U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

FROM THE 2022 HONOREES

HIGHLIGHTS
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Highlights From the 2022 Honorees

Office of Communications and Outreach 

April 22, 2022 

U.S. Department of Education - 400 Maryland Ave, SW - Washington, DC 20202

www.ed.gov/green-ribbon-schools - www.ed.gov/green-strides
U.S. Department of Education - 400 Maryland Ave, SW - Washington, DC 20202

www.ed.gov/green-ribbon-schools - www.ed.gov/green-strides

This report was produced by the U.S. Department of Education. The views expressed 

herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of 

Education. For the reader’s convenience, this publication contains information about 

and from outside organizations, including hyperlinks and URLs. The Department does 

not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any 

outside information included in these materials. No official endorsement by the U.S. 

Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in 

this publication is intended or should be inferred. 

U.S. Department of Education 

Miguel Cardona

Secretary of Education

Office of Communications and Outreach 

Rachel Thomas

Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is 

granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should 

be U.S. Department of Education, Office of Communications and Outreach, Green 

Ribbon Schools: Highlights From the 2022 Honorees, Washington, D.C., 2022. This 

report is available on the Department’s website at 

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/performance.html. 

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Content Contact: Andrea Falken at Andrea.Falken@ed.gov or at 202-503-8985.
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Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................... 1

Director’s Award ........................................................................................................... 8

2022 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Awards ........................... 9

California ...................................................................................................................... 9

Altamont Creek Elementary School; Livermore, California........................................ 9

Katella High School; Anaheim, California................................................................ 10

St. Martin of Tours Academy; La Mesa, California .................................................. 11

Merced Union High School District; Atwater, California........................................... 12

Connecticut ................................................................................................................ 13

Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy; Windham, Connecticut ................................ 13

District of Columbia .................................................................................................... 14

J.G. Whittier Elementary School; Washington, District of Columbia........................ 14

American University; Washington, District of Columbia........................................... 15

Florida ........................................................................................................................ 16

Millennia Gardens Elementary School; Orlando, Florida......................................... 16

Illinois ......................................................................................................................... 16

Urban Prairie Waldorf School; Chicago, Illinois....................................................... 16

Community High School District 99; Downers Grove, Illinois .................................. 17

Northwestern University; Evanston, Illinois ............................................................. 18

Kentucky .................................................................................................................... 19

Cassidy Elementary School; Lexington, Kentucky .................................................. 19

Ascension School; Louisville, Kentucky .................................................................. 19

Louisiana.................................................................................................................... 20

Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School; Baton Rouge, 

Louisiana................................................................................................................. 20

Caddo Parish Magnet High School; Shreveport, Louisiana..................................... 21

Academy of the Sacred Heart; New Orleans, Louisiana ......................................... 22

Maryland .................................................................................................................... 22

Crellin Elementary School; Oakland, Maryland ....................................................... 22

Missouri...................................................................................................................... 23

Principia School; St. Louis, Missouri ....................................................................... 23

The School District of University City; University City, Missouri .............................. 24

New Jersey ................................................................................................................ 25

Elms Elementary School; Jackson, New Jersey ..................................................... 25

Ohio............................................................................................................................ 26

St. Dominic School; Shaker Heights, Ohio.............................................................. 26

Oregon ....................................................................................................................... 27

Queen of Peace Catholic School; Salem, Oregon................................................... 27

Pennsylvania.............................................................................................................. 27

Spring-Ford Area School District; Royersford, Pennsylvania .................................. 27

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania; Shippensburg, Pennsylvania................ 28

Rhode Island .............................................................................................................. 29

Lincoln High School; Lincoln, Rhode Island ............................................................ 29
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Virginia ....................................................................................................................... 30

John B. Cary Elementary School; Richmond, Virginia............................................. 30

Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts; Richmond, Virginia............................... 30

Washington ................................................................................................................ 31

La Center High School; La Center, Washington...................................................... 31

Bellingham Public Schools; Bellingham, Washington.............................................. 32

Wisconsin ................................................................................................................... 32

Cambridge Elementary School; Cambridge, Wisconsin.......................................... 32

A.E. Burdick School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin ........................................................... 33

Golda Meir School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin.............................................................. 33

Escuela Verde; Milwaukee, Wisconsin.................................................................... 34

Washington Island School; Washington Island, Wisconsin ..................................... 35

University of Wisconsin; Oshkosh, Wisconsin......................................................... 35

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 37
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List of Tables 

Table 1. Number of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School honorees by 

year and type .................................................................................................................. 3

Table 2. Number of nominating authorities for U.S. Department of Education Green 

Ribbon Schools by year .................................................................................................. 3

Table 3. 2022 honorees by type...................................................................................... 6
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Introduction

Origins of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools program

In 2011, key leaders from the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, the Center for 

Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, the National Wildlife Federation, and 

the Earth Day Network advised some 80 national and state-based nonprofit 

organizations to request that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) honor schools for 

their sustainable facilities, health practices, and effective environmental education. The 

award that evolved from this petition, U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon 

Schools (ED-GRS),

1 has had a significant effect on the green school movement and 

allowed ED a platform to address school facilities, health, and the environment.

These leaders ultimately assisted ED in developing a consensus definition of a green 

school, featuring what came to be known as the Three Pillars of the award: 

Pillar One: reducing environmental impacts, such as waste, water, energy, 

greenhouse gases, and transportation, encompassing the areas of school 

facilities, grounds, and operations; 

Pillar Two: improving health and wellness by promoting a healthy physical 

environment (including aspects such as air quality, contaminant control, moisture 

control, daylighting, pest management, and acoustical and thermal comfort) and 

student and staff wellness practices (such as healthy school food and outdoor 

physical activity); and 

Pillar Three: offering effective environmental and sustainability education, 

including civic learning, green careers, and STEM connections. 

How the ED-Green Ribbon Schools Recognition Award operates

Going beyond the award requested by stakeholders, ED-GRS has become the federal 

communications and outreach tool to focus on specific areas that ED had addressed 

infrequently until its advent. The award has allowed the agency to use its outreach tools

to address matters of school facilities, health, and environment by highlighting 

innovative practices and sharing useful, free resources in these areas, despite limited 

authority to run grant programs in these realms.

Annually, state education officials voluntarily participate by nominating their top schools, 

districts, and postsecondary institutions based on their achievement in ED’s Three

Pillars. Although ED provides some suggestions to state educational agencies to help 

1 ED’s award is called “U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools” and has “District 

Sustainability Award” and “Postsecondary Sustainability Award” categories. “Green Ribbon Schools” 

without the “U.S. Department of Education” is not ED’s award, but instead is a separate program 

overseen by another organization.
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them document nominees’ work in the Three Pillars, ultimately, states have flexibility in 

their selection and nomination, as long as they document progress for each nominee in 

all of the Three Pillars. ED then uses the award to communicate honorees’ promising 

practices and the helpful resources they successfully employ to the nation’s schools. 

Growth of the Initiative’s communications and engagement functions

Over time, ED has added several components to the initial school award, including 

recognition of school districts, early learning centers, and postsecondary institutions, as 

well as a state educational agency official’s award. The program’s outreach also has 

grown, along with its engagement functions, with a resource website, 

www.greenstrides.org, and a Green Strides Tour spotlighting clusters of honorees 

around an annual theme. Green Strides, the outreach and engagement arm of the 

award, includes a website, a newsletter, and social media to get the word out to schools 

about the Three Pillars, providing information about free resources, programs, grants, 

and webinars. 

Building on the simple recognition award, ED-GRS has, over time, heard and 

responded to the need for ED to develop expertise and cultivate external relationships 

on environment, sustainability, and infrastructure. In this way, the program has also 

come to serve as ED’s voice with federal agencies, work groups, and task forces; 

advise senior ED officials and policymakers; and respond to stakeholder and public 

requests on topics related to environment, sustainability, and infrastructure. For the first 

time, in 2022, that role will be formalized, with the creation of a small Office for 

Infrastructure and Sustainability. Under current administration priorities, there is a need 

for ED to address infrastructure and sustainability in schools in a more sustained, 

formalized, and impactful manner. 

This will allow ED to move beyond the award to play a more impactful role in the 

ongoing effort to ensure equitable access to healthy, safe, sustainable, 21st-century 

learning environments, especially as these impact performance and achievement of 

both students and staff, and environmental learning. It will also enable ED to better 

share the various federal resources for green schools with the public. 

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools by the numbers

With the 2022 cohort, some 516 schools, 97 districts, and 58 postsecondary institutions

have received an ED-GRS award (see Table 1). In this case, higher numbers do not 

necessarily indicate broader influence. ED-GRS was never intended to certify 

thousands of schools. Each year, state educational agencies are invited to nominate up 

to five early learning through 12th grade school or district candidates and one 

postsecondary institution. These examples allow ED to highlight many innovative 

practices throughout the country. Institutions – whether school, district, or 

postsecondary – are eligible to receive this award only once, and award recipients

always must state their designation with the year in which they were honored. Once ED 

has highlighted an institution’s practices, it is useful to move on to highlighting other, 
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diverse examples. Schools nominated from districts that already have won the award 

should demonstrate achievements above and beyond those previously honored in the 

district application.

Table 1. Number of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School honorees by 

year and type* 

Year Schools Districts* Postsecondary* Total

2012 78 N/A N/A 78

2013 64 14 N/A 78

2014 48 9 N/A 57

2015 58 9 14 81

2016 47 15 11 73

2017 45 9 9 63

2018 45 6 6 57

2019 35 14 4 53

2020 39 11 5 55

2021 30 5 5 40

2022 27 5 4 36

Total 516 97 58 671

*The District Sustainability Award was added in 2013 and the Postsecondary Award in 2015.

Number of ED-GRS participating states

Despite the exciting efforts ED has highlighted with this recognition award, there is still 

work to be done to improve school facilities, health, and environmental engagement. 

Typically, approximately 25 states voluntarily nominate candidates annually for this 

award (see Table 2). That means that ED does not have a mechanism for highlighting 

the practices of green schools in the remaining 25 or so states where state educational

agencies choose not to nominate. 

Table 2. Number of nominating authorities for U.S. Department of Education Green 

Ribbon Schools by year* 

Year Number of Participating Nominating Authorities

2012 30

2013 32

2014 30

2015 30

2016 27

2017 29

2018 26

2019 28

2020 27

2021 20

2022 19 
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*All states, territories, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the 

Bureau of Indian Education are invited to nominate. 

Contributing to the development of a more coherent definition of a green school

A key contribution of the ED-GRS award is believed to be that, to some degree, it has 

brought various agencies and organizations together around a common definition of a 

green school. Rather than one organization using the term “green school” to denote an 

energy-efficient school, another to refer to institutions offering environmental and 

sustainability learning, and a third to indicate environmental health or wellness 

practices, there has been a convergence such that a green or sustainable school must 

encompass all Three Pillars. There continue to be initiatives that focus squarely on one 

segment of this work; however, it usually is with the stated understanding that they form 

part of a broader three pillar effort.

A spotlight for school facilities, health, and environment innovations

In 2011, the term “green school” was a relatively unknown concept across much of the 

country. Today, there is a growing understanding of what this work entails, at least in 

small part because of ED’s efforts annually to illustrate this work with the concrete 

practices of its honorees and honorees’ boots-on-the-ground practices. ED’s oversight 

of this award has offered the agency an opportunity to address and engage on such 

issues as school infrastructure and operational costs; environmental health and school 

wellness practices; nutritious, local, and student-grown school food; and hands-on, 

outdoor, project- and place-based, authentic, environmental, civic, and sustainability 

learning, among other related topics. The award also has allowed ED to highlight unique 

local, state, and national partnerships and projects where sustainability efforts intersect 

with equity.

A significant effect with a limited budget and innovative collaboration

Despite the historical limited availability of funds at ED for school sustainability, the 

award has facilitated collaborations and connections and disseminated resources. 

For example, both ED-GRS and Green Strides have enabled ED to share the many 

programs for schools offered by counterparts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; EPA; U.S. departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Energy; and 

collaborators across the for-profit and nonprofit private sectors.

In the same way that ED works more effectively across a broader range of federal 

agencies as a result of the award, some state educational agencies also are 

collaborating in exceptional ways with state health, environment, and energy agencies 

to select their nominees to ED. The private sector, both for-profit and nonprofit, also has 

gotten involved at the federal, state, local, and school levels, working with schools and 

governments. Through this collaboration, ED’s recognition award has become a tool to 

get various parties working better together for the benefit of students across the nation. 
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Green schools are successfully serving disadvantaged populations 

Annually 30% to 55% of ED-GRS honorees have served majority-disadvantaged 

student populations, as measured by free and reduced-price lunch. While this is in part 

due to award criteria design, which asks states to ensure that at least one of their 

nominees is in a disadvantaged community, state nominations have exceeded this 

minimum requirement. With ED-GRS-designated schools, districts, and postsecondary 

institutions providing better education to traditionally underserved students, green 

school practices may be another tool to advance equal access to a quality education for 

all students.

A green school does not need to be newly constructed

To ensure that the award highlights diverse examples of sustainability, the competition 

assesses candidates based on resources available to them, rather than in comparison 

to each other. In fact, the award has, over the years, highlighted many older school 

constructions engaged in low-cost, but highly effective, retrofits and behavioral change. 

All of these are steps that any school community can undertake, without a new 

construction, that is designed specifically to be resource efficient and environmentally 

healthy. In this way, the award has helped to educate the public about the broad 

applicability of green school practices in both old and new buildings.

Creating incentives for multiple pipelines for sustainability improvements by all schools 

Another important consequence of the award has been the refinement of various 

national and state-specific green school programs that the award has spurred. States 

have realigned preexisting state green school programs, created new ones, and now 

recognize runners-up beyond those they nominate to ED, in order to create pathways to 

the national award, broaden recognition within individual states, and provide incentives 

for more change. 

The 2022 cohort

This year’s selectees were confirmed from a pool of candidates voluntarily nominated 

and exhaustively reviewed by 19 state education authority implementation teams. While 

selection processes vary from state to state, members of several state agencies, as well 

as outside experts, often comprise selection committees. At the federal level, we have 

selected 27 schools, five districts, and four postsecondary institutions that demonstrate 

promising practices to cut costs, improve health, and ensure that students learn through 

the most hands-on, engaging means possible (see Table 3). 
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Table 3. 2022 honorees by type 

Total honorees 36

Schools 27

Nonpublic schools 7 

Charter schools 2 

Magnet schools 4 

Districts 5 

Institutions of higher education 4 

Disadvantaged-serving schools 14

The diversity of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, District 

Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary Sustainability Awardees and the range of 

their work demonstrates that any school, district, or postsecondary institution can take 

steps to improve the sustainability, health, and safety of school facilities; ensure 

nutrition and fitness practices for a lifetime of wellness and productivity; and engage 

students in real-world learning. 

Schools use sustainability in context to teach important civic values and skills that 

encourage students to grow into responsible, compassionate, and contributing citizens. 

Furthermore, working with dynamic environmental, social, and economic systems from 

an early age nurtures precisely the type of thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving 

skills that careers of the future require. This is the case whether these students 

graduate from green career and technical programs, college preparatory schools, 

community colleges, or liberal arts colleges. 

This is even more true after a global health pandemic, when all schools have been 

forced to face issues of school air quality, nutrition, and outdoor learning more directly 

than ever. Not surprisingly, green schools have been among those best equipped to 

handle the pandemic, at the ready with outdoor classrooms; updated, efficient, and 

healthy ventilation systems; social-emotional learning curricula; paperless learning 

mechanisms; and farm-to-school programs that encourage healthy nutrition, whether at

home or on campus. 

These green schools still had to get creative during the pandemic, sending “planting 

packages” home for students to learn horticulture while learning virtually and calling

students away from their tablets into their backyard or neighborhood to observe the 

elements of nature they might have, under more normal circumstances, observed in the 

green schoolyard. These green schools persisted in their efforts and grew more 

determined, if possible, as the global health crisis underscored how students and 

educators require healthy, safe learning environments and how the leaders of tomorrow 

must understand the impact of their individual actions on their community and their 

planet.
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It is with tremendous pleasure that we present the 2022 U.S. Department of Education 

Green Ribbon Schools, District Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary 

Sustainability Awardees. These honorees are ensuring that their students learn to live, 

work, and play with sustainability and health in mind – not as an afterthought, but as an 

integral part of everything they undertake.

The innovative practices of the 2022 Green Ribbon award winners are described in the 

remainder of this report. We also suggest that you go to the http://www.greenstrides.org

webpage to learn more about these innovative practices. 
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Director’s Award

The Director’s Award celebrates an individual’s exemplary efforts to administer ED-GRS 

in their state. Specifically, the ED-GRS Director’s Award recognizes a state educational

agency official who does the most to advance green schools by running a robust 

competition process; connecting more schools to 

resources in all three ED-GRS Pillars; amplifying the 

stories of honorees; helping schools learn from one 

another; partnering with a variety of entities to bring 

more resources and expertise into schools; and 

exhibiting a dedication to exceptional school facilities, 

health, and environmental education through activities 

outside of the administration of ED-GRS.

ED is delighted to have named Jon Long, school 

architect at the North Carolina Department of Public 

Instruction, as the 2022 Director’s Award recipient.

Mr. Long’s leadership and dedication have been integral 

to ED-GRS’ success in North Carolina. He has worked to cultivate applicants in the

state by mentoring, exhibiting flexibility, and conducting outreach. Mr. Long hosted the 

ambitious 2021 Green Strides Tour in North Carolina, despite various pandemic 

challenges. He has gone above and beyond his stated job description of school 

architect and worked across traditional silos to make connections among the built and 

natural environment, green schoolyards, the school as a learning tool, and overall 

student wellness and academic achievement. Mr. Long dedicates himself

wholeheartedly to everything that he undertakes, and ED is grateful to have his example 

for other states advancing sustainable schools.
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2022 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools 

Awards

California

Altamont Creek Elementary School; Livermore, California 

In 2015, Altamont Creek Elementary School (ACES) established an initial five-year 

Sustainability Plan, which provided a framework for addressing energy, solid waste, 

carbon emissions, water usage, transportation, and the health and safety of staff. The 

on-site photovoltaic system generates 95% of the school’s annual kWh usage. The 

balance of the school’s electrical energy comes from the local utility’s renewable choice 

option. In 2017, ACES developed a model solid waste school program in partnership 

with the local waste management authority and state grant funding to reduce waste, 

featuring share tables, waste audits, composting, and local food pantry donations. 

ACES offers a Safe Routes to School bike rodeo, 

a bike repair event, and walk and roll to school 

days, with 70% of students walking or rolling to 

school daily. ACES established an “Idle Free” 

zone that applies to all vehicles that come onto the 

school grounds and switched to all Eco-Logocertified green cleaning products. Outdoor learning 

spaces now include a 2,900-square-foot main 

garden, a certified National Wildlife Federation 

Wildlife Habitat, a bay-friendly garden, and an 

Audubon bird habitat. A “Bird Cam” allows 

students to view bird feeders and the garden from 

inside the classroom. Students engage in health, 

place-based environmental science, and nutrition 

education activities in the school’s garden. All staff 

meetings provide training in mind and body 

techniques used to release stress and strengthen 

mindfulness. ACES pilots the Project Lead the Way engineering program for elementary 

students. They apply STEAM strategies to develop an understanding of environmental 

topics, such as sun safety, waste management, native plants, and renewable energy. 

Beyond campus, students visit East Bay Regional Parks, Oakland Zoo, and Altamont 

Creek. They also participate in coastal cleanups and outdoor science school.

Altamont Creek Elementary School’s

custodian helps kindergarteners 

separate waste into recycling, 

compost, and landfill. 
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Suisun Valley K-8 School; Fairfield, California

Located in the heart of a viticulture area, Suisun 

Valley School (SVS) is a K-8 school focusing on 

agricultural technology. In 2013, the school 

constructed seven solar classrooms featuring solar 

tube lighting fixtures that shortened the time 

needed for electric lighting by 90%, while providing 

healthier, natural light to occupants. In 2020, SVS 

applied a cool roof system on all school buildings. 

SVS has a trench drain, xeriscaping, and dripirrigation campuswide. Students designed and 

maintain two 2,500-gallon cistern rain harvester 

systems that function with solar and wind energy. 

SVS raises chickens to consume waste and 

contribute organic fertilizer to the school garden. 

Together with a student devised and operated onsite composting bin system, a vermiculture program, and city organics pickup, these 

efforts eliminate the school’s waste removal costs. SVS employs a full-time agriscience 

teacher to oversee the school’s two-acre farm, which features a three-tower indoor 

hydroponic center, an outdoor kitchen classroom, a greenhouse, a quarter-acre of field 

crops, 104 raised beds, 29 fruit trees, a vineyard, a quarter-acre permaculture guild 

area, an eighth-acre California native garden section, and seed/cutting production 

areas. The goal of the agriscience program, in addition to teaching and reinforcing state 

science standards, is to teach K-8 students the origins of food, how it is grown or 

produced, and the vital role that agriculture plays in human survival. Each summer, the 

school’s garden becomes a community gathering place and food source where families 

and local community members are invited to gather fresh produce at no cost. SVS staff 

coach students in mindfulness practices and engage in weekly yoga. The playground 

includes mega-sized game boards, extra-large Jenga blocks, and obstacle course 

items. 

 

Katella High School; Anaheim, California 

Katella￼ High School (KHS) achieved a 28% reduction in non-transportation energy 

use from 2016 to 2021 and a 57% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during the 

same period. The school replaced all interior and exterior lighting on campus with LED 

lights, including motion sensing and dimming capability, using a combination of 

Proposition 39 (California Clean Energy Jobs Act) funding and a city rebate program, 

which also supported the installation of a high-efficiency chiller and tankless water 

heaters. Students from Advanced Placement environmental science classes participate 

in the California Energy Conservation Competition, in which they develop a campaign to 

promote energy conservation. The campus was redesigned to include native plant 

species, waterwise irrigation, rain gardens, bioswales, porous pavers, and sanded 

pathways that collect, filter, and recycle. KHS documents an overall 43% reduction of 

water consumption from 2016-2022. KHS composts about 50 pounds of food from the 

cafeteria and culinary classes to enrich the school garden’s soil each year. The district 

Suisun Valley K-8 School’s students 

analyze their compost. Between an 

on-site compost bin system, 

vermiculture, chickens, and city 

organics waste pickup, they have 

eliminated waste hauling costs.
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fleet consists of 10 CNG fuel school buses and 12 

electric buses, and KHS has fourelectric vehicle 

charging stations. The school’s IPM plan treats 

pests using the least toxic methods possible. The 

school’s garden and outdoor learning center feature 

two greenhouses, an aquaponic garden, ten raised 

plant beds, and an outdoor learning lab with six 

student-assembled benches. The area serves as a 

place to extend teaching and learning into context 

with hands-on activities. Chemistry, physics, and 

Advanced Placement human geography cover 

climate change and renewable energy topics, with 

teachers receiving training from such organizations 

as Strategic Energy Innovations. KHS connects 

students with green careers by partnering with the 

city to offer mentoring in careers, such as urban planning, energy conservation, water 

conservation, and waste management. KHS sustainability-focused groups include Save 

the Earth, Recycling Club, Key Club, Garden and Sustainability Club, and a faculty 

Green Team. Field trips take students to the Bolsa Chica wetlands, Newport Aquatic 

Center, San Diego Safari Park, and a state fish hatchery.

St. Martin of Tours Academy; La Mesa, California 

St. Martin of Tours Academy (SMA) is a Catholic elementary school serving 220 

students in kindergarten through eighth grade from across San Diego County. 

Schoolwide learning expectations promote global awareness, concern for social justice, 

responsiveness to needs within the 

community, and respect for all of God’s 

creation. In 2015, SMA became the first 

Catholic elementary school in the nation to 

be declared a Fair Trade School, offering 

events and curriculum related to fair trade

practices, and replacing products on campus 

for global sustainability. SMA performs 

among the top 25% of similar buildings 

nationwide, based on ENERGY STAR 

Portfolio Manager benchmarking. SMA 

invested in a rooftop solar system designed 

to supply all energy required for the school’s 

operations and participates in net energy 

metering that exports surplus clean energy to 

the grid. SMA also installed high-energy performance windows, a water filtration 

system, and air purification systems. Landscaping on the school campus was replaced 

with drought tolerant native plants and rocks, reducing water consumption. Grounds 

feature bioswales, reused tree trunk stump seating, rain barrels, and downspouts that 

direct rainwater to fruit trees and the organic garden that K-5 classes maintain. Students 

At St. Martin of Tours Academy students 

plant oregano, tomatoes, parsley, peppers, 

onions, garlic, and basil in the pizza garden.

Katella High School’s garden and 

outdoor learning center feature two 

greenhouses, an aquaponic garden, 

10 raised plant beds, and an outdoor 

learning lab with six studentassembled benches.
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engage in STEM activities that explore the environment, climate change, sustainability, 

and ecosystems. They demonstrate their acquisition of subject material by engaging in 

“real-world” challenges on topics such as agriculture, ocean life, life cycles, building 

models, and water usage. Eighth grade students participated in a regional SeaPerch

challenge, an underwater robotics program that teaches students how to build an 

underwater remotely operated vehicle. In partnership with the City of La Mesa and their 

local waste hauler, SMA composts food and yard waste, and students clean up local 

beach areas twice a year.

Merced Union High School District; Atwater, California 

Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) encompasses six comprehensive high 

schools and two alternative education sites. In 2018, students at each school 

participated in a districtwide energy conservation competition, creating videos to 

educate other students about energy conservation. In 2016, MUHSD’s Green 

Technology and Energy Conservation (GTEC) students collaborated with the California 

Conservation Corps to perform energy audits on all district campuses. Students used 

data from energy audits to advocate for on-site 

solar at all seven campuses. The district 

decided to install solar panels for each school 

under a power purchase agreement with no 

upfront cost to the district. The new solar arrays 

are expected to generate 90% of the district’s 

energy needs and save over $4.5 million during 

the 28-year contract. More than half of the 

MUHSD school sites have a composting center 

and rain barrels. Since asthma is the most 

common cause of absenteeism in the Central 

Valley, MUHSD staff work hard to keep 

buildings clean, dust-free, and humiditycontrolled. Custodial staff use low-fragrance cleaning supplies, and yard work, such as 

mowing and blowing, are done before or after students are present. Each campus has 

greenhouses and raised bed gardens, with some campuses offering orchards of fruits 

and nuts. These efforts provide cafeterias with fresh produce, in addition to the eggs 

raised by Future Farmers of America students. During the pandemic, the district 

donated produce to rescue missions and food banks. Seven of the 14 course pathways 

are sustainability related, including agriculture and natural resources; building 

construction; energy, environment and utilities; engineering and architecture; and 

transportation. Students in the green technology and energy conservation course 

construct solar systems for economically distressed households at least four times a 

year, providing a free solar system that supplies approximately 50-60% of their 

needs. Students have visited the state capital to advocate for green legislation on water 

storage development, Central Valley air quality, renewable energy credits, solar energy, 

and increasing the state mandate to 100% renewable energy.

 Four Future Farmers of America students 

present their sheep at the Merced County 

Fair.
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Connecticut

Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy; Windham, Connecticut 

Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy (Barrows) was designed for sustainability and use 

of the school as a learning tool. The school is a Connecticut Green Leaf School, 

National Wildlife Habitat, and Monarch Way Station. Sustainable education unfolds in 

specialized labs and classrooms, outdoor classrooms, raised garden beds, courtyards, 

walking paths, meadow, marsh area, wetland, and wooded temperate forest. Barrows’ 

oceanography room boasts saltwater and freshwater 

tanks and leverages NOAA B-Wet grant funding. A new 

160-foot greenhouse will extend the growing season and 

enhance the urban farming curriculum. The campus 

features swales, ponds, and meadows for field study, 

after-school activities, and an annual BioBlitz. Using the 

outdoors as learning labs, from planting window box 

seeds to managing outdoor gardens, students learn 

firsthand about alternative energy generation from 

renewable energy sources. Barrows’ food share 

program helps students facing food insecurity, and 

composting efforts benefit the garden. An aerogation

green wall magnifies the natural purifying properties of 

plants 200 times. Stormwater management features 

funnel water down rain chains and into a dry riverbed. All 

fixtures are low flow and automatic. Barrows designates 

parking spaces for low-impact vehicles. The school is 

home to a full-service health center and uses nontoxic 

cleaning products and MERV-13 filters. Project-based 

learning provides a real-world context for learning 

STEM, both outdoor and in classrooms.

 

 At Charles Barrows STEM 

Academy sustainable education 

unfolds in specialized labs, 

outdoor classrooms, courtyards, 

gardens, meadow, wetland, 

wooded temperate forest, and a 

Certified Monarch Waystation.
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District of Columbia

J.G. Whittier Elementary School; Washington, District of Columbia 

Whittier Elementary School (Whittier) shifted its academic programming to center on 

STEM, with a focus on urban 

sustainability. The school STEM 

coordinator has successfully led the 

effort to leverage partnerships to 

develop sustainable systems and 

practices at Whittier and in the 

community. Energy-efficient upgrades 

were made to Whittier’s HVAC systems 

to increase fresh air filtration 

throughout the building through an 

existing dedicated outside air system 

and the installation of high efficiency 

filters. Whittier uses Green Seal and 

EcoLogo cleaning products. Whittier’s 

garden projects have ranged from a 

small pollinator garden and eight 

garden beds to outdoor classrooms 

and tree planting. Whittier partners with FRESHFARM to embed comprehensive food 

education in the curriculum. Green Team members assist in separating waste, 

recycling, and composting. In physical education, students learn bike safety through a 

program with the D.C. Department of Transportation. In February 2021, Whittier held its 

first Sustainability STEM Fair. The school participates in the National Energy Education 

Development Energizing Student Potential program, which partners with schools to 

provide fun interactive energy lessons. A restorative practices coordinator provides 

rewards for good behavior, such as field trips, special events, and extra recess. 

A Whittier Elementary School fourth grade class 

engages in a lesson with partners from Out Teach 

in one of the school’s outdoor classrooms. 

 
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American University; Washington, District of Columbia 

In 2018, American University (AU) became the first urban campus, first research 

university, and largest higher education institution in the country to achieve carbon 

neutrality. American University is home to 10 LEED-certified buildings, several of which 

feature solar thermal. American University 

uses both on- and off-campus photovoltaic 

panels for about 50% of its electricity 

demand, and the remainder of AU’s 

electricity use is matched with Renewable 

Energy Credits, so the university operates 

on 100% green electricity. The campus 

houses rain gardens, bioretention basins, 

green roofs, cisterns, rain barrels, and 

other stormwater management features. 

AU uses a three-bin system with landfill, 

compost, and mixed recycling in all campus 

buildings. The University offers a 

comprehensive alternative transportation 

program, including a public transit pass for 

students, biking program discounts, and electric vehicle charging stations. AU’s campus 

is a certified arboretum, featuring plants from around the world. In 2019-2020, the Office 

of Sustainability collaborated with the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning to 

create a Campus Sustainability Lesson Plan that any instructor can use in the 

classroom. American University has over a dozen sustainability-related clubs on 

campus, encompassing beekeeping, community garden, outdoors, zero waste, climate 

and conservation, sustainability, and renewable energy. Nearly 300 courses on campus 

have been identified as sustainability courses or courses that included sustainability. 

Thirty-eight of the 50 academic departments at AU include sustainability focused or 

inclusive courses. AU offers an environmental sustainability and global health 

concentration, as well as global environmental politics, natural resources and 

sustainable development, and sustainability management master’s degrees. Across its 

schools, it houses a Center of Environmental Policy and a Center for Environmental 

Filmmaking. AU’s Office of Sustainability administers a sustainability fund, which 

provides support for campus projects developed and proposed by members of the 

community. 

American University is home to 10 LEEDcertified buildings and is the largest higher 

education institution in the country to achieve 

carbon neutrality. 
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Florida

Millennia Gardens Elementary School; Orlando, Florida 

In 2016, four teachers at Millennia Gardens Elementary School (MGES) were awarded 

a grant of $68,000, investing it in 

establishing a culture of environmental 

stewardship and forming an Eco Club. The 

school’s quarter-acre wildlife sanctuary is 

comprised of a National Wildlife Federation 

designated Monarch Butterfly Waystation, 

a permitted gopher tortoise habitat, frog 

pond, osprey perch, two bat houses, and 

native vegetation. The school building 

features energy management systems, 

automatic sensors, water bottle filling 

stations, as well as efficient electronics and 

fixtures. Students conduct audits and post

reminders to encourage conservation. 

Students engage in upcycling projects; 

families leave used clothes at a donation station on-site, and MGES composts food 

waste and then uses the soil in school gardens. The produce grown by students in the 

certified organic garden and 50-tower hydroponic garden is used in nutrition education. 

MGES ensures optimal indoor and outdoor air quality through contaminant testing, 

regular maintenance, and training. No idling zone designations and bike racks reduce 

air pollution and promote active transportation. MGES features a running club, cooking 

classes for families, health screenings, a psychologist, and social-emotional learning. 

Students participate in an Everglades camping trip, feed Sea World manatees with the 

lettuce they grow in their hydroponic garden, and participate in Central Florida Earth 

Day festivities. Fifth grade students convinced City of Orlando’s mayor to sign a 

declaration of climate emergency. After learning about biodiversity, students adopted an 

emperor penguin chick, green turtle, polar bear, and manatee through the World Wildlife 

Federation.

Illinois

Urban Prairie Waldorf School; Chicago, Illinois 

Urban Prairie Waldorf School (UPWS) is an independent school that serves infants 

through eighth grade. Over half of UPWS families qualify for the variable tuition 

program. The curriculum incorporates nature experiences, outdoor movement‐based 

learning, excursions throughout the city, and learning by doing. UPWS’s formal 

environmental sustainability efforts began with the adoption of the school’s

Sustainability Charter in 2019. The charter built on UPWS’s prior sustainability efforts 

and focused new efforts on reducing the environmental impact and costs of the school’s 

70‐year‐old facility. UPWS contracted an energy assessment and retrofitted its lighting 

in early 2021, leading to a 63% average monthly reduction in electricity consumption 

Millenia Gardens Elementary School 

students grow lettuce in 50 hydroponic tower 

gardens. 
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compared to the previous year. UPWS also installed a demonstration solar array in late 

2021, providing a context for students to study real‐world math concepts. UPWS has 

developed its campus into a green schoolyard, where students play, plant, harvest, tend 

to animals, and learn. This included transforming an unshaded asphalt lot with natural 

climbing structures, a large sand area, a goat habitat, raised earthen berms, and 

hügelkultur‐inspired mounds. All of this provides learning benefits, such as opportunities 

to explore, get muddy, and conduct experiments in nature, as well as environmental 

benefits, including reduced stormwater runoff and potable water irrigation needs. UPWS 

students receive at least an hour of outdoor play each day. Middle schoolers go on 

regular walking expeditions, sometimes up to 10 miles in a day, with the city as their 

classroom. Families pack minimal-waste lunches, and about 25% of families participate 

in a weekly regeneratively farmed produce delivery program. Every class starts the day 

in games, movement (yoga, folk dancing, poems with movement, developmental 

exercises) before the teacher brings students to seated learning. 

Community High School District 99; Downers Grove, Illinois 

Community High School District 99 

installed LED lighting in gymnasiums 

and covers on swimming pools, 

reducing heating costs by 28% and 

pools’ water consumption by 38%. 

District 99 has added automatic 

sensors for lights and fixtures, water 

bottle refilling stations, and more 

efficient heating, cooling, and chillers. 

The SchoolDude Preventative 

Maintenance Software program is used 

to maintain efficiency on all systems. 

Cisterns store rainwater to supply the 

irrigation system. District 99 powers its 

electricity usage via Green-E Energy 

Certified National Wind RECs and has 

installed demonstration solar panels to 

enhance student learning opportunities. The district uses certified green cleaning 

products and pest management services. Mindful mornings, positive behavioral 

interventions programming, and live plants around the building support educator and 

student wellness alike. AP environmental science students travel to a water treatment 

plant, landfill, sustainable business, and energy generating facility. District 99 is 

restoring community land to native prairie with a natural laboratory for student use. 

Earth Action Club is dedicated to conservation and environmental education. An 

Outdoor Environmental Club engages students in outdoor recreation activities, such as 

camping, hiking, and canoeing. In 2018 and 2019, the science department led an 

optional, family-funded excursion to Costa Rica to provide the opportunity to see 

sustainability and biodiversity in action. District 99 partners with Morton Arboretum for 

research opportunities and internships. 

Community High School District 99 students engage 

in an upcycled art project using recycled bottlecaps

to benefit a local charity. 

 
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Northwestern University; Evanston, Illinois 

Northwestern University (Northwestern), ranked AASHE STARS Gold, is guided by a 

Strategic Sustainability Plan. In 2020 

and 2021, Northwestern became the 

first university to receive the EPA’s 

ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence 

Award. Partnerships with Clearway 

Energy and Ameresco offer solar 

projects and infrastructure upgrades for 

efficiency, while facilitating student 

learning. All new campus construction is 

required to meet or exceed LEED Gold 

certification, and the university already 

is home to 23 LEED-certified buildings. 

Northwestern’s facilities and grounds 

include solar panels, electric vehicle 

charging stations, bioswales and 

retention basins, and reflective and 

green roofing. Northwestern is Tree Campus Higher Education and Bike Friendly 

University certified. Waste reduction efforts include composting. The Outdoors Club 

organizes kayaking, hiking, and climbing trips, and Norris Outdoors rents camping 

equipment to students at affordable rates. Northwestern hosts two campus beaches, 

one of which includes a sailing center that offers sailing, windsurfing, and paddle 

boarding. The Wild Roots Student Garden, the Plant-it-Purple Graduate Garden, and 

wildlife habitat gardens provide opportunities for students to spend time outdoors and 

nourish needy community members. Across all departments, over 100 courses at the 

graduate and undergraduate levels focus directly on sustainability, with an additional 

140+ courses featuring sustainability-related content. Northwestern’s Institute for 

Sustainability and Energy offers interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate courses 

in the fields of sustainability and energy. Other departments offer environment- and 

sustainability-related degrees and certificates, ranging from environmental engineering 

to environmental policy and culture. Programs, such as the Global Engineering Trek in 

Sustainability and Chicago Field Studies, give students opportunities to study abroad 

and/or work in the local community to gain experience in the sustainability field. A Green 

Office Certification program empowers community members to evaluate and improve 

their office sustainability practices. 

Students, staff, and faculty collaborate to plant 

trees on Arbor Day in support of Northwestern 

University's Tree Campus Higher Education Arbor 

Day Foundation certification. 

 
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Kentucky

Cassidy Elementary School; Lexington, Kentucky 

Cassidy Elementary School’s outdoor classroom includes accessible raised bed 

gardens, a butterfly habitat, a rain garden, composting, vermiculture, an erosion station, 

a soil percolation station, and animal tracks and insect exploratory regions. There are 

sensory, herb, and literature gardens, and a Kentucky native species area. Each year, 

through the Trout in the Classroom program, students explore ecosystems as they raise 

trout from eggs to understand their life cycle, water quality, and their local watersheds. 

Students in Scientists and Engineers Empowering 

Kids Science Club participate in projects and 

campaigns to increase energy conservation and 

awareness. Cassidy was the first school in Fayette 

County Public Schools to implement the EPA Air 

Quality Flag Program. Students participate in citizen 

science, learn about watersheds and 

macroinvertebrates, and engage in storm drain 

stenciling. Cassidy teachers attend the Bluegrass 

Greensource Teacher Environmental Academy to 

learn about public transportation, energy usage, 

solar energy, and wastewater treatment. Cassidy 

participates in the Electric Vehicle STEM Education 

Project through the University of Kentucky Center 

for Applied Energy Research. Students at Cassidy learn how electric transportation 

benefits the environment and human health. The Cassidy Leadership Team collects 

bottle caps to upcycle into benches. Cassidy receives locally sourced produce, offers a 

bike and walk to school day, and celebrates an annual Special Needs Awareness 

Week. A family needs center, school psychologist, occupational therapist, wellness 

night, and weekend food backpack program look out for the needs of the whole child.

Ascension School; Louisville, Kentucky 

Ascension School (Ascension) serves 233 students in prekindergarten through eighth 

grade. In 2016, Ascension became the first Catholic school in Kentucky to train every 

faculty member in project-based learning, and the faculty work collaboratively on crosscurricular projects, including planting and maintaining a school garden, composting, and 

global classrooms. The school installed efficient windows, touchless sink faucets, and 

water bottle filling stations and encourages students to bring their reusable water bottles 

to school. The cafeteria uses washable trays, dishes, and utensils to cut down on 

waste. Eighth grade students are responsible for promoting an idle-free campus. 

Ascension uses the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model to ensure 

students’ physical and mental health needs are met through physical activity, 

mindfulness exercises, and school counselor services. At Ascension’s “Farm to Tray 

Café,” selections are prepared using fresh ingredients, some from the school garden. 

Ascension partnered with Louisville Nature Center to establish a certified Monarch 

Butterfly Waystation, which is used to offer lessons on pollinators and butterfly life 

Cassidy Elementary School GEN-EV 

racing team, comprised of fourth and 

fifth graders, tries out their new 

wheels.
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cycles. The school participates in a Journey North Tulip Test Gardens to track the life 

cycle of tulips and learn about the importance of soil conditions. Through a generous 

donation, Ascension obtained a beehive and will train middle school students on 

maintaining it. An after-school Green Club weeds the butterfly garden, assesses how 

many classroom lights are left on, and collects litter around campus.

Louisiana

Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School; Baton Rouge, Louisiana 

Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School (Villa del Rey) is a Title I 

school where 20-30% of families are classified as food insecure. Recognizing the deepseated cyclical impacts that school families face, Villa Del Rey and district staff 

embarked on a mission to implement educational initiatives that would invoke long-term 

community health and viability. A key driver to 

removing barriers and cultivating resiliency is a U.S. 

Department of Education-funded Magnet Schools 

Assistance Program (MSAP) grant, which has 

facilitated renewable energy coding courses. 

Environmental concepts are integrated through diverse 

curricula offerings and age-appropriate civic 

engagement opportunities. Villa Del Rey is the only 

elementary school in the parish to have a dedicated 

renewable energy lab. There, students explore 

sustainable energy generation and transference 

through green micro-gym stationary bikes, while 

improving their fitness. All staff members attend 

National Energy Education Development workshops 

and conferences each year. Project-based learning 

themes connect alternative energy methods to 

Louisiana place-based issues like hurricanes and 

coastal erosion. Students build, maintain, and leverage 

campus gardens of all shapes and sizes, indoors and 

out, from tower to container, leveraging sustainable 

practices to address local food scarcity challenges. They participate in soil preparation, 

seed planting, cultivation, harvesting, and food preparation, with two mobile kitchens. 

Through a partnership with Aramark, students conducted a schoolwide energy audit and 

learned strategies to reduce energy and water consumption. Through various 

conservation efforts, including rainwater reclamation, awareness campaigns, and the 

implementation of different water savings policies, Villa del Rey reduced on-campus 

water consumption by 73% over six years. The student Energy Team conducts biweekly 

campus walk-throughs and identifies ways to reduce energy consumption. 

Villa Del Rey Creative Sciences 

and Arts Magnet School students 

plant milkweed to attract Monarch 

butterflies and promote 

pollination.
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Caddo Parish Magnet High School; Shreveport, Louisiana 

At Caddo Parish Magnet High School (Caddo), student green and interact clubs 

spearhead environmental service and stewardship, including participation in national 

convenings, education about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a monthly blog, 

composting, and cleanup days. Through partnerships with the Louisiana Water 

Environment Association, Caddo students identify ways to solve water problems. 

Annually, students engage in Envirothon, a state natural resources agency sponsored 

event, to demonstrate their knowledge of 

environmental science and natural resource 

management. Students use the nearby 

Coates Bluff Nature Trail and Red River 

National Wildlife Trail systems for physical 

activity and grow and harvest produce in the 

adjoining community garden for use in the 

cafeteria and neighboring communities. The 

original 1964 campus buildings have 

received efficiency upgrades over time, 

including new thermostats, HVAC systems, 

and roofs, and the school participates in 

Cenergistic’s energy savings plan. Students 

engage in the school’s energy conservation 

efforts through programs and activities in 

Advanced Placement environmental science and Greens Club. Water quality and 

grounds efforts include student research and construction of stormwater retention 

areas; the installation of a greenhouse, rain barrels, raised beds, and water bottle filling 

stations; student water quality monitoring and storm drain marking; and the designation 

of a National Wildlife Federation Certified Schoolyard Habitat and Monarch Butterfly 

Waystation. Student landscaping committee members built wire composting bins. The 

principal picks up coffee grinds from a local Caddo alumna-owned coffee shop, and 

student volunteers mix shredded paper and coffee grounds to compost. Caddo has a 

long tradition of hosting “stress relief” picnics every semester during the school day. 

Extracurricular offerings, from service and stewardship and yoga in the courtyard to 

knitting club, provide other outlets to relieve student stress.

Caddo Parish Magnet High School students 

participate in local trash cleanups and water 

quality monitoring.
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Academy of the Sacred Heart; New Orleans, Louisiana

Academy of the Sacred Heart (Sacred Heart) is an all-girls school that serves those age 

1 through those in grade 12. The school established the Sustainable Hearts program in 

2019 to instill transformative, communitywide action and environmental stewardship. 

Students engage in composting, gardening, and Ponchartrain beach cleanups and 

volunteer for nonprofit organizations at home and abroad that promote sustainability. 

The Innovation Lab promotes design thinking methodology to problem-solving, such as 

engineering an entirely renewable energy source powered city or researching fast 

fashion and designing upcycled clothing. Students in the iLab exercise design thinking, 

empathy, and civic values by participating in social entrepreneurship projects, such as 

designing campus stormwater management solutions. They study the United Nations 

Sustainable Development Goals, build birdhouses, make sustainable Mardi Gras 

decorations, prepare holiday food boxes, and participate in the National Geographic 

GeoChallenge to take action as champions for people and the planet. Sacred Heart’s 

Digital Media students dedicate 35% of their weekly show to sustainability. Students in 

environmental science courses study public-owned 

natural resources, biodiversity and invasive 

species, and environmental disasters and 

governmental policies and produce a schoolwide 

newsletter with concise sustainability lessons. 

Sacred Heart contracted with Johnson Controls, an 

energy savings company to implement a phased 

efficiency program, including audits and upgrades. 

Renovations to historic structures dating to the 

1800s have brought upgraded controls and 

mechanical systems, water bottle filling stations, as 

well as container gardens and rainwater collection 

features. Sacred Heart conducts waste and 

transportation audits; sponsors various collection 

drives, from plastic bags and glass to furniture and 

uniforms; and composts food waste with a local 

company. The cafeteria offers reusable trays and 

metal cutlery and contracts with food service that 

prioritizes the availability of healthy, sustainable 

choices. 

Maryland

Crellin Elementary School; Oakland, Maryland

Environmental education and sustainability changes at Crellin Elementary School (CES) 

began when the school community found historic mining contaminants in the creek 

behind the school. Not only was CES able to remedy the pollution, but it increased the 

overall health of the riparian area while creating an outdoor classroom. The 

environmental education laboratory is an outdoor classroom where students participate 

in hands-on activities using the wetland, boardwalk, hemlock forest, vernal ponds, 

Academy of the Sacred Heart students 

design a renewable energy-powered 

city.
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meadows, orchard, and adjacent 

creek. CES’s agriculture program 

features barns with sheep and hens, 

with a solar panel to maximize hens’ 

egg production through daylight 

provision. Cafeteria food waste and 

animal waste are both composted and 

then used in the gardens. The 

greenhouse employs hydroponics 

systems. Educational opportunities 

include maintaining a native butterfly 

garden, developing integrated pest 

management plans for the garden, 

building and erecting bird and bat 

boxes, exploring the riparian area, 

planting native trees and shrubs, trout 

rearing and release, and conducting water quality testing. Other outdoor activities that 

engage students in civics and place-based learning include raking and jumping in 

leaves, sledding, shoveling snow, fort building, nature walks, wool shearing, and 

community cleanups. The school acquires local meat through donations for the school 

lunch program. CES has made efficiency upgrades, including building automation, 

interior and exterior LED lights, double-paned windows, HVAC, and building envelope, 

leading to an immediate decrease in energy usage. Low-flow fixtures reduce domestic 

water consumption, and rain barrels provide water for gardens and barn animals. 

Missouri

Principia School; St. Louis, Missouri

Principia is a coeducational day and boarding school grounded in the teachings of Christian 

Science and serving children from infancy through grade 12. Principia’s most recent strategic 

plan identifies sustainability as a goal “through innovative and active stewardship of its human, 

ecological, and financial resources.” Principia has restored 42 acres of forest and 6 acres of 

savanna on the school’s 360-acre campus. Grounds also feature produce gardens, chicken 

coops, beehives, nature playscapes, a permaculture orchard, rain gardens, ponds, and native 

plantings. The school purchases renewable energy, benchmarks utility reduction efforts in 

Energy STAR Portfolio Manager, incorporates LED lighting and occupancy sensors, participates 

in a demand response program, and composts. Teachers utilize outdoor resources as authentic 

learning opportunities in science, language arts, social studies, and math. Students test water 

quality and soil, re-enact scenes from literature, engage in BioBlitzes, identify trees, gather 

weather data, turtle track, study macroinvertebrates, tag butterflies, and garden. The Impact 

Challenge is a schoolwide project in which students at all grade levels choose one of the United 

Nations Sustainable Development Goals and work to effect change through specific group 

projects. Principia offers elective courses in field and natural history and in sustainability. Afterschool sports include gardening and Eco PE, the latter of which involves stewardship projects 

and using and maintaining the campus’ challenge course. The upper school dedicates a week 

annually to sending its ninth- to 11th-grade students to different parts of the country to partake 

in Outward Bound wilderness trips. The cafeteria celebrates meatless Mondays.

The Crellin Elementary School agriculture program 

features gardens, a greenhouse, hens, and sheep. 
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The School District of University City; University City, Missouri 

In 2010 and 2011, The School District of University City (SDUC) constructed two LEEDcertified elementary schools. In 2013, it installed demonstration solar panels on six of 

eight buildings. The district participates in utility rebate incentive programs and has 

upgraded and retro-commissioned HVAC systems to ensure they work optimally. SDUC 

eliminated the use of plastic straws and implemented a multistep process to ensure that 

district assets are reused, repurposed, repaired, or recycled. SDUC installed LED lights, 

motion-sensored sinks and toilets, water bottle filling stations, rain gardens, and outdoor 

STEAM labs with composting at every school site. In addition to tending to food gardens 

with garden facilitators at every site, students at one middle school also care for 

chickens and tend to bees. The gardens are not only working laboratories to learn about 

ecosystems, environmental sustainability, and growing food, they also integrate the arts, 

student service projects, and other outdoor 

activities that demonstrate the district’s 

commitment to social-emotional learning, 

trauma-informed schools, and racial 

equity. The district offers a high school 

restorative practices class, wellness lounge, 

and has four trauma specialists, in addition to 

social workers and nurses at each site. The 

annual districtwide STEAM Expo highlights 

and showcases STEAM initiatives, including 

those with a sustainability focus. A free 

summer camp facilitates student visits to St. 

Louis Zoo, the Green Center, St. Louis 

Science Center, and Forest Park.

 

Brittany Woods Middle School, in the School 

District of University City, has its own apiary. 
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New Jersey

Elms Elementary School; Jackson, New Jersey 

Elms Elementary School (EES) features geothermal 

heating and cooling, LED lighting, new HVAC 

controls, and improved insulation. Its solar array 

generates 40% of the school’s energy needs, and the 

school scores 96 on ENERGY STAR Portfolio 

Manager. EES courtyard rain barrels irrigate the 

sensory garden and refill the 500-gallon aquaponics 

system. Students participate in recycling programs, 

such as Crayola ColorCycle, Trex plastic recycling, 

and on-site composting, and contribute to a food 

share table and a local food pantry to reduce waste. 

All cleaning products are Green Seal certified, and 

EES implements integrated pest management. Daily 

inspections by staff ensure that EES controls 

moisture from leaks, condensation, and excess 

humidity. The on-site aquaponics system engages 

students in learning about sustainable farming 

practices and a balanced ecosystem. Lessons in 

sustainability and environmental challenges focus on 

water conservation, plastic accumulation in oceans, 

pollinator declines, beach erosion, renewable transportation alternatives, invasive 

species’ impacts on wildlife, and global access to clean water. Students participate in 

Trout in the Classroom, raising eggs and releasing the fingerlings. All grade levels travel 

on local nature-based field trips, including Cattus Island, Manasquan Reservoir, 

Jackson Forest Resource Education Center, and Jenkinson’s Aquarium.

 

Elms Elementary students

germinate seeds. The on-site 

aquaponics system engages 

students in learning about 

sustainable farming. 
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Ohio

St. Dominic School; Shaker Heights, Ohio

In 2016, St. Dominic School launched its 

“Caring for God’s Creation” initiative. St. 

Dominic upgraded all lights to LED bulbs, 

added light and faucet motion sensors, and 

installed low-flow fixtures and water bottle 

filling stations. All students bring reusable 

water bottles to school each day. The 

school has regular inspections and an 

asbestos control plan in place. St. Dominic 

offers reusable trays, cups, and flatware in 

the cafeteria, composts food waste with a 

local contractor, eliminated plastic straws, 

participates in Crayola ColorCycle and 

TerraCycle, and organizes a uniform 

exchange. School lunches incorporate at 

least 25% locally grown and produced 

foods. St. Dominic features a robust health 

curriculum with social-emotional learning classes presented by the school counselor, 

offers yoga, and encourages students to eat outdoors. In 2015, St. Dominic School was 

reaccredited with a goal of increasing science, technology, religion, engineering, art, 

and math, or STREAM, education. In addition to completing the required coursework for 

each grade, students complete one or more project-based STREAM activities each 

year. This year, each grade level is focusing on trying to solve problems related to 

infrastructure in the area. In science classes, students learn how to interact with living 

things and the environment in ways that promote respect for the earth and all its 

inhabitants. Students at St. Dominic School participate in service learning at each grade 

level, including as part of the Earth Ambassadors Club.

At St. Dominic School, kindergarten students 

observe the chicks that they incubated in their 

classroom. 
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Oregon

Queen of Peace Catholic School; Salem, Oregon

Queen of Peace (QPS) earned its Green School Flag certification through Eco-Schools 

USA, which required the school to follow a rigorous seven-step framework and three 

pathways, including forming an eco-action team, conducting various audits, creating an 

“eco-action plan,” and creating an “eco-code.” Through its many partnerships, QPS 

installed several gardens on campus, including 

a hydroponic garden, a pollinator garden, 10

raised beds, blueberry bushes, fruit trees, an inground squash garden, and a raspberry garden. 

Each day, students tend to these gardens by 

measuring their food waste and adding it to the 

gardens to supplement the nutrients in the soil. 

Indoor hydroponic gardens supplement the 

locally sourced nutrition program. QPS installed 

energy-efficient windows and purchased a 

school bus for field trips. The school features 

water bottle filling stations and timers on 

bathroom fixtures and outside irrigation systems 

to reduce water use. The school’s maintenance 

personnel implement integrated pest 

management, monitor ventilation, and purchase nontoxic cleaning supplies. The 

environmental education team at QPS constructs place-based outdoor education 

lessons that integrate No Trace principles, STEM, problem-solving, and exploratory 

learning. Students engage in citizen science through various water quality monitoring 

projects, as well as Feederwatch and Globe programs. The QPS One Hundred Hours 

Outdoors digital badging program offers students a digital badge for every ten hours 

they spend outside. Students raise salmon and trout and learn about natural resource 

careers and climate science through work with Oregon Parks and Wildlife and the 

National Park Service.

Pennsylvania

Spring-Ford Area School District; Royersford, Pennsylvania

Spring-Ford Area School District (SFASD) installed geothermal HVAC systems and new 

programmable control systems, passed a district energy conservation policy, 

participates in an energy curtailment demand response program, tracks resource use in 

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and entered an energy-savings performance 

contract. The district installed low-flow bathroom fixtures and water bottle filling stations. 

SFASD offers walking and biking paths, recycles nearly 50 tons annually, and does not 

permit vehicle idling. SFASD has adopted 100% Green Seal certified cleaning products, 

Queen of Peace students dissect mussels 

to learn which physical adaptations help 

them survive. 
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implements integrated pest management, 

tests for lead in drinking water, and conducts 

annual indoor environmental quality 

inspections. Under the guidance of industry 

professionals, middle and high school students 

designed and constructed several 

improvements to the district’s arboretum as 

well as a courtyard area. An elementary 

outdoor classroom features a pond, pollinator 

garden, raised garden beds, shade structures, 

and a glass mural. Students in grades K-6 

take a STEM-based class focusing on the 

design process and reuse materials as they 

prototype designs. Green building design and 

sustainable architecture are also addressed in 

the Project Lead the Way engineering and 

architecture program for high school students. 

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania; Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Shippensburg University (SU) has been focused on decreasing carbon emissions and 

energy usage for more than two decades. Most recently, major infrastructure upgrades, 

the revitalization of the Center for Land Use and Sustainability, and the 2020 signing of

the Second Nature Climate Commitment have accelerated these efforts. Efforts also 

include recycling, purchasing wind-generated electricity, and establishing the Campus 

Farm and Community Garden. In 2005, SU was the first Pennsylvania State System of 

Higher Education institution to conduct a GHG inventory. In 2015, SU decommissioned 

its steam plant and transitioned to natural gas, reducing the overall greenhouse gas 

footprint by 29%. Sustainable dining programs 

include Project Clean Plate, trayless dining, 

local produce, and vegan options. The Campus 

Farm donates half of all produce to combat local 

food insecurity, and SU composts food waste 

on-site. SU is a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly 

Campus. The Art Department collects used 

vegetable oil from every dining facility on 

campus to make biodiesel to fuel a studentdesigned biofuel-run ceramics kiln. Students 

enrolled in environmental and sustainability 

programs develop environmental literacy via 

courses and experiences across several 

departments and perspectives, including the 

psychology of sustainability, environmental 

economics, environmental communication, and 

conservation biology. In 2017, the university launched a new sustainability major, and, 

in 2021, SU substantially revised and updated the geoenvironmental science curriculum 

Under the guidance of industry professionals, 

Spring-Ford Area School District students 

designed and constructed improvements to the 

district’s arboretum as well as a courtyard area.

 

Shippensburg University of 

Pennsylvania’s sustainability efforts 

include establishing a campus farm and 

community garden. It donates half of all 

produce to combat local food insecurity, 

and SU composts food waste on-site.
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to more fully integrate course and field experiences in climate science, sustainability, 

and geotechnology into the curriculum. ShipShape Day is an annual campus and 

community event focused on cleaning up the community, including the Burd Run 

stream, where students also monitor water quality.

Rhode Island 

Lincoln High School; Lincoln, Rhode 

Island

Lincoln High School recently completed a 

renovation project that overhauled the 

previous facility and features low-flow and LED 

fixtures, daylighting, efficient systems, and a 

modern thermal envelope. The facility is 

benchmarked in EPA’s Portfolio Manager. 

School grounds include bioretention features, 

pervious surfaces, and native plantings such 

that no irrigation is needed. The cafeteria 

features locally sourced meat and produce, 

including locally grown apples with an applethemed menu for an “Apple Crunch” event. Students are encouraged to take their 

environmental literacy to the next level through the availability of elective courses, such 

as AP environmental science, marine biology/zoology, as well as design and 

engineering CTE. Lincoln High School has a required civic responsibility course that 

includes a community service project for which many students choose to focus on 

environmental causes. The English curriculum includes units on Transcendentalism and 

Romanticism, which allows students to reflect upon the role nature plays in individuals’ 

daily lives. The required ninth grade physical science course includes a project-based 

learning unit called the Urban Heat Project, which culminates with students building and 

testing a model roof design, with the goal of minimizing urban heat.

New CTE workshop areas at renovated

Lincoln High School provide additional 

ventilation to protect air quality. 
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Virginia

John B. Cary Elementary School; Richmond, Virginia

Less than one mile from the James River in the 

Chesapeake Bay watershed, John B. Cary Elementary

School (Cary) has been named a “RiverWise School,” 

for its environmental education achievements. Cary’s 

interdisciplinary program highlights students’ 

relationship to the bay and environmental justice issues. 

Its “No Child Left Inside Eco-Campus” encompasses 

community gardens and a reforestation project that 

boasts 15,000 square feet of planted area, including 

187 native plants, 53 shrubs, 16 trees, and a pollinator 

garden. Students use the grounds for STEM, art, citizen 

science, and social-emotional learning during the school 

day and for gardening, orienteering, biking, and running 

clubs after school. Cary uses conservation 

technologies, such as automatic water and lighting 

shutoff, new boilers, chillers, control systems, water 

bottle filling stations, and LED lights. It features 

recycling and composting, the latter of which is then 

used in the school gardens. The school and its district 

have improved air quality and contaminant controls through training, regular 

maintenance, and ongoing monitoring. Cary partners with Greater Richmond Fit4Kids in 

the Safe Routes to School for five crossing guards to assist students who walk or bike 

to school and to participate in annual walk and bike to school days. Students develop 

social-emotional competencies through community circles and a mindfulness room. 

Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts; Richmond, Virginia

Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts 

(PHSSA) has completed major renovations, with 

features such as LED lighting, motion detectors, 

touchless sensors, efficient fixtures, interior 

storm windows, and water bottle filling stations, 

all while bringing a 100-year-old building into 

compliance with the Americans with Disabilities 

Act and preserving the value of a historic 

structure. PHSSA installed rain barrels to catch 

runoff from its modular classrooms, which is then 

used in the butterfly garden, bayscape terrace, 

and victory gardens. Students design rain 

barrels, maintain native plantings, and test the 

impact of their garden filtration system on 

stormwater runoff. Educators use the various 

gardens as outdoor classrooms, and a garden 

Many ED-GRS honorees, 

including Cary Elementary 

School, conserve and protect 

drinking water quality and 

reduce waste by installing water 

bottle filling stations.

 Like many ED-GRS honorees, Patrick 

Henry School of Science and Arts 

students engage in yoga, social-emotional 

learning, positive behavioral supports, 

and mindfulness to support whole child 

health and achievement. 
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committee spearheads planting every year. A compost setup teaches ecology, 

microbiology, and sustainable agriculture. An annual RiverRomp multisport event 

features running/hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering, and team building. 

Other athletic outlets include climbing, yoga, and Zumba. “Big Life Journals” offer 

emotional outlets and a “Caught Ya” program celebrates and rewards positive 

behaviors. As part of a project-based learning curriculum, students focus on current 

environmental issues and develop real-world solutions to these problems. A local grant 

helps to support Discovery Fridays, which get students out to the river and park system 

adjacent to the school to work at the intersection of science, art, and community 

activism. In addition to this work across traditional disciplines, all students have a 

weekly environmental studies class.

Washington

La Center High School; La Center, Washington

At La Center High School, the environmental studies class (ESC), which is a 

multidisciplinary integrated CTE-natural resources 

class, and the Environmental Action Team (EAT) have 

been leading efforts since 2008 on environmental 

sustainability and stewardship. Students have worked 

with community organizations to study 

macroinvertebrates, raise and release trout, and 

monitor water quality in their local watershed. Studentled projects, facilitated by staff and outside partners, 

continue to be a cornerstone of the effort. For 

example, ECS built a school garden in 2009 and 

completed drip irrigation installation in 2011, and each 

year’s class has taken care of composting, 

maintenance, planting, cultivation, and harvesting. The 

garden began as a 1,050-square-foot mixed-used 

garden and grew to more than 4,000 square feet. It is 

a source of fresh produce for the school’s cafeteria 

and local food banks. Food, coffee, and landscape 

waste fuel compost for the garden. Building on past 

successes, ESC collaborated with a civil engineering 

firm to plan additional outdoor learning space, featuring a solar shed and Tesla battery 

wall. The high school already features a rooftop solar array and rain barrel 

station. Industrial arts classes have practiced refining biodiesel with local restaurants’ 

used cooking oil. La Center features a campus challenge course with climbing and 

ropes, used for building confidence and teamwork. In addition to P.E. and health 

classes, the ecology, careers in science, environmental studies, and survival of 

literature classes regularly learn and work together outdoors. 

 La Center High School features 

an on-site challenge course that 

is used for teamwork and 

confidence building as well as

physical education.
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Bellingham Public Schools; Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham Public Schools (BPS) is part of Puget Sound Energy’s Commercial Strategic 

Energy Management program, tracks utility use in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, 

and has transitioned nearly all facilities to direct digital controls. All BPS schools are 

now built to solar-ready standards, and the district installed a 100 kW solar array at its 

most recently constructed school. Several schools use rain barrels, cisterns, rain 

gardens, or green roofs to reclaim water and/or protect water quality. BPS has utilized 

zero waste practices for over a decade, with all school sites offering food scrap 

composting. BPS offers free bus passes, Safe Routes to School curriculum and maps, 

and educational “bike rodeos” to promote alternative transportation. BPS has 

reimagined its food services program to implement a scratch-cooking model, farm-toschool sourcing, culturally appropriate dishes, and nutrition education. In elementary 

grades, integrated units of study embed environmental and sustainability goals, with 

such projects as Salmon in Schools, national parks fieldwork, and garden education. In 

middle schools, BPS uses a curriculum featuring ecosystems, natural resources, 

oceans, energy, and climate. Plant systems, a CTE program, allows students to 

investigate through experiential, hands-on learning. High school students may enroll in 

environmental science, Advanced Placement environmental science, agriculture 

hunger, and the environment, ocean science, and sustainable design courses, several 

of which use local Galbraith Mountain as a learning lab. The district’s Promise 

Tomorrow initiative is an opportunity for teams of students to create positive change on 

topics such as biodiversity, farming practices, and invasive species.

Wisconsin

Cambridge Elementary School; Cambridge, Wisconsin 

Cambridge Elementary School (CES) greets 

students daily with green space to live, learn, 

and grow. CES has added more efficient 

lighting, improved building envelope, and 

installed rooftop solar photovoltaic panels and 

solar thermal heating, in addition to purchasing 

renewable energy sources. Annual bike- and 

walk-to-school days raise awareness about 

alternative transportation. All students and staff 

engage in composting. The school’s 40-acre site 

includes nine acres of woods and three acres of 

wetlands, which contain native, sustainable 

vegetation that does not require mowing or 

irrigation. Water bottle filling stations and 

automatic sensors conserve water indoors. Physical education classes are held outside, 

throughout the winter months, with activities like snowshoeing and sledding. Use of the 

school forest’s nature trails is supported by trail guides with mini-lessons and benches 

for an outdoor classroom. Students have lessons in the school forest, use recess time 

for walks in the woods, help preserve and restore the school forest, participate in 

 Cambridge Elementary School features 

solar panels on the roofs of the pool and 

library.
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environmental and ecology clubs, and support social-emotional wellness by walking 

through natural areas. Place- and project-based activities allow students to apply 

specific local knowledge to other places, situations, and environmental conditions. 

Students learn the joy and hard work of gardening from planting seeds to harvesting the 

homegrown produce. A farm-to-school Chef in the Classroom program uses studentgrown produce to incorporate math, science, language arts, and social studies, in 

addition to nutrition education. Students work to rid the campus of invasive species and 

engage in local creek water quality monitoring. 

A.E. Burdick School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

In 2017, A. E. Burdick School began planning and raising funds for a green 

infrastructure redevelopment project, which was completed in 2019, and included 

removing 26,600 square feet of impervious surface and replacing it with porous 

surfaces, such as trees, woodchips, native landscaping, bioswales, and cisterns. The 

improvements helped to eliminate a buildup of water that accumulated behind the 

school’s greenhouse and return it to the watershed. The outdoor classroom features 

movable tree cookies, recycled logs and stumps, and Leopold benches. The campus 

also features food gardens, a “tot lot” for early childhood play, habitat spaces, a school 

forest, and berry patches. An outdoor discovery cart provides the materials needed to 

learn outdoors with a quick easy setup. Teachers apply environmental lessons in all 

areas of the curriculum, with a focus on life sciences, nutrition, horticulture, and 

environmental studies. Older students discuss more complex processes, such as global 

warming and decomposition. The surrounding neighborhood benefits from Burdick’s 

urban community greenhouse, where students, teachers, and community members 

work together to plant, harvest, and prepare foods. In the last 12 months, Burdick has 

made multiple energy efficiency upgrades, including to its building envelope, kitchen, 

and office equipment. Burdick employs computer power management settings, 

thermostat temperature setbacks, hot water temperature set points, and daylighting. 

Students participate in classroom and garden composting. 

Golda Meir School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Golda Meir School’s active green team has educated stakeholders, installed a new 

playground, and devised an interactive app to encourage physical activity. The school 

features automatic water shutoffs, composting, and cooking clubs. A holistic schoolyard 

redevelopment project replaced 10,060 square feet of asphalt with new green space 

and mixed-use recreation and educational areas. The redeveloped schoolyard manages 

stormwater through green infrastructure features, including bioswales, native plantings, 

a porous turf field, and a 26,600-gallon underground cistern. Green team students are 

designing a smart recycling bin that senses the appropriateness of the type of material 

inserted. Flexible seating, fidget toys, and other tools help keep students focused in 

class. Peer mediation, positive behavioral interventions and supports, restorative 

justice, yoga, meditation, and a mindfulness curriculum further support wellness and 

social-emotional health. With specific classes dedicated to sustainability, all students 

participate in lessons and learn standards related to environmental science and health. 
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Five outdoor classrooms, gardens, a greenhouse, and an outdoor discovery cart 

support all classes going outside for at least two hours of learning a day, in addition to 

recess and organized sports. Classes grow produce and provide it to staff, families, and 

the community. Learning is enriched by walking field trips and local cleanup projects.

Escuela Verde; Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

Escuela Verde is a school founded on ecopedagogy that is constantly striving to live out 

a vision of creating a just, peaceful, and sustainable future. As a project-based learning 

school, students explore how science and ecology connect to many other domains. 

Students choose a topic for their senior thesis projects that they are passionate about 

and complete a year-long, 300-hour project. Recent topics have involved leading nature 

hikes and forest bathing; improving health 

and well-being through biking, camping, 

mindfulness, and art therapy; organizing 

neighborhood cleanups; building a chimney 

swift tower; and distributing bird houses. In 

2017, Escuela Verde joined the Milwaukee 

Better Buildings Challenge and received an 

energy score of 94. The school has energy 

efficient windows, lighting, and 

heating/cooling systems. The school also 

installed a solar voltaic array on the roof, 

which offsets about 32% of the school’s 

electrical use. Students were directly 

involved in the research and installation of 

the panels and monitor the system. The 

school’s emphasis on food and food justice has led to an entirely vegetarian school 

lunch. Efforts to reduce waste include composting and the use of cloth towels and mops 

rather than paper towels. Escuela Verde’s guiding curriculum is based on sustainability 

themes, which have been adapted from The Cloud Institute’s Education for 

Sustainability Standards & Indicators. Each quarter, the advisory curriculum is rooted in 

one of these sustainability themes. Each winter, staff and students travel to the northern 

part of the state for a week-long retreat in which students engage in place-based 

environmental education, including science content, snowshoeing, skiing, and shelter 

building. In the spring, students participate in a service-learning week, which often 

includes outside activities, such as invasive species removal or improving the native 

plant garden and other spaces. At the end of each year, the school offers a weeklong 

camping trip to a Wisconsin state park. 

Escuela Verde students join local nonprofit 

representatives on morning bird watching 

walks during their community science 

program.
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Washington Island School; Washington 

Island, Wisconsin 

Surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan, 

Washington Island School is a tiny school with 

73 students doing mighty things with limited 

resources. Two solar arrays provide 

educational opportunities as well as reduce 

the school’s reliance on fossil fuels. Low-flow, 

high-efficiency, touchless restroom fixtures 

help conserve water. Students go outdoors for 

recess unless it is below 0 degrees 

Fahrenheit. Students participate in an annual 

Island Clean-up Day. The school community has worked to curate an interactive school 

forest and to farm sustainably on adjacent properties. Activities include planting in the 

orchard and vineyard, grafting and pruning grape vines, and tracking and analyzing 

data. Most recently, middle and high school students worked in teams to develop plans 

and a design for a new forest path. Middle school students have been engaged in 

STEM competitions that focus on developing solutions to real-world sustainability 

problems. These include the SeaPerch Underwater ROV Challenge; the National 

Environmental Education Foundation Climate Superstars Challenge; and, before that, 

the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, with projects that address ticks passed to 

humans and invasive aquatic species. Collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Monarch Watch 

afford students citizen scientist opportunities. 

University of Wisconsin; Oshkosh, Wisconsin 

The University of Wisconsin -- Oshkosh (UWO) uses the Sustainability Indicator 

Management and Analysis Platform to track and inventory its greenhouse gas 

emissions, signed Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment in 2006, and launched its first 

Climate Action Plan in 2009. UWO is 

committed to its goals of LEED Gold 

certification for new construction projects 

and LEED Silver certification for renovation 

projects, with four buildings currently 

certified Gold and five buildings certified 

Silver. Other buildings include such 

features as solar thermal hot water heating, 

geothermal systems, and photovoltaic 

arrays. UWO is home to two anaerobic 

digestion systems, which convert 10,000 

tons of yard and food waste per year to 

electrical energy. Maintenance of grounds 

includes the use of four 1,000-gallon rain 

barrel systems, paid for by the student 

green fund, which collect rainwater for use 

At University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, students 

obtain hands-on experience conducting water 

quality monitoring through the school’s

Environmental Research and Innovation 

Center.

Eighth graders at Washington Island School 

learn how to survey and map an area at 

Percy Johnson Park during one of their 

monthly forest education days.
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in watering around campus. The on-campus Environmental Research and Innovation 

Center leads Wisconsin in Great Lakes beach water quality monitoring. Hands-on 

internships have students learning various sustainability-related STEM skills, including 

water quality testing, aquatic invasive species monitoring, well testing, microplastics 

research, and lab operations. UWO earned a $418,000 grant from the EPA to purchase 

a trash skimmer boat to target several key waterways that drain into Green Bay and 

Lake Michigan. UWO’s “Harvest Room” produces 33% of the lettuce used in the dining 

halls as well as growing herbs through 12 tower gardens. All three campuses have 

earned Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation. The Cabinet is 

the free on-campus student food pantry. The Outdoor Adventure Center offers studentled outdoor activities and trips that combine recreation, sustainability, and education. 

Sustainability is a general education learning requirement integrated into the University 

Studies Program. UWO offers environmental studies, environmental engineering 

technology, and environmental health majors and minors, as well as a sustainable 

management master’s degree and certificate in environmental studies teaching. In 

2017, UWO formed the Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations, which 

facilitates interdisciplinary sustainability research, supports sustainability education, 

hosts events, and works to enhance on-campus sustainability using the campus as a 

living laboratory. Dedicated sustainability grants provide funding to students, faculty, 

and staff for sustainability research and projects. 
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Acknowledgements 

Over the past year, ED employees Kathrina Bridges, Kate Devine, Laurette Crum, 

Anastasia Cummins, Lizbeth Perez, Victoria Rosenboom, and Bernice Williams have 

pitched in to keep this project running. This program would not be feasible without their 

invaluable assistance.

Of course, this entire award would not be possible without the participation of some 25

state educational agencies and their hardworking partners that have built their own 

green teams to oversee statewide competitions that select schools, districts, and 

postsecondary institutions to nominate to ED. They are a dedicated group of facilities, 

health, and environmental education professionals who support the work of schools, 

districts, and postsecondary institutions in states across the nation. Finally, thanks to 

Adam Honeysett, ED’s managing director of state and local engagement, for his 

unfailing support of ED-GRS.
The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for 

global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

www.ed.gov