The ABC s of Greening Your School Presented by Lisa Rose, Coordinator Santa Clara County Green Business Program

Transcription

1 The ABC s of Greening Your School Presented by Lisa Rose, Coordinator Santa Clara County Green Business Program

2 Assemble an enthusiastic team! Greening your school takes commitment from : Students Parents Teachers Administrators Custodial staff Identify decision makers (i.e. who can make funding decisions, operational decisions, etc.) Matriculation of Students and Teachers

3 Build a Strong Foundation Having a good foundation is the basis for any undertaking, especially when greening your school Set achievable, measurable goals Develop a budget for both short and long term goals Determine who on your team will be responsible for what Map out where you want to go from beginning to end Meet regularly to review your goals and set new ones When all resources are in place, and you have promoted your program, its time to launch. Consider a launch party or kick-off event or other way to celebrate your progress.

4 Curricula Greening Schools goes beyond operations and physical building attributes. It is important to also teach students the reasons WHY you are implementing sustainability measures. There are many environmental curricula available to schools including these: CalRecycle Green Star Schools - San Jose Go Green Schools

5 Document your Journey Documenting your journey is a great way to see how far you ve come and also a good way to demonstrate to administrators, other schools and community leaders the depth and breadth of your work Photograph important elements along the way Celebrate your successes large and small

6 Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency in schools offers long-term savings and provides opportunities for on-campus learning labs. Many programs are available to help schools save money while protecting natural resources. From changing light bulbs to installing solar panels, there are efficiency measures large and small that help schools reduce their energy use. Have your energy provider perform an energy audit of your school this is FREE! In Santa Clara County the energy providers are PG&E, Silicon Valley Power (City of Santa Clara) and Palo Alto Green Energy (City of Palo Alto).

7 Food Waste Organic waste from food scraps, as well as lawn and yard trimmings, account for at least one third of school garbage. Consider traditional composting or vermiculture at your school Santa Clara County s Master Composters can provide training and worm bins to help manage your food waste; similar programs may exist in other counties If these options don t work for you, consider food waste collection through your garbage/recycling provider so that these materials can be commercially composted

8 Green Building Green building practices for the operation and maintenance of school buildings can save money and provide a healthier environment for teachers and students. Any activities you have implemented toward waste reduction, energy and water efficiency, green purchasing policies, etc. have set your school on the path to having a green building. The U.S. Green Building Council provides a LEED for Schools rating system that takes into account these practices that you may have already implemented. Certifying a school building as a green building or your campus as a green campus can help you publicize the sustainability achievements you have made.

9 Healthy Schools = Healthy Students There is no denying that a Healthy School leads to Healthy Students. Implementing any or all of the suggestions throughout this presentation will contribute to healthier students, including: Using non-toxic cleaning products throughout the campus Studies have shown that classrooms designed to provide natural daylighting result in lower teacher/student absence rates, higher test scores, and greater student information retention. Schools designed using green building practices also reduce the energy and material consumption that contributes to global climate change.

10 Integrated Pest Management Protect the health of children and the environment by practicing integrated pest management (IPM) rather than applying herbicides and pesticides. IPM encourages long-term pest prevention through biological controls, habitat manipulation, use of resistant plant varieties, improved landscape and building hygiene, and pest barriers. For weed prevention, use simple techniques such as a weed cloth underneath the garden path or containers to suppress weeds. Only use landscapers and pest control operators who are certified in IPM practices such as those certified through Eco-Wise.

11 Join or start an Environmental Club If your school doesn t already have an environmental club, start one! Consider developing activities for your club such as: Creek or beach clean-ups Tree and native flower plantings Hold an annual Earth Day celebration Litter pick-up days Make video presentations about environmental issues Fundraise for local environmental organizations

12 Keep it Clean Greening your campus means keeping it clean Assign a group or classroom to regularly picks up litter on campus Remind custodial staff and students to never hose down areas around dumpsters Always keep dumpster lids closed to prevent litter from escaping and to prevent rainfall from getting into it and leaking onto the ground Do not wash cars, equipment, floor mats or other items where run-off water flows straight to the storm drain Label storm drains properly with either stencil or medallion

13 Landscape and Garden While traditional gardens use a lot of water and could result in pesticides pollution, a sustainable garden works with the nature to maintain ecological balance. Here are tips for a sustainable school garden: Modify the Irrigation Use Native Plants Amend the Soil Use Mulch Consider Xeriscape in appropriate areas of your school

14 More about Landscaping and Gardening Gardening for Extra Fun A healthy, diverse garden will attract beneficial creatures such as dragonflies, ladybugs, lacewings, and tiny, nonstinging wasps, which feed on pests. You can also attract non-stinging native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds by planting species that attract them. Additionally, consider bird and bee nesting boxes to add to the wildlife that would visit your garden. Together, they will make a school garden a unique outdoor science laboratory and provide great learning experiences for children of all ages.

15 New things to Recycle TerraCycle offers national programs (Brigades ) to collect previously non-recyclable or hard to recycle waste. While some programs have a cost, most of our Brigades offer free shipping as well as a donation for each piece of garbage that you collect. Waste streams include juice pouches, candy wrappers, dairy containers, Elmer s Glue containers, hummus containers, Lunchables packaging, and more. Noble Elementary in the Berryessa School District in San Jose, received a $50,000 playground and $2,000 from Terracycle in 2011

16 Out of the Box Just because someone hasn t done something before doesn t mean it isn t a good idea. Greening your school takes out of the box thinking at times. Involving students, teachers, administration, parents and various staff in brainstorming sessions can lead to some great new ideas that may just be the next great thing. Keeping an open mind is another critical step you can take in your journey towards greening your school.

17 Pollution Prevention Some Pollution Prevention measures include: Properly storing all Hazardous and Universal Waste (spent fluorescent bulbs and lamps, paints, batteries, etc.) as designated by law, posting signs notifying all employees and students of this area Taking electronic waste (e-waste) to an e-stewards certified recycler Eliminating any soaps and hand sanitizers that contain Triclosan Using 3 rd party verified non-toxic cleaning products (GreenSeal, DfE, EcoLogo, etc.) Reducing the number of toxic products stored on site Refilling or recycling ink cartridges and copier toner cartridges Replace white board markers with low odor/non-toxic markers

18 Quantitative/Qualitative Data It is very important to collect data that will help tell your story. Both quantitative and qualitative data are important. The quantitative data can be used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions reduced, gallons of water conserved, kilowatt hours saved, etc. Qualitative or anecdotal data gives others the experiential picture. You can tell what worked, what didn t, where challenges came up and what things were easy to tackle. A picture is worth a thousand words don t forget to take a lot of pictures along your journey!

19 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle To begin reducing and reusing, start by taking a look at what you are purchasing! We will discuss Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policies (EP3) a little later. Next, characterize your waste. Can items in the trash can be reused, replaced with reusable materials, or eliminated from use altogether? Reduce Use of Disposables Whether it s in the teacher s lounge, the school cafeteria, or at a special event, using disposable cups, plates and utensils can quickly add up to lots of waste. Compostable items are great if you have compost service, but reusable food service ware is best. Schools can purchase reusable lunch trays, cups, utensils, and a dishwasher to implement a reusable food service ware program.

20 Slightly more about Reduce, Reuse Recycle Use Reused Supplies and Donate Surplus Supplies Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) accepts donations of materials which can be used for classroom projects and provides them to teachers for free. If you find yourself in need of supplies, before you buy, check with to see if they have what you need. Also, if you have extra materials, find out if another teacher on-site would like to use them. If not, you can donate them to RAFT.

21 Transportation to and from School Limiting vehicle use helps reduce congestion and improve air quality. Instead of driving students to school, consider coordinating a walking school bus in your neighborhood, or allowing children to bike to school. Public transportation may also be an option. The Walking School Bus provides information on how to organize a structured walking group in your own community that safely gets students to and from school everyday. - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is committed to promoting safety and increasing awareness of public transportation through their Youth Outreach Program (YOP). The program offers exciting and unique classroom presentations designed to encourage Santa Clara County students to learn and experience the benefits of public transportation

22 Update your Purchasing Policy A sustainable business should always have an Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy (EPPP). Having a strong EPPP is a good way to formalize and institutionalize your school s commitment toward making responsible purchasing decisions that benefit the environment. It is a good idea to review and update your Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy on an annual basis removing things that are no longer relevant and updating as new technologies and products become available.

23 Vision Having a clear vision throughout the process of greening your school keeps everyone on track Keep the end goal in mind Visualize the environmental impacts you wish to achieve What would you like your campus to look like in five years? What type of hardscape versus landscape is in place now? What lessons will incoming students learn from your activities and accomplishments? What environmental classes are now offered as part of the currirculum?

24 Water Conservation Water Conservation should be practiced in every school, green or otherwise it is a resource we definitely cannot live without. Aside from landscaping, the next highest usage of water at a school is in the restrooms. The Santa Clara Valley Water District has a free toilet program for changing out older, water wasting toilets and can also provide, at no cost, faucet aerators with a flow rate of 0.5 gallons per minute. Have your local water district conduct a water audit to assess your landscape needs some will even pay you to remove turf and put in various types of alternatives.

25 Xamine Your Utility Bills Regularly It s a good idea to track your utility bills on a monthly basis to monitor water and energy usage. Set up a simple spreadsheet for tracking purposes. Review monthly and look for spikes that may identify leaks or electronic devices that may be left on when they shouldn t be. A spreadsheet should also be used before and after any retrofits have been made so that you can see the results of making improvements in your operations.

26 You can Create and Define your Future! Each and every one of you is capable of creating the school you want to see in the future! You are your best resource and together, you are stronger than ever! Your dedication and commitment to greening your school will be something you will remember for a lifetime! Your concern for the environment will benefit you and generations to come! You are making a difference!

27 Zero Waste Our collective goal should be to get to Zero Waste. To do this, every item should be evaluated before it is purchased, as well as prior to disposal. Questions to ask are: Is it necessary to have this item? Is it reusable? Recyclable? Can it be composted? Can it be returned to the vendor? Is there an alternative that can be used for this item in the future that can be recycled or composted?

28 Questions? Lisa Rose