Many schools are taking the pledge of the Green Schools Alliance to make their campuses more sustainable and to reduce their carbon footprints by 30 percent over five years. Sign up for our WEEKLY and MONTHLY newsletters - and never miss out on the … A gardening day is also a great outdoor activity for clubs or parent groups. See our list below for our top tips on making your school clean and green: Encourage and enable recycling and composting A significant proportion of what goes into landfill waste could easily be recycled, reused, or repurposed. First, inform yourself about what other schools are doing to become greener. They’re also toxic to cleaning and maintenance staff. Your Green Team can be a uniting and visionary force, and can have a ripple effect throughout the community. Carpools are the time-tested solution, but if you live close enough to your school, think about organizing a group to ride bikes or walk together. Currently, she lives in Reno, Nevada, where she spends her time learning to garden in the desert and blogging for Burning Man each September. The kids of today will be the architects and thought leaders of tomorrow. Save time for busy parents, conserve energy, and make friends with a community carpool or other transportation group. Being green is all about reducing how many resources you use, reusing items when you can, and recycling items that can’t be reused. Use footprints to reduce your carbon footprint! A mid-size school district may spend $1 million yearly on energy, a number that is increasing by around 19 percent each year. Your school needs you – more than you might know. 1) Start a green team: Join forces with other eco-conscious students to form a Green Team that evaluates the school’s environmental programs and brainstorms innovative ways to improve them. November 17, 2020. Clear your campaign with the administration first. During community service days, have students replace existing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Twenty percent of Americans go to school every day. Green school how to make your school a green school, and in these times the green movement must go beyond our homes. Encourage your child to wash their hands instead of using the hand sanitizer at school. Schools often use a huge amount of water to maintain lawns and landscaping. It has entered the realm of education, and administrators and school officials are looking for ways to go green in their schools. Be kind our planet and stuff your wallet by putting these 15 suggestions into practice. While you may not be able to change everything at the beginning of the school year, there are some simple ways to help your school “go green!” Here they are. Yeah, the kids are back in school! While tight budgets may make it a challenge for schools to make big changes, here are some inexpensive ways to get started greening your school. School buildings are the third biggest energy users. Make recycling bins readily accessible. Reduce idling outside school; instead, turn off car and bus engines. So don’t expect your friends, neighbors, or family members to have the same passion and knowledge about environmental issues that you may have acquired. Be efficient if using paper signs: Paper is a precious resource, too, so be certain your signage will result in a real reduction in your school’s water and power use. The reality could not be further from the truth. All it takes is a little elbow grease! You’re likely to find more support than resistance. By sharing skills for healthy, sustainable living, you can help give them (and their own children) better chances for a long, happy life. You’ll help reduce asthma triggers, and your teachers and custodians will thank you. Schools, in particular, are in a great position to educate future generations and make sure that good environmental habits are learned and adopted from an early age. From the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ campaign to using naturally fueled buses, being an eco friendly campus is not only the “in” thing, but the smart thing. There are plenty of things that universities have been doing, but there are also items […] Unfortunately, American kids are in the midst of a well-documented obesity epidemic, which threatens their longevity. The once refreshing water bottle is now a nuisance, and you just want to get rid of it. A city audit report in San Diego found that 76% of landfill waste was actually recyclable materials. Whenever the semester is done you can take out your notes, staple and save, then use the binder for the next semester. From the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ campaign to using naturally fueled buses, being an eco friendly campus is not only the “in” thing, but the smart thing. How to Green Your School. 1. All this work by schools around the world has helped the Green Cup Challenge to yield a savings of more than 9.7 million kW hours. Turning walking to, or from, school into a fun event can encourage families to take the time to walk, which has many benefits beyond simply saving gas, reducing emissions, and minimizing congestion on our roads. Recruit helpers and get creative to make the job fun. Take action to protect not just the environment, but the health and future of yourself and your kids. Below are over 50 ways to make your school a more earth-friendly campus. 8. It is important to set realistic and achievable targets to improve environmental performance at the school so kids and adults can take pride in tangible accomplishments in the short term. Blythe Grossberg, Psy.D., is a teaching and learning specialist. As we gear up for another school year it is important to get started on the right foot. One of the biggest ways to reduce waste at your school is to get students and teachers to stop using disposable water bottles and other single-use containers. Most schools have plenty of drinking fountains. Recycle paper, glass, and plastic. Make sure that your facility is executing these practices. Schools allow young people to share life experiences and lessons, and to learn the values they’ll carry with them for a lifetime. Her blog, "Uprooted," won the Tripbase Eco-Travel blog award in 2009 and 2011. Students all over the United States are checking class schedules and shouldering backpacks for another year of learning and growth. And schools aren’t just a place for math drills. Getting behind a more thorough recycling program is essential. Spearhead the use of "trayless" eating. Unfortunately, most schools have tight budgets, and they have to make tough choices about how to allocate funds. The more you find out about your school and how it works, the more you will gain to share with all of the students, faculty and staff in the building. Their helpful tool kit provides actions schools can take such as using daylight instead of overhead lighting, weatherizing windows and doors, and installing Energy Star appliances. Energy meters that are visible to any student and teacher aren’t just great learning tools— they can also encourage everyone to conserve energy and water throughout the day. For example, did you know that Earth Day is the largest civic observance in the world, with more than one billion participants each year? That said, it shouldn’t be surprising that environmentally sustainable schools—with increased efficiency and health benefits—are also more financially sustainable. For example, Riverdale Country Day School in New York City has installed a synthetic playing field composed of cork and coconut fiber that saves millions of gallons of water per year. Ask the school to use environmentally friendly cleaning fluids and nontoxic pesticides. Even though common school items like notebook paper, soda bottles, and aluminum cans are easily recycled in most cities, school recycling rates in the U.S. tend to be low (for example, 16.5% of the trash produced in New York City is recycled, but the recycling rate in schools is only 9.5%). 2. You are what you eat…and recycle, throw away and compost… There are so many ways that students, teachers and administrators can work together to build a green school community. 10 Ways to Make Your School a Green Campus Universities around the country are doing everything they can to become a green campus. If there is a municipal or voluntary recycling system in your community make sure that your school is making the most of it. If this article has you interested in becoming greener, take a look through these reclaimed wooden desks for your home.—http://www.custommade.com/gallery/custom-desks/. Organize some classmates or fellow parents to stay after school once a month to declutter. Simple signs really do make a difference. In elementary and middle school, I remember using common household recyclables in almost every art project. The staff at Population Education has generated a list of 24 ways to go green in the classroom. Green Your School: 5 Ways to Convert Your School into a Center for Sustainability. Here are some strategies for a green school. You and your students can create an action plan, inspire others, and celebrate a healthier, more sustainable school in just a few months. Extra step to make the job fun `` making ADD work '' ``!, toilet paper rolls, milk jugs, and pollution in everyday action to stop making time climate... Earth-Friendly campus to going green waste, and pollution in everyday action “ going green ” effort is to your!, conserve energy, a number that is increasing by around 19 percent each year ( sure. 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