U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Kirsten Rumsey Clean Air-Cool Planet 2013 Climate Fellow 1

 How the Recognition Award works  Interesting findings from the report  Obstacles  Incentives  Awareness  Improvements 2

Pillar One: Reduced Environmental Impact and CostsPillar Two: Improved Health and Wellness Pillar Three: Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education Source: 3

Reduction in Greenhouse Gases Energy Star Ratings Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction in Water Consumption Alternative Irrigation Techniques Water Recycling Rate Methods to recycle Hazardous Waste Waste Percentage of students that use Alternate Transportation Transportation 4

Practices to control pests Practices to control moisture Practices to improve indoor air quality Environmental Health Program Practices that school employs to improve nutrition, physical activity, and overall health What percentage (by cost) of food purchases is certified as “environmentally preferable” Nutrition, Fitness, and Outdoors 5

What practices does your school employ to ensure the environmental literacy of your graduates? Teaching Relationships between Environmental, Energy, and Human Systems Is sustainability used as a context for learning science? What connections are made between classroom and college and career readiness? Sustainability Embedded in STEM Courses Meaningful outdoor experience Partnerships with the local community Civic Engagement Knowledge and Skills 6

 "Inspire schools doing little to do more.  Engage the Department of Education in green school business.  Engage the various state federal and local entities… to work together.”  (Jim Elder, Campaign for Environmental Literacy) 7

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REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 16

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Average Reduction: 22% per year Non-Transportation Energy Use: Average Reduction: 18% a year 17

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Describe your school’s strategies to encourage alternate transportation (walking, biking, or bussing)? How does your school put measures into place to reduce its transportation impact? 19

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IMPROVED HEALTH AND WELLNESS 22

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Effective Environmental Education 25

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 Application is difficult and time consuming  Lack of awareness  No financial award  Achieving the pillars costs too much money  Misconception that schools need a lot of money to “go green”  Lack of communication between state and local contacts  Long-term trends may point to other obstacles 31

Percent Decrease or Increase in Number of Applications sent to the State Level

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 What are ways to make more schools aware of ED-GRS?  How can resources be made more available and easy to use for schools interested in applying? 35

 Get NGO’s to advertise  Webinars  Establish key liaisons throughout schools and school districts  Use media, conferences, and workshops to discuss Green School Honorees’ Practices  Involve the PTA 36

 No financial award  Achieving the pillars costs too much money  Misconception that schools need a lot of money to “go green”  Lack of communication between state and local contacts  Long-term trends may point to other obstacles  Application is difficult and time consuming  Lack of awareness 37

 Honorees’ school district revenue is $13,425 per student  National average expenditures per student is $10,615 38

By switching from paper to electronic newsletters, one Green Ribbon Honoree reduced their paper usage by 44% Save Money Going Green These Improvements have been done in Green Ribbon Schools! Use Less Paper o Re-use previously printed on paper o Limit student printing o Print double-sided o Print on half-sheets o Use online coursework, grades, and attendance o Send out electronic newsletters LOW COST, NO COST, EASY IMPROVEMENTS FOR SCHOOLS Image Sources: Wikipedia Commons, flckr photo sharing Resulted in 33% energy usage reduction in this school (automation) Installing new LED bulbs saved one school 28% on energy usage. Reduce School Energy Usage o Tape down one light switch in each classroom o Turn off hallway lights during the day o Turn off all lights when leaving the room o Do a lighting retrofit in your school o Put unused LCD projectors in sleep mode o Turn off all computers at the end of the day o Have an automation system controlling the timing of heating, air conditioning, and lighting 39

Image Sources: Wikipedia Commons, flckr photo sharing Saved one school $30,000 on waste annually 30% of all 2013 Green Ribbon Honorees saved money on fuel just by planning efficient bus routing Reduce Waste o Establish School-wide collections of hazardous waste (cell-phones, batteries, light bulbs and print cartridges) o During locker clean-out, students separate their school supplies into re-useable supplies and waste o Students put uneaten food on a “Share Table” for other students to take o Put more recycling bins in the school Improve nutrition and education o Use smaller trays to encourage smaller portions o Serve frozen Yogurt instead of ice cream o Students conduct water audits, check for leakage, and install more water-efficient aerators o Use the school’s energy savings in lesson plans o Send home a “Going Green Newsletter” with updates on the school’s environmental progress 40

 Application is difficult and time consuming  Lack of awareness  No financial award  Achieving the pillars costs too much money  Misconception that schools need a lot of money to “go green”  Lack of communication between state and local contacts  Long-term trends may point to other obstacles 41

 Student health  Academic performance  Money savings  Similar programs with monetary awards  The Honor of receiving a Green Ribbon 42

 Electronic Applications  Standard application or standard questions  Central website where schools can share information  An Application with all Honorees’ average results  Make resources readily available to the applicants  Make grants and funding easily accessible  Increase communication between schools, school districts, and states 43

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