This site offers information to all school districts and schools who are considering “greening” their facilities. Resources are provided to help involve your students, staff and community in helping implement earth friendly ideas, updates on what is happening around the country and links to the many agencies that are involved with implementing sustainable goals.
If you would like to contribute event information, have stories to share, articles of interest in the field of sustainability in school facilities, or any suggestions please forward to Cheryl Honigsberg.
Simple Steps to Green Your School
Cheryl's Top Picks for March:
Purchasing:
#40 - Implement an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing policy
#41 - Purchase office supplies and consumables that contain recycled content (paper, pens, etc.)
#42 - Purchase ENERGY STAR labeled electrical products for classrooms, offices, kitchens and outdoors
#43 - Replace gasoline powered equipment with electric powered
#44 - Use rechargeable batteries within the school
#45 - Purchase light bulbs, lamps and electronics with little or no amounts of mercury, lead and other hazardous substances
#46 - Use organic and locally grown food in the cafeteria where possible
#47 - Reuse furniture from within the school, other schools, or from other people and places
#48 - Start an OSCAR (Office Supply Collection and Reuse) program for staff and students where they can find unwanted but usable school/office supplies. See an example at http://www.ithaca.edu/remp/events/oscar
View All 94 Ways to Green Your School Here
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Bugs of the Month
This month’s topic is How to find pests in your school.
Previous Topics:
- Updated EPA guidance on PCBs in fluorescent light ballasts (FLBs) for school administrators and maintenance personnel is now available on the EPA website. The revised guidance provides additional detail on the suggested procedures for how to properly identify, handle and dispose of leaking and non-leaking PCB-containing FLBs. The guidance also provides: an update to the chart explaining how to identify and handle PCB-containing FLBs, new pictures of FLBs that show a side-by-side comparison of PCB-containing and non-PCB-containing FLBs, an example from HUD on representative sampling (surveying), links to the applicable PCB regulations, and information and links to external resources on the energy cost savings associated with retrofitting PCB-containing FLBPs, among other things.
Indoor Air Quality for Schools Newletter (EPA, October 2013)
Upcoming Webinars:
None are currently scheduled
Energy Star Webinars:
None are currently scheduled
Mentoring Opportunities:
Opportunities to Assist with The Green Ribbon Schools Award Application
Additional Resources:
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) - To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - The Colorado Coalition for School IPM helps maintain a safe and healthy environment for students and staff and reduces exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. Colorado State University, Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Department of Agriculture, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, school districts, and private pest control applicators all contribute to this program. We support the goal of the IPM Institute of North America -- to provide a road map for making high-level IPM a reality in all of our nation‘s school systems by 2015.
Why IPM?
- Cost savings: The Business Case for Integrated Pest Management in Schools: Cutting Costs and Increasing Benefits
- Health and safety: IPM in schools and homes go hand-in-hand with asthma management. Common triggers for asthma include mold, pet dander, and cockroach and pest allergens.
- Sustainability: Green building practices yield savings of about $70 per square foot in energy costs and improve student and staff performance. Incorporating IPM into schools is a natural fit contributing to lower costs and higher productivity.
- Did you know that you can ean LEED points just by adopting an IPM policy? Click here to learn more!
U.S. Department of Education – Green Ribbon Schools - The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) recognition award honors schools and districts that are exemplary in reducing environmental impact and costs; improving the health and wellness of students and staff; and providing effective environmental and sustainability education, which incorporates STEM, civic skills and green career pathways. The recognition award is part of a larger U.S. Department of Education (ED) effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about practices that are proven to result in improved student engagement, higher academic achievement and graduation rates, and workforce preparedness, as well as a government wide goal of increasing energy independence and economic security.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment.
EPA's purpose is to ensure that:
- all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work;
- national efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific information;
- federal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced fairly and effectively;
- environmental protection is an integral consideration in U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy;
- all parts of society -- communities, individuals, businesses, and state, local and tribal governments -- have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks;
- environmental protection contributes to making our communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable and economically productive; and
- the United States plays a leadership role in working with other nations to protect the global environment.
- Click here for the EPA's E-Newsletter: IAQ Tools for Schools
Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) - CAEE’s mission is to serve all sectors of the Colorado community by improving the collective effectiveness of environmental education.
Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation (CWHF) - To ensure a wildlife legacy for Colorado through support of environmental stewardship, conservation of wildlife and the protection of critical habitat.
