 At Glendale Elementary School in Savage, Minnesota, students use snowshoes to learn about animal tracks.
ASHRAE, in collaboration with the
American Institute of Architects, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North
America, and the U.S. Green Building Council, with funding support from the
U.S. Department of Energy and analysis conducted by the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, recently released Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School
Buildings: Achieving Zero Energy. This
guide supports elementary, middle, and high schools in their pursuit of zero
energy performance goals for deep retrofits and new construction projects. The guide
is intended for school stakeholders pursuing zero energy goals, including
educators, school administrators, architects, design engineers, energy
modelers, contractors, facility managers, and building operations
professionals. >>>>
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This fall, the U.S. Department of Education invited state
education authorities to nominate schools, districts, and postsecondary
institutions for U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS)
2018. As stated in the award criteria,
in addition to a total of five school or district nominees, each state may
nominate one postsecondary institution for leadership in all three pillars,
for a total of no more than six nominees. State selection committees
may include state education agencies, state higher education agencies,
governors’ offices, and outside partners. Interested schools, districts,
colleges, and universities should contact their state
education authorities for information on how to be considered for
nomination. State education authorities can contact ED-GRS for more
information. Nominations from states will be accepted on a rolling basis
until March 31, 2018. >>>>
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As you prepare for spring at school, take inspiration from
the 2017 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for your own
ideas. View the honorees and read about
their work on Green Strides.
 The Lakeridge Elementary School garden club helps to educate students about nutrition and sustainability, and its produce is used in the school cafeteria. All grades have the opportunity to work and plant in the school garden.
Lakeridge Elementary School, Mercer Island, Washington
Lakeridge Elementary School, serving nearly 500 students,
has progressed in the King County Green Schools from level one to level four since
2009, through waste reduction, energy and water conservation, and transportation
and environmental education. Lakeridge
Elementary, along with the entire school district, participates in an energy
benchmarking program, run by Smart Buildings in Seattle. All indoor and outdoor lightbulbs have been replaced
with LED lights, and students learn the importance of monitoring energy use and
turning off computers, appliances, and other equipment when not in use. In addition, many classrooms have light
timers and sensors. Student educational
campaigns promote water conservation, and new low-flow faucets in bathrooms and
classrooms have reduced water usage by approximately 20 percent. The school received ENERGY STAR certification
in 2014. In fall 2016, Lakeridge ran a
food waste-reduction campaign during which students created posters about the
effects of food waste and displayed them throughout the school. Students also
helped weigh food compost after each lunch for several weeks. As a result, Lakeridge reduced food waste by
15 percent. In addition, the school’s
garden club helps to educate students about nutrition and sustainability, and
its produce is used in the school cafeteria.
All grades have the opportunity to work and plant in the school
garden. The school’s PTA has appointed a
green team to its board of directors, and parent volunteers run a walkers club
daily after lunch. Every September,
Lakeridge hosts re-education on being a green school. Environmental and sustainability topics are
integrated into Lakeridge's science lessons.
Students attend the three-day NatureBridge environmental science program
in Olympic National Park, participate in field experiences at local beaches and
the waterfront aquarium, and visit a salmon hatchery. Second-graders raise caterpillars to
butterflies, and kindergarteners raise chicken and duck eggs until they hatch. >>>>
 Bemidji State University students record observations and reflections in the Bemidji State University Forest.
Bemidji
State University, Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji State University (BSU) emphasized
its commitment to the environment by hiring a campus sustainability director in
2008 to help support and promote the goals of the American College and
University President’s Climate Commitment.
The director also oversees the funds generated from its student green
fee. Waste management efforts at BSU have led to a 30 percent reduction in
waste production and a doubling of campus recycling since 2006. The school’s “Donate,
Don’t Dumpster” campaign encourages students to donate gently used items that
otherwise would have gone in the dumpster at the end of the spring semester to
BSU’s FreeStore. The FreeStore has been open to all students and operated by
the school’s Sustainability Office since 2010.
Water conservation devices, such as low-flow showerheads and faucets,
were installed in BSU’s high-use campus buildings in 2010. Since their installation, more than
15,000,000 gallons of water have been saved.
In 2015, the BSU Student Senate unanimously passed a bill calling for the
elimination of the sale of bottled water on campus and the promotion of
refillable water bottles. To date, refilling
stations have saved more than 50,000 gallons of bottled water at BSU, reducing
the high energy-consuming packaging, transportation, and water demands of the
bottled water industry. Air purifying
plants improve BSU’s indoor environmental health, and for the past several
years, the Sustainability Office has given away more than 100 house plants for
use in offices across campus. BSU’s
Outdoor Program Center is dedicated to providing the community with outdoor
experiential learning opportunities. These experiences encourage the enjoyment
of nature, exploration of personal potential, and development of respect and
understanding of the Earth’s systems and the responsibilities they entail. The Sustainability Office runs an organic
community garden, a bike-share program, and classes that teach traditional
skills. Programs housed in the school’s Center for Environmental, Economic,
Earth, and Space Studies offer interdisciplinary flexibility. This allows students
to learn ecosystems studies, and gain skills in environmental policy and
planning, toxicology, and management, as well as geohydrology. A required liberal education course, People
and the Environment, and an active sustainability-focused student organization,
Students for the Environment, also encourage an environmentally literate
citizenry. BSU education majors oversee the
EcoCamp for elementary school-aged students. >>>>
 Seventh- and eighth-grade students from John Poole Middle School paint storm drains on campus to educate the community about stormwater runoff issues in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
John Poole Middle School is located on 93,000 acres of
preserved farmland and rural space, in a Washington, D.C., suburb, with a
population of more than 1,000,000. The
school has fostered environmental awareness since its doors opened in 1997
through yearly environmental stewardship projects in which students take an
active role in problem solving and suggesting solutions for schoolyard issues. For example, students from different grade
levels and classes worked together on the research, design, site selection, and
final construction of an outdoor classroom.
In addition, an environmental science elective is offered to all seventh-
and eighth-graders, resulting in 60 percent of the student body becoming immersed
in meaningful outdoor learning experiences.
In the environmental science class, students design projects that
positively affect the ecosystem and collaborate with the local high school’s global
ecology program. These projects include building hydroponics systems and native
gardens, and composting in the cafeteria.
Students also study the effects of bioaccumulation in the food chain,
and use the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch program to make healthy seafood choices. To supplement classes, John Poole offers an
annual green school trip that engages students in environmental learning in a
part of the watershed that is less familiar to them. Students who take part in these trips become
green school leaders. The school purchases
one-third wind energy, has a Portfolio Manager score of 83, and has reduced its
energy use by 18 percent. It has a
well-publicized no-idling policy, a safe-routes-to-school infrastructure, and
uses green cleaning and an Integrated Pest Management plan. >>>>
The President’s
Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental
projects by K–12 youths. PEYA promotes the awareness of our nation's natural
resources and encourages positive community involvement. The Presidential
Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) recognizes
outstanding K–12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education.
PIAEE’s winners will be awarded up to $2,500 to further their professional
development in environmental education. The teacher's local education agency
will also receive up to $2,500 to fund environmental education activities. >>>>
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EPA expects to award three to four grants in each of
EPA's ten Regions, for no less than $50,000 and no more than $100,000 each, for
a total of 30-35 grants nationwide. Among other topics, the 2018 EE Local Grant
Program includes support for projects that reflect the intersection of
environmental issues with agricultural best-practices, conservation of natural
resources, food waste management, and natural disaster preparedness. >>>>
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) has announced funding for its Environmental Literacy Grants. These
grants support the education of K–12 students and the public in order to help
communities become more resilient to extreme weather events and/or other
environmental hazards. >>>>
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The Green Strides Webinar Series promotes sessions that
provide free tools to reduce schools' environmental impacts and costs; improve
health and wellness; and teach effective environmental education. Consult
the webinar calendar, and submit your 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 ET.)
Feb. 20, 1–2 p.m. Portfolio
Manager 301
(EPA)
Feb. 20, 2–3:15 p.m. Volunteer
Engagement in Safe Routes to School (Safe Routes to School National
Partnership)
Feb. 20, 2–3:15 p.m. Energy Rules –
Closing the Circle between Design & Operations (EPA)
Feb. 21, Two Days. EcoCareers
Conference (NWF)
Feb. 21, 1–2 p.m. How to Track
Waste & Materials in Portfolio Manager (EPA)
Feb. 21, 2–3 p.m. National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Virtual
Dives into America’s Underwater Treasures (NOAA)
Feb. 21, 5–6 p.m. ISS YES – Water
Is Necessary for Life
(NASA)
Feb. 22, 1–2:30 p.m. Linking
IAQ, Energy Efficiency and Preventive Maintenance for Healthy Schools (EPA)
Feb. 22, 6–7 p.m. ISS YES – Teaching on the ISS (NASA)
Feb. 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m. NASA Aeronautics
– Speed of Sound
(NASA)
Feb. 27, 2–3: p.m. ISS YES: Space Food & Nutrition (NASA)
Feb. 27, 6:30–7:30 p.m. ISS YES: Space Food & Nutrition (NASA)
Feb. 28, 12–12:30 p.m. Portfolio Manager – Ask the Expert (EPA)
Feb. 28, 3–4:20 p.m. Energy
Engineering for Non-Engineers: Sweetened
and Condensed
(AASHE)
Feb. 28, 6–7 p.m. ISS YES – Mass vs. Weight (NASA)
Feb. 28, 7:30–8:30 p.m. Building
Kids’ Citizenship Through Community Engagement (Green Teacher)
Mar. 1, 2–3 p.m. Engaging
Farmers in Farm to School (NFSN)
Mar. 1, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Technology Drives Exploration: Engineering Rovers (NASA)
Mar. 5, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Technology Drives Exploration: Strange New Planet (NASA)
Mar. 5, 7:30–8:30 p.m. Building Complete Communities (Green Teacher)
Mar. 6, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Technology
Drives Exploration: Spinoffs (NASA)
Mar. 7, 3–4 p.m. Facilitating a
World Climate Negotiation Simulation (AASHE)
Mar. 13, 6–7 p.m. National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series:
Understanding Ocean Acidification (NOAA)
Mar. 13, 6–7 p.m. National Marine
Sanctuaries Webinar Series:
Understanding El Niño (NOAA)
Mar. 13, 7:30–8:30 p.m. Risky Play and Child Development (Green Teacher)
Mar. 14, 3–4 p.m. Lab Building
Benchmarking: Boston and Beyond (AASHE)
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National Healthy
Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools Network in partnership with many
agencies and organizations. It promotes the use of EPA's IAQ
Tools for Schools Action Kit, as well as
other EPA environmental health guidelines and programs for schools and
children’s health. Since 2002, parents,
teachers, school nurses, custodians, advocates, and agencies have promoted
National Healthy Schools Day activities nationwide. Whether you are
at the beginning stages of investigating school environments or have an
established indoor air/environmental quality program, you are invited to host a
local activity that educates others and celebrates your school’s successes. >>>>
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Global Youth Service
Day celebrates and mobilizes the millions of young people who improve their
communities every day through service. Established in 1988 by Youth
Service America, Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world
and the only day of service dedicated to children and youths. Find
resources to plan and promote a project. >>>>
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The
9th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference will be held April 25–27 in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Hosted by the National Farm to School Network, this biennial
event convenes institutional cafeteria stakeholders who are working to source
local food and promote a culture of food and agricultural literacy across the
country. Registration is open until April 9.
>>>>
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The 2018 conference will focus on ways to inspire students
to create and innovate by focusing on the future, encouraging each to approach
our global challenges as stewards of the earth, its resources, and its people.
Experienced educators will address how green schools impact students and how
sustainability efforts at school play an important part in equity and inclusion.
Workshops and education sessions by passionate professionals will cover the latest
trends and case studies in energy efficiency, facilities management, public
health and sustainability education.
Early bird registration rates end March 2. >>>>
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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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