2013 Green Ribbon Awards

The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition program that opened in September 2011. This program honors schools that are exemplary in reducing environmental impact and costs, promoting health, and providing effective environmental and sustainability education to give students the skills and concepts needed in the growing global economy.

This year there are 78 honored schools across the nation, each demonstrating impressive success in attaining these goals. We’d like to congratulate all of these schools and recognize a few that stood out to us! 

One of these is the Journey School in Aliso Viejo, California. This school has an exciting curriculum packed with environmental and sustainability education and practices. The students spend a lot of time outside doing projects in their gardens, and not only do the students learn about gardening, but they then eat what they have grown! They even compost, giving the students an understanding of the soil as well as the plants themselves. These kids get their hands dirty and have fun, while receiving a practical science and math education.

The school has five gardens—Wow! One, they call the Native Garden where a rainwater harvesting site is located (as seen below). The rainwater site was actually created by a student as her 8th grade project! She then educated the students and entire community all about rainwater harvesting. The process is not only neat, but educational. The students use mathematics to calculate how much rain can be captured annually on the school building’s rooftops. Then that water is re-routed from the roof into a mulch pit which sustains native plants. Such an innovative and conservative way to garden!

The Journey School continues to be committed to teaching and implementing innovative environmental education and sustainable practices campus wide. They are an extraordinary example for other schools, showing an inspiring passion and flair for greener living. 

Other schools exhibiting similar initiatives are the 17 schools of the Talladega County School District in Alabama providing their students with an education privileged with sustainable techniques and instruction. These schools have worked hard to ensure that their institutions are doing their part in providing an example of what it means to be a sustainable school in the United States, and they have definitely done just that!

The schools have put $6 million worth of grants to use in developing new resources for environmental education such as greenhouses, gardens, and outdoor learning facilities, as well as designing a hands-on education program for their students! The kids are taught about the environment based on their grade and age starting with the basics of recycling and progressing to the science behind air and water quality. They are taught to be green from the very beginning of their education! These schools have also excelled in the enhancement of the health and nutrition of their students and staff. They promote the physical education of their students and provide locally grown healthy food options for students and faculty alike. Much of this food is grown on the campus by the students themselves!

The Talladega School District’s maintenance of the schools in the area, (such as monitoring the thermostats and shutting off the lights for the weekends) have saved the Talladega County School District $2.5 million since the beginning of their push for sustainability! These simple changes have really paid off!

Hats off to these schools for their hands-on sustainability education!

Reconciliation Ecology Project at Manzo Elementary School

Written by GEF guest blogger Linda Cato
Linda Cato is a K-12 educator and curriculum designer, green school advocate, and USGBC volunteer

Barrio Hollywood on Tucson’s west side is a neighborhood like so many in the desert-urban areas of the Southwest. With the distinct feel of a place where cultures meet and landscape is demanding, this family-oriented yet underserved community is home to predominantly Hispanic and Native American families, many of whom have lived there for generations. Wide streets are bordered by low, masonry houses and tall cacti; yards are mostly earth with a few determined plants struggling their way through the harsh extremes of the Sonoran Desert.

In this quiet and mostly overlooked community, something magical and powerful is happening. The neighborhood school, Manzo Elementary, is transforming learning, lives, and community through stellar and grass-roots green education initiatives that have now garnered national attention. This past January, Manzo was awarded the Best of Green Schools 2012 by the Center for Green Schools, USGBC. This prestigious honor recognizes top educational institutions and individuals across the country for embracing environmental initiatives.

Manzo is the only public K-12 school to be honored in this way – and it is well deserved. Manzo Elementary embodies the gold standard of best practices in green education: promoting sustainable communities, stewardship, healthy choices, innovation in learning and educational facilities, while re-envisioning education, and building the foundation for a future that is green for all.

The story of Manzo is as inspiring as the beauty of the program as it stands today. The Reconciliation Ecology Project at Manzo Elementary, as the program is known, is the brain-child of Manzo counselor Moses Thompson. Moses, with the support of principal Mark Alvarez, began with the hands-on transformation of a trash-filled and trouble-prone empty lot across the street from school,. Together with students and families, that lot was transformed into a desert biome, where indigenous plants are grown and water is harvested according to permaculture principles. Moses uses the beautiful and nurturing surroundings of this now-lush desert landscape for his student counseling sessions. This desert biome project was just the beginning. Manzo is now home to a desert tortoise habitat, an extensive solar-powered aquaponics system, organic gardens, chicken coops, composting centers, a green- house, water collection systems….and the list goes on. All of the green initiatives are integrated into and across the curriculum, and many community partnerships have been formed along the way. Manzo also hosts a weekly farmer’s market that is organized by the students, where produce from the gardens and eggs are sold, promoting green entrepreneurship and student leadership.

While the struggles of schools in under-served neighborhoods are well known to all, in Manzo we see the light of hope and transformation through the re-connection of young children to nature, to their food sources, and in the development of empathy to all living things, all as a result of this truly green program. Families once dis-enfranchised from participation in this neighborhood school are now active participants, sharing skills, culture, and tradition, through the green programs. School yards that were once dust are now full of growth and life, and students are learning in healing and nurturing surroundings. Nutritional needs are addressed as families and neighbors are eating fresh food from the school gardens and fish from the aquaponics system.

The term “Reconciliation Ecology” is defined as “the science of accommodating wild species within occupied spaces”. I think this is a fitting name for the Manzo project, and I wo uld like to extend the notion a bit further. I would offer the work being done at Manzo the name of “Reconciliation Learning”, the place in education where our humanity, our care for the planet, for all living things, for each other, is accommodated into curriculum and moved out into our communities, becoming the new norm and best practice in classroom learning everywhere. Programs like Manzo are the proof that green education matters tremendously, and that small steps lead to great changes.

After note: Citing budget shortfalls, low test-scores, and under-enrollment, Manzo Elementary, along with 16 other schools in the Tucson Unified School District, had been slated for closure by the district this past Fall. A tremendous outpouring of community support from all who recognize the vision and inspiration that is Manzo worked to convince the TUSD school board to allow Manzo to remain open. Sadly, most of the other schools will be closing. In this context, it is even more important to remember that green schools save resources and money, allowing those funds back into classrooms while cutting back on district expenditures, and that integrated curriculum and higher levels of student engagement, which we see as a result of green learning, all work together to improve student outcomes. Green schools matter in so many ways.

Fix a Leak Week 2013

How to Save with Water Conservation

Is water conservation a priority in your home? If not, it should be! According to WaterSense, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Partnership Program, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes annually. Each year during “Fix a Leak Week,” March 18 – 24, Americans are encouraged to focus on water conservation by checking their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems. These simple measures can save a family an average of 11,000 gallons of water per year, which is roughly the equivalent of 270 loads of laundry.

Water conservation not only saves you money, but it also saves energy, the environment and wildlife. Still think water conservation is trivial? The EPA explains that “letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 22 hours.” Using water more efficiently can be as easy as adjusting your sprinklers so that only your lawn is watered – not the house, driveway or road. Turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth or soaping-up dishes will also make a significant difference in your utility bill.

Green Education Foundation, American Standard and our partners at WaterSense have teamed up to get the word out about the importance of fixing simple leaks! Testing for leaks only takes a few minutes but can make an enormous difference in preserving water, a delicate and valuable natural resource. Plus, leaks are very simple to fix, requiring little equipment, time, or money.

We’ve created a helpful webpage with stats, facts, k-12 educational materials, tips to check for leaks, and smart ways to upgrade your bathroom while making it more water and energy efficient. Check it out this week and get your classroom or community involved!

Here are 3 more ways to make water conservation a priority:

• Switch to high-efficiency products. WaterSense labled products meet the EPA’s specifications for water efficiency and performance.
• Only run your dishwasher and clothes washer when they are full. 
• Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.

Let these suggestions inspire your own water conservation ideas, and celebrate “Fix a Leak Week” by testing your WaterSense with the EPA’s interactive online quiz!

To find more lessons and audits about water and other sustainability topics, be sure to visit GEF’s Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse. It’s free!

Celebrate the Green Schools National Conference with a 20% Discount this Weekend!

The Green Schools National Conference kicks off today in Florida! To celebrate, you can take 20% off your entire purchase of online courses, certificate programs and classroom curriculum while the conference is happening.

Use couponcode GSNC13 to get the deal!

You have until Sunday night to enroll so check out your options now at www.gefinstitute.org.

This deal applies to the Institute’s online, self-paced courses, the Certificates in Sustainability and Classroom Based Curriculum.

 

An Experiment in Zero-Waste

Residence on Earth blogger, Clara Changxin Fang, details her journey toward a waste-free (or minimal waste) life by recycling, composting and cutting back on certain luxuries.

From the entry: “The average American generates 4.3 pounds of household waste per day and diverts 34% of it through composting and recycling. With a little effort, I generated only 0.85 pounds of waste per day and diverted 80% of it from the landfill.”

We can all make a significant impact on our environment with relatively minimal effort. The Waste Reduction Challenge offers educational lessons and activities for students of all grade levels to learn about waste and the importance of recycling and reducing consumption. Make the Waste Reduction Challenge your Green Week theme!

Read all of the ‘Experiment in Zero-Waste’ blog here: http://residenceonearth.net/2013/02/06/an-experiment-in-zero-waste/ 

How to Participate in the Waste Reduction Challenge for Green Week!

National Green Week is moving full steam ahead and there’s still plenty of time to get involved! You can make any week your Green Week until the end of April! A waste reduction and recycling theme makes for fun and measurable projects that will excite any student.

Keep reading to find out more about getting involved in the Waste Reduction Challenge!