Paul
W. Crowley East Bay Met School, Newport, R.I.
The Paul W. Crowley East Bay Met School (Met) is
a place-based learning environment for sustainability. In January 2014, Met moved into a new
Collaborative for High Performance Schools – Northeast v 2.0 certified building
designed to reduce water usage by 20 percent, constructed with low-emitting VOC
products, daylighting incorporated into lighting controls, and air-sealing
barriers. Extra-porous pavement, a water
retention pond, and a rainwater harvesting system are used to reduce runoff and
use grey water. Fifty percent of
students ride public transportation and all cleaning products are certified
green. The school offers a coordinated
school health approach, covering nonviolence, stress management, meditation,
substance abuse, student voice and leadership, individual and group counseling,
the mind-body connection, social skills, and communicating emotion through
arts. Schoolwide outdoor education
activities include hiking, sailing, aquatic landscaping, invasive species
removal, bird watching, gardening, farming, and excursions to marshes, beaches,
and mountains, all the while learning principles such as Leave No Trace and
wilderness ethic. Students intern with
Sail Newport, the U.S. Navy’s Recreational Center, Narragansett Surf and Skate
Shop, Core Fitness, Newport Equestrian, and Bike Newport, among other
organizations. Annual schoolwide
activities include students versus staff athletic competitions and beach and
mountain bike days. Met has built raised
beds for student and community gardening.
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 Students at Paul W. Crowley East Bay Met School help grow fresh greenhouse vegetables for a local food bank.
Jan.
06, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm The
Wacky Water Cycle (NASA)
Jan.
07, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm The
History of Winter: Ice Core Samples
(NASA)
Jan.
07, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Melting
Ice and the Affects on the Coastline (NASA)
Jan.
11, 2016, 4:00-5:00 pm Satellites
and Sea Level Rise Pt. 1 (NASA)
Jan.
12, 2016, 4:00-5:00 pm Satellites
and Sea Level Rise Pt.2 (NASA)
Jan.
12, 2016, 4:00-5:00 pm Staff
Health and Wellness (Healthy Schools Campaign)
Jan.
12, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Weather
VS Climate (NASA)
Jan.
12, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Weather
VS Climate (NASA)
Jan.
13, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm How to Apply for
the ENERGY STAR
(EPA)
Jan.
13, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Hurricanes
in Your Classroom (NASA)
Jan.
14, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Changing
Weather in our Climate (NASA)
Jan.
20, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Flooding
and Droughts (NASA)
Jan.
26, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Portfolio
Manager 101 (EPA)
Jan.
26, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Atmosphere
(NASA)
Jan.
27, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Portfolio
Manager 201 (EPA)
Jan.
27, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm How
High Is It? (NASA)
EarthEcho International Invites Applicants for Youth Leadership
Council by Dec. 31
EarthEcho
International invites environmental leaders ages 15-22 to apply for the
EarthEcho International Youth Leadership Council. This program will give up to 15 young people
the opportunity to provide insight and expertise into the development of
EarthEcho International’s programs, lead initiatives to engage young people in
conservation work in their communities, and develop programs to help support
EarthEcho’s mission of inspiring young people worldwide to act for a
sustainable future. >>>>
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Environmental Workforce
Development and Training Grant Proposals Due Jan. 14
EPA is soliciting proposals from nonprofit
organizations to deliver environmental workforce development and job training
programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed, and under-employed
residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the
environmental field, with a focus on solid and hazardous waste remediation,
environmental health and safety, integrated pest management, and
wastewater-related training. >>>>
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Health and Academic Success of Children Proposals Due Jan. 19
This
opportunity funds national nongovernment organizations to support states,
school districts, and schools for nationwide implementation of cross-cutting
approaches to promote health and prevent and control chronic diseases. The five
priority areas are: (1) Physical Activity, (2) School Nutrition, (3) Out of
School Time Wellness, (4) School Health Services for Chronic Conditions, (5)
School Health Services for Sexual Health. The strategies must have broad reach,
sustained health impact, and be a good investment for public health. >>>>
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Register for Department of Energy’s BioenergizeME Challenge by
Feb. 4
In
the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge, high school-aged teams use technology
to research, interpret, apply, and design an infographic that responds to one
of four cross-curricular bioenergy topics. Selected infographics will be featured on the
challenge website, and one team will be selected to present at the Bioenergy
Technologies Office's conference in Washington, D.C. >>>>
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NOAA Environmental Literacy Grant Proposals Due Feb. 8
The
NOAA Office of Education is offering competitive funding opportunity for
education projects designed to strengthen the public’s and/or K-12 students’
environmental literacy to enable informed decision-making necessary for
community resilience to extreme weather events and environmental hazards. Eligible applicants are postsecondary
institutions; other nonprofits, including informal education institutions such
as museums, zoos, and aquariums; K-12 public and independent schools and school
systems; and state, local and Indian tribal governments. Proposed projects should be between two and five
years in duration and have total budget requests of $250,000 to $500,000 for
all years of the project. >>>>
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The Children and Nature Conference is May 25-27 in Saint Paul,
Minn.
The Children and Nature Network 2016 Summit and
Conference will take place May 25-27 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The conference provides opportunities to
engage with leaders from a wide-range of sectors and peers to learn about
cutting-edge initiatives, share lessons learned, activate collaboration, spark
new connections, and chart a path for expanding the movement. >>>>
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The National Farm to Cafeteria Conference is June 2-4 in
Madison, Wisc.
Save
the date for the 8th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, a biennial event
hosted by the National Farm to School Network that convenes more than 1,500
diverse stakeholders who are working to source local food for institutional
cafeterias and foster a culture of food and agricultural literacy across
America. Registration will open Feb. 15.
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Connect with Green Strides
Green Strides: Resources for School Facilities, Health, and
Environment
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools
Facebook: @EDGreenRibbonSchools
Twitter: @EDGreenRibbon
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