Celebrating and recognizing environmental excellence in Florida s schools. Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

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1 Celebrating and recognizing environmental excellence in Florida s schools Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

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4 About the Awards The Governor s Serve to Preserve: Green Schools Awards program, in coordination with the business and environmental community, recognizes the efforts of students, teachers, classrooms, schools and school district administrators who are creating healthy, efficient and productive learning environments that enhance education and model cost-saving practices and design. This partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Education, Florida s Foundation, Collins Center for Public Policy s Sustainable Florida Program and the Florida Association of School Administrators recognizes outstanding efforts that demonstrate success in programs, which enhance the quality of education while preserving the environment. Eligible projects are categorized in the following five themes: 1) Green learning environments - including indoor and outdoor facilities, 2) Exemplary green curriculum or teacher professional development programs, 3) Green service learning projects, 4) Recycling, and 5) Green policies or partnerships. Each of the initiatives and programs implemented by the applicants makes a significant impact in preserving Florida s natural resources. The total cumulative impact of the projects implemented from this year s applicants saved more than 56 million kilowatt hours of electricity enough to power 5,000 homes for an entire year and a total monetary savings for all green school initiatives in excess of $1.1 million.

5 It is vital that we teach our students to incorporate environmentally-sound decisions and practices into their daily lives. Governor Charlie Crist Agenda Welcome: Tim Center, Vice President of Sustainability Initiatives, Collins Center for Public Policy Amy Gray, Florida Lottery Lisa Gaskalla, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. Dinner Awards Overview: A Special Message from Governor Charlie Crist Jack Long, Director, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast District Mary Jane Tappen, Deputy Chancellor for K-12, Florida Department of Education Recognition of Judges Recognition of Finalists & Announcement of Award Winners: Student Award Class Award Teacher Award School Award School District Award Closing Remarks: Tim Center Event Concludes

6 STUDENT FINALISTS Nicholas Valdes is the President of the Environmentalist Club at Miami Springs Middle School. Nicholas, along with teachers, local stores and other students contributed toward greening their school by conserving water, growing organic vegetables and recycling more than 24,000 tons of paper. Madeline (Maddi) Cowen is the Co-Vice President of the Gables Earth Environmental Club at Coral Gables Senior High School. She and other club members initiated a program with Dade Recycling to collect and recycle hundreds of used ink cartridges and cell phones since November Erich Christian initiated a biodiesel project at the Oak Hall School in Gainesville. Students collected and recycled 600 gallons of used vegetable oil (UVO) from the community and established a free-standing biodiesel facility. Erich worked to amend Florida Statute 206 as a member of the Alachua County Energy Conservation Strategies Committee and lobbied for SB 1730 and HB 1065, which allowed the project to be duplicated at other Florida schools by exempting schools that produce up to 1,000 gallons from reporting and tax burdens. CLASS FINALISTS Deborah Pate is a teacher at A. K. Suter Elementary in Pensacola who began the Spread the Word energy conservation program which includes the National Energy Education Development (NEED) curriculum and her class sponsored their school s Turn off Half the Lights Day. Ms. Pate s class also initiated a sustainable recycling effort within the school, solicited donations from local businesses within the community and conducted a recycling contest that brought in 13,000 plastic bags and 700 phone books for National Recycling Day. Judy Der is a 5th grade teacher at J.S. Robinson Elementary in Plant City. Ms. Der s class began an environmental tutoring program with the Florida Autism Center of Excellence (FACE). Students, along with their FACE partners, planted 80 Florida native trees and a Florida native plant butterfly garden at FACE. Students were presented with the Staples Tampa Bay Environmental Award for their leadership at the Earth Force Summit in Tampa on Earth Day. Peter Jordan is a teacher at Ocoee High School who along with his students began the Ocoee Green Project to encourage student leadership and establish environmental stewardship in the community. Their project focused on composting, organic vegetable farming, recycling, water catchment, hydroponics and vermiculture. Students act as coordinators in encouraging environmental awareness to others. TEACHER FINALISTS Susan Carney, a returning finalist, is a Kindergarten teacher at Ozona Elementary in Pinellas County. Ms. Carney led a four-part project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, saving the school district $17.6K by cost avoidance. The students participated in building an Osprey habitat, assembling a hydroponic garden, creating a butterfly habitat and establishing an indoor aquatic ecosystem. Linda Gordon is a teacher at Imagine Charter Schools at Weston in Broward County. The Environmental Club Gardens project initiated by Ms. Gordon enables students to receive hands-on experience in sustainable gardening by enriching classroom discussions on plants and life cycles. Funds for the project came from recycling ink cartridges through Cartridges for Kids.

7 Each of the finalists is creating an atmosphere for green learning where environmental stewardship is recognized and celebrated. DEP Secretary Mimi Drew Pamela Krauss is a high school teacher at South Plantation High School in Broward County. Ms. Krauss Green Waterwise project involves water conservation initiatives through harvesting and distribution of rainwater from rain barrels. Multidisciplinary curriculum was incorporated into lessons: the art class painted the barrels, physics was used in the pump design/operation and math was used to calculate water savings. Rain water collected in barrels saves up to 52 gallons per day and helps irrigate the two gardens on campus. SCHOOL FINALISTS Pine Jog Elementary in West Palm Beach continues to implement multiple green initiatives. The school uses technology to monitor energy and water usage while incorporating concepts into the curriculum. All students participate in gardening, planting and restoration activities to increase their awareness of and dedication for a greener school. Pine Jog participated in the International Green Cup Challenge and won first place in the FAU Green Schools Recognition Program. The school also hosted the first green schools conference that drew 300 participants from Palm Beach and surrounding counties. Palm Harbor Middle School received platinum recognition within the Pinellas Green and Healthy Schools Program. The school worked to decrease its operating costs while increasing recycling. In addition to energy savings, 64,174 pounds of paper have been recycled within a 12 month period. The program has been implemented at no cost to the school through $9,490 in grant funding. Learning Gate Community School in Lutz used the Hillsborough Platinum Classrooms Program as a teaching tool for K-8 students. Content related to their school s environmentally friendly design is incorporated into lesson plans. Students used cisterns to collect and filter rainwater which was then used to flush toilets and irrigate native plants. Students also monitored the air quality and CO2 emissions. Learning Gate is the first public school in the nation awarded a Platinum designation for the U.S. Green Building Council s LEED for Schools program. DISTRICT FINALISTS Broward County s Live Green Learn Green has a plan to create sustainable policies within the district. Retrofitting schools with water-saving and energy-efficient products has resulted in 42,216,261 kilowatt hours of energy saved in just one year, a seven percent reduction. New recycling policies resulted in 1,848 tons of goods that were recycled and diverted from the waste stream. The plan also includes the use of green cleaning products and antiidling bus policies to improve air quality. Pinellas County s Green and Healthy Schools Certification Program encourages schools to research and implement sustainable curriculum and projects. It is an outgrowth of an existing recycling/conservation program where county schools received $1.4 million in rebates and/or cost avoidance over the last three years. Currently, 40 schools are participating in this initiative at zero cost to the district. Pasco County s Hooked on Recycling! involves the entire district in recycling. The students continue to provide solutions to minimize solid waste while educating themselves and others on the importance of recycling. One thousand, seven hundred tons of materials have been recycled, earning revenue of $88,361 and avoiding solid waste disposal costs of $140,819.

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9 PROGRAM IMPACT Green School Projects by the Numbers: 2,353 people implementing green school initiatives; + 9,818 pounds of waste eliminated from + 5,258,184 the municipal waste stream; + 56,126,468 dollars in cost savings; kilowatt hours of electricity saved; + An estimated 58,919 people directly and indirectly reached by this + 34,014 year s green school initiatives; gallons of water saved = a healthier and more sustainable learning

10 PARTNERS & SPONSORS Presenting Sponsor: Supporting Sponsors: Program Implementation Partners

11 THANKS TO OUR JUDGES I am a firm believer that the future of Florida is dependent upon two of our greatest resources our environment and our children. Governor Charlie Crist With more than fifty nominations of outstanding efforts to teach and live green, the Governor s Serve to Preserve: Green Schools Awards called upon a number of respected individuals to serve as the blue ribbon panel of judges. After an eligibility check by the Department of Education, each nomination was reviewed by at least three judges. Scores were tabulated and aggregated and the top three finalists were identified in each category. This year, our judges completed their reviews of projects entirely online. This new paperless judging system streamlines the review process and creates a repository of data on project impacts. Thank you to our judges: Darren Fancher, Department of Management Services, Tallahassee Alan Penchansky, The Penn Group, Miami Jennifer Szaro, OUC, Orlando Suzanne Dameron, Aspire Public Relations Elizabeth Swiman, Florida State University Lisa Edgar, Florida Public Service Commission Robert Palmer, ULI North Florida Diana Ferguson, Florida Association of Counties Robert Solomon, retired Vice President, Prattco Roofing

12 Forest Stewardship Council certified paper and green printing processes have been used in producing this program.