The
Green Strides Tour Celebrates Outdoor Learning in Georgia!
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon
Schools director Andrea Falken, accompanied by various state and local
officials, visited schools (including one postsecondary institution) in the Atlanta,
Georgia, area on Sept. 19 and 20, as part of the fourth annual U.S. Department
of Education Green Ribbon Schools’ Green Strides Tour. “Taking Learning Outside
was the theme of this year’s tour, inspired, in part, by the growing forest school
movement. Learn more about the movement
from 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Gilbert Elementary, and
read about the two days of this, the 19th state over three annual
iterations, of the tour from USGBC’s
Georgia staff in attendance. See photographs from the tour (day 1, day 2, and both days). We invite you to share tour photos and
impressions on Twitter (EDGreenRibbon) and Facebook (EDGreenRibbonSchools) using the hashtag
#GreenStridesTour. >>>>
As you leap into fall at school, take inspiration from the
2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for ideas. View the honorees and read about their work
on Green Strides. Also, read a blog about
the 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools ceremony.
 Long Branch Middle School students conduct a waste audit with their principal.
Long Branch Middle School opened its doors with
environmental impact at the forefront of its design, including geothermal
heating and solar panels, the latter of which generate a whopping 43 percent of
the school’s energy needs. Long Branch
has a score of 84 in Portfolio Manager, 21 points higher than four years ago,
and has a 49 percent recycling rate. The
Power School Team tracks energy usage with the help of a program by New Jersey
Natural Gas. The school’s sustainability
efforts have saved over $2,000,000 and earned bronze-level certification from
Sustainable Jersey for Schools. Long
Branch curriculum embeds environmental sustainability across all grade levels and
subject areas. Students take learning
out of the classroom in field trips to zoos, museums, the beach, and local
watersheds. They debate and write
position-based essays on environmental topics.
Weather events, such as Hurricane Sandy, are studied to understand their
effects on the school community. The
school partners with the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium at Sandy Hook to have
students study the environmental impact of sea grass on the dunes. Special education students grow and harvest
herbs and vegetables in their courtyard garden to cook and sell healthy meals
to staff members at the student-run Café 63, which produces an annual healthy
cookbook to sell each June. Students
compete once a year in an Iron Chef challenge in which students create their
own healthy food plates from a list of given ingredients. Over 95 percent of students walk or bike to
school. >>>>
 Rhode Island College has worked closely with the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association to develop its Bee Education Center, consisting of a three-hive apiary, a pollinator garden, an outdoor classroom, and a TV weather station.
Rhode Island College is dedicated to enhancing the
environment for those that learn and work on its campus. It is implementing
many new initiatives that decrease costs, improve human health, and enhance
sustainability learning. The school has
worked with energy services contractor Ameresco to implement fuel and
electrical efficiencies across the campus.
Each year, graduates don caps and gowns made from recycled plastic water
bottles, which are collected after graduation and again repurposed into
carpeting. The college decreased its use
of dumpsters by 55 tons from 2015 to 2016, in large part by working with
Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island.
Having installed 12 water bottle filling stations, the college
eliminated over 80,000 plastic water bottles from entering the trash
stream. The Keefe Transportation Center
offers transportation, via Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, to some 50
locations throughout the state. The
custodial crew uses nontoxic, Green Seal-certified Genesan cleaning agents in
all of the buildings on campus. All
freshmen take a first year seminar class that delves into a sustainability
theme. In addition, the college launched
a bachelor’s degree program in Environmental Studies in fall 2015. >>>>
 Thacher’s Golden Trout Wilderness School, a remote campus in the southern Sierra Nevada, is a valuable tool in introducing the concept of sustainable systems and encouraging students to consider environmentally oriented careers.
The Thacher School is a coeducational boarding high
school. The campus is a National
Wildlife Federation site that includes 25 acres of citrus and avocados that
support the school nutrition program, rain gardens, and Hugelkultur
landscaping. Thacher has adopted the
Whole-School Sustainability Framework (developed by the Institute for the Built
Environment at Colorado State University and published by The Center for Green
Schools at the USGBC) and aligned it with a sustainability action plan. This
allows the school to tackle sustainability from all angles. In June 2016, a new
solar farm went live, providing 92 percent of the school’s electricity
needs. All projects in the last 10 years
were constructed to LEED Silver building standards. Water conservation projects have sprung up all
around campus, including rainwater catchment systems, greywater systems in all
of the dormitories, and xeriscaping projects on school grounds. Thacher’s composting program, which includes
horse manure, dining hall food waste, and green waste, processes over 1,600
tons annually. The product is used for
soil augmentation and improves storm water control. Thacher also raises pigs, which are fed from
dining hall scraps. The school has a bee
program that allows the school to process and distribute honey. Pollinator gardens have been constructed and
maintained around campus. Thacher
started a chicken program, which provides eggs for the dining hall. The chickens also help the horse program by
eating fly larvae and consuming green waste and food scraps. The school offers rock climbing as a sport,
and students have the opportunity to travel to Joshua Tree National Park and
the Sierra Nevada to camp and climb on weekend trips. Each incoming freshman student at Thacher is
required to take a campus sustainability orientation as part of their official
freshman orientation. Thacher has an
extensive equine program in which freshmen are required to ride and care for a
horse the entire school year, and many upperclassmen then continue to
ride. Instructors discuss the local
ecosystem and mountains, and offer two six-day pack trips per year, plus
numerous weekend pack trips. >>>>
The U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero Student Design
Competition inspires college students to become the next generation of building
science professionals. Through this competition to design zero-energy-ready
buildings, future architects, engineers, construction managers, and
entrepreneurs gain the skills and experience to start careers in clean energy
and generate creative solutions to real-world problems. Design teams should submit applications by
Nov. 7, 2017, for the April 20 to 22, 2018, challenge. >>>>
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The Green Strides Webinar Series promotes sessions that
provide free tools to reduce schools' environmental impact and costs; improve
health and wellness; and teach effective environmental education. Consult
the webinar
calendar, and submit suggestions of free webinars related to school,
district, and postsecondary sustainability to ed.green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov
for listing. (Note: All times listed are EDT.)
Oct. 16, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Dance of the Planets: Motion Laws and the Solar System (NASA)
Oct. 17, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 201 (EPA)
Oct. 17, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Testing Terror – Technology for
Exploration – Speed of Sound
(NASA)
Oct. 18, 5–6 p.m. Testing Terror – Technology for
Inspiration: Engineering a Satellite (NASA)
Oct. 18, 6–7 p.m. National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar
Series: NOAA Marine Debris Toolkit for
Educators (NOAA)
Oct. 24, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio Manager 301 (EPA)
Oct. 25, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
Green Teacher Webinar Series: Eco-System Monitoring Programs (Green Teacher)
Oct. 30, 5–6 p.m. Simple Machine Shoebox Rovers (NASA)
Oct. 30, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
Green Teacher Webinar Series: Telling
Your Story With Story Maps
(Green Teacher)
Nov. 2, 6–7 p.m. Earth Sense – Remote Sensing at
NASA: For Your Eyes Only (NASA)
Nov. 8, 1–2 p.m. WaterWednesday Showcase (EPA)
Nov. 9, 1–2:30 p.m.
Food Organics Waste Prevention &
Recovery (CURC)
Nov. 13, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Earth Sense – Remote Sensing at
NASA: My NASA Data (NASA)
Nov. 14, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Space Mathematics: Linking Math and Science (NASA)
Nov. 15, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
Green Teacher Webinar
Series—Depaving: A New Way to Change
Cities from Grey to Green
(Green Teacher)
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National
Farm to School Month was designated by Congress to symbolize the growing
importance of farm to school programs as a means to improve child nutrition,
support local economies, and educate children about the origins of
food. The National Farm to School Network has developed resources
and activities to promote Farm to School Month in schools, communities, and
media outlets. >>>>
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Campus
Sustainability Month is a celebration of sustainability in higher
education. During October, colleges and universities organize events
on campus and elsewhere to engage and inspire incoming students and other
campus stakeholders to become sustainability change agents. Events
include teach ins, sustainability pledge-drives, zero energy concerts, waste
audits, green sporting events, letter writing campaigns, and service projects. >>>>
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The annual Green Schools Conference and Expo, the only national
conference bringing together experts and stakeholders to influence
sustainability in K–12 schools and districts, allows attendees to learn about
creative strategies for success and take home real-life tools that can
transform schools. Early registration begins Oct. 30, 2017! >>>>
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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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