Watch
the July 20th 2016 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Ceremony
Live
U.S.
Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce
Andrews, and Federal Chief Sustainability Officer Christine Harada will honor
the 2016 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS), District
Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary Sustainability Awardees in a private
ceremony at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 20th in Washington, D.C. Forty-seven schools, 15 districts, and eleven
colleges and universities will be recognized for their commitment to reducing
environmental impact and utility costs, promoting better health, and providing
environmental education. The festivities
will also recognize a state official for advancing sustainable schools in New
Jersey.
ED-GRS
has three distinct “Pillars” that are aims for all to work toward. These broad goals in the areas of school
facilities, health, and environmental learning are used to engage more schools
in existing federal, non-profit, and state tracking and certification programs
that can help all schools save money, improve health, and teach by the most
hands-on, engaging means possible. The
complementary Green Strides outreach initiative offers social media, this
monthly newsletter, a resource and webinar portal, and a tour to spotlight
innovative practices. In this way,
ED-GRS goes beyond standing up a few promising examples or a single annual
event, working to connect all schools with the resources and practices that
honorees successfully use.
We
will share a livestream link for the national recognition event prior to the
ceremony.
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 Representatives from Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska received their award at the 2015 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Awards Ceremony, June 3, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
Selecting
Nominees for U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools 2017
Are you ready for 2017?! Most participating states post applications
for schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions each summer with
deadlines to submit to them each winter.
State authorities’ school, district, and postsecondary nominations are
due to ED by February 1, 2017. ED
will announce honorees on April 24, 2017.
In addition to a total of five school and district nominees, each
state may nominate one postsecondary institution for leadership in all three Pillars. State selection committees may include state
education agencies, state higher education agencies, governors’ offices, and
outside partners. Interested schools, districts, colleges, universities
should contact their state education
authorities for information on how to be considered for
nomination in a given state. State
education authorities can contact U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for more information. >>>>
As schools head off for summer breaks, now is a
great time to take inspiration from the 2016 U.S. Department of Education Green
Ribbon Schools for plans in the coming year.
View the honorees and read about their work on Green Strides.
Raritan
Valley Community College, North Branch, N.J.
Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is the
first community college in the country to sign an environmental stewardship agreement
with the EPA, and the first to run an energy-saving cogeneration plant, which
has contributed to an emissions reduction of 51 percent. The college is the first in New Jersey with
an AASHE STARS rating, and with River Friendly certification. The college’s award-winning service learning
program provides many students with the opportunity to perform environmental
and health and wellness work in the community.
RVCC has adopted integrated pest management and created no-mow areas and
a rain garden. Rainwater is collected
for toilets and garden irrigation, and high-efficiency fixtures and a
scheduled, moisture-sensing sprinkler system watering only the athletic fields
provide additional conservation measures.
RVCC builds to LEED Silver standards and offers premium parking for
carpools and free electricity for electric vehicles. The college has an optical clinic, gardening
programs, and a yoga and meditation room.
The college’s café and cafeteria offer vegan and vegetarian meal
options, fair-trade coffee, and locally grown produce. RVCC offers an Environmental Science
Associate of Science degree, a Liberal Arts Associate of Arts degree with an
Environmental Studies option (unique in New Jersey), and an Environmental
Controls Associate of Science degree and certificate, as well as LEED and solar
panel installation professional education.
The environment and sustainability are incorporated into courses in some
15 departments, including English, Marketing, Philosophy, and Sociology. >>>>
 Students at Raritan Valley Community College helped design and build a rain garden at the entrance to the college. The garden improves the quality of and reduces storm water runoff.
Bethel School
District, WA
Bethel School District (BSD), serving 18,000
students, has avoided paying an additional $7.2 million dollars in electricity,
natural gas, and water, a 28 percent reduction in costs. Over the last six years, BSD has received
$1.2 million in state energy grant money.
All of BSD’s 27 eligible schools are ENERGY STAR certified, with an
average score of 93. In 2012, the school
district was recognized with two ENERGY STAR Leader awards. BSD uses both Portfolio Manager and EnergyCAP
software to track resource use. BSD
collaborates with other local government agencies to teach sustainability
concepts. Students participate in collecting,
sorting, and weighing material. They
conducted a weeklong analysis of Styrofoam lunch trays, later presenting to the
school board how purchasing and washing reusable trays would pay for
itself. BSD’s agricultural program
teaches students how to balance green techniques and concerns with actual
business practices. Through the Bethel
High School greenhouse, students learn how to run a full-scale commercial
greenhouse operation, cumulating in a spring plant sale. In Students learn to take care of a large
campus and are involved in state fish hatchery projects. Students are able to perform walk-around
building audits with the resource conservation manager, who also promotes the
green jobs of the future at the annual career fair. >>>>
 A partnership with a local manufacturing company provides Bethel School District students with free repurposed recycling containers. Since 2009, the school district has avoided paying an additional $285,000 in trash costs. This 20% reduction saved them from sending an additional 2,300 tons of waste to the landfill.
Atlanta
Neighborhood Charter School, Atlanta,
GA
The
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS) is a kindergarten through eighth
grade school with two campuses formed by the merger of two charter
schools. ANCS has strived to reduce the
environmental impact of the school through facilities and transportation
initiatives, with the installation of energy efficient LED lighting, low-flow
plumbing fixtures, water bottle filling stations, high performance windows,
thermal envelope insulation, and web-based centralized climate control for HVAC
units. These efforts have led to one of
the building’s receipt of an ENERGY STAR certification with a score of 100 in
2015, as well as to participation with the City of Atlanta in the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge program for sustainable buildings. ANCS reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 28
percent and energy by 50 percent in just one year. The school received a Safe Routes to School
infrastructure grant to make walking and biking to school easier through
community infrastructure improvements, and now oversees walking and biking
school buses. ANCS participates with the
Georgia Clean Air Campaign’s schools program to encourage cleaner, healthier
forms of transit to and from school, along with no-idling policies. During the school day, there are regular
periods of daily physical activity for students at all grade levels, and
mindfulness practices are incorporated into all classrooms. Students at the middle school campus have
planned out entire meals for the school cafeteria using the school farm. Several grades take a major overnight field
trip to different parts of the state, where they take part in an outdoor
education program to learn more deeply about environmental issues affecting
Atlanta and the region. >>>>
 A student at Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School showcases water bottle refilling and recycling efforts.
Apply for a GreenWorks! Environmental Education Grant by Sept.
30
Project Learning Tree offers grants up to $1,000
to schools and youth organizations for environmental service-learning projects
that link classroom learning to the real world. Students implement an action
project they help design to green their school or to improve an aspect of their
neighborhood’s environment. The projects
partner students with their whole school, local businesses and/or community
organizations, and provide opportunities for student leadership. >>>>
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July
06, 2016, 12 -12:30 pm Porfolio
Manager—Ask the Expert (EPA)
July
06, 2016, 2:00-3:00 pm Submetering for
Campuses—ENGERY STAR (EPA)
July
06, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Technology
Drives Exploration – On the Moon (NASA)
July
07, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Technology
Drives Exploration - BEST Satellite (NASA)
July
12, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Incorporating
Water Efficiency to your Energy Savings (EPA)
July
12, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Technology
Drives Exploration - BEST Rover (NASA)
July
13, 2016, 12 -12:30 pm Portfolio
Manager—Ask the
Expert (EPA)
July
14, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Engineering Design
101
(NASA)
July
18, 2016, 6:30-7:30 pm Engineering Design Challenge (NASA)
July
19, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Portfolio
Manager 101
(EPA)
July
20, 2016, 12 -12:30 pm Portfolio
Manager—Ask the Expert (EPA)
July
20, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Portfolio
Manager 201
(EPA)
July
21, 2016, 1:00-2:00 pm Portfolio
Manager 301
(EPA)
July
21, 2016, 3:00-4:15 pm Sustainable
Careers in Food and Agriculture (NWF)
July
27, 2016, 12 -12:30 pm Portfolio
Manager—Ask the
Expert (EPA)
July
27, 2016, 6:00-7:00 pm Robotics on a Budget (NASA)
The Green Clean Schools Leadership
Institute is July 28-29th in Ellicott City, MD
This training will
bring together leading university and K-12 facility operators in an effort to
grow the green cleaning movement. It
will include hands-on leadership skill training and workshops; expert panels
and discussions on how to create a green cleaning program; an in-depth tour of
an award-winning program; and the opportunity to network with other leaders in
the field. Some scholarships are
available for school representatives. >>>>
Greenbuild 2016 is in Los Angeles, CA Oct. 5-7th
Greenbuild
is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. It
features three days of inspiring speakers, invaluable networking opportunities,
industry showcases, LEED workshops and tours of the host city's green
buildings. With the theme Iconic Green, the 2016 conference celebrates the
icons of the movement - those who are working in the trenches today and those
who are leading the way into the future.
>>>>
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The 2016 AASHE Conference
and Expo is Oct. 9-12 in Baltimore, MD
The AASHE Conference & Expo brings together some
2,000 campus administrators, sustainability staff, students, faculty,
businesses, media and others to explore more than 400 educational sessions,
workshops, tours and keynote addresses that advance sustainability in higher
education. This year's theme, Beyond the
Campus, explores the dissemination and implementation of sustainability
solutions in surrounding communities and the world. >>>>
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The North American
Association for Environmental Education Conference is Oct 19-22
For more
than four decades, NAAEE has convened one of the leading annual conferences for
environmental education professionals, from classroom teachers and teacher
educators to nature center staff to climate science researchers and everyone in
between. Averaging 1,000 participants each year, the event is designed to
promote innovation, networking, learning, and dissemination of best practices. This year’s conference, with the theme From
Inspiration to Impact, is in Madison, WI. >>>>
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EDSpaces is Nov. 2-4 in
Cincinnati, OH
EDspaces is the gathering place for architects,
facility planners, designers, administrators and dealers to learn about trends
and experience the latest products and services to enhance student learning. >>>>
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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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