Highlights From the 2020

Honorees

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Contents

List of Tables ..............................................................................................................viii

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

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

2020 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools ........................................ 9

Alabama....................................................................................................................... 9

Magnolia Nature School at Camp McDowell; Nauvoo, Alabama............................... 9

California .................................................................................................................... 14

Creston Elementary School; Creston, California ..................................................... 14

Edison Elementary School; Alameda, California ..................................................... 18

Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School; La Crescenta, California......................... 21

Woodside Priory School; Portola Valley, California................................................. 25

Carmel Unified School District; Carmel, California .................................................. 29

Colorado..................................................................................................................... 33

Aspen Prep Academy; Greenwood Village, Colorado............................................. 33

Connecticut ................................................................................................................ 36

Middlebrook School; Wilton, Connecticut................................................................ 36

Delaware .................................................................................................................... 39

Odyssey Charter School; Wilmington, Delaware..................................................... 39

Ursuline Academy; Wilmington, Delaware .............................................................. 41

Florida ........................................................................................................................ 45
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Highland Elementary School; Lake Worth, Florida.................................................. 45

Martin County School District; Stuart, Florida.......................................................... 47

Georgia ...................................................................................................................... 50

Kennesaw State University; Kennesaw, Georgia .................................................... 50

Hawaii ........................................................................................................................ 55

SEEQS: The School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability; Honolulu, 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................... 55

Illinois ......................................................................................................................... 58

Joseph Sears School; Kenilworth, Illinois................................................................ 58

College of Lake County; Grayslake, Illinois ............................................................. 61

Indiana ....................................................................................................................... 65

Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation; Fishers, Indiana................................. 65

Kentucky .................................................................................................................... 69

Redwood Cooperative School; Lexington, Kentucky............................................... 69

Fayette County Public Schools; Lexington, Kentucky ............................................. 72

Maine ......................................................................................................................... 76

Camden Hills Regional High School; Rockport, Maine............................................ 76

Mount Desert Island High School; Bar Harbor, Maine............................................. 80

Maryland .................................................................................................................... 84

Oakland Terrace Elementary School; Silver Spring, Maryland................................ 84

Wellwood International School; Baltimore, Maryland .............................................. 86

Minnesota................................................................................................................... 89
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School of Engineering and Arts; Golden Valley, Minnesota .................................... 89

Missouri...................................................................................................................... 92

Sunrise Elementary School; DeSoto, Missouri........................................................ 92

Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School; Ladue, Missouri ..................... 95

Parkway School District; Chesterfield, Missouri ...................................................... 98

Nebraska.................................................................................................................. 102

Mickle Middle School; Lincoln, Nebraska.............................................................. 102

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart; Omaha, Nebraska ............................... 104

Bayard Public Schools; Bayard, Nebraska............................................................ 108

Nevada..................................................................................................................... 110

Truckee Meadows Community College; Reno, Nevada........................................ 110

New Jersey .............................................................................................................. 113

Cape May City Elementary School; Cape May City, New Jersey.......................... 113

Readington Middle School; Whitehouse Station, New Jersey............................... 115

New Mexico.............................................................................................................. 119

Coyote Willow Family School; Albuquerque, New Mexico .................................... 119

North Carolina .......................................................................................................... 121

Lincoln Heights Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary School; FuquayVarina, North Carolina........................................................................................... 121

Millbrook Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary School; Raleigh, North 

Carolina................................................................................................................. 125

Walker-Spivey Elementary School; Fayetteville, North Carolina ........................... 128
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Pennsylvania............................................................................................................ 130

Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary School; Spring House, Pennsylvania ...... 130

Rhode Island ............................................................................................................ 133

The Grace School at Meeting Street; Providence, Rhode Island .......................... 133

South Carolina ......................................................................................................... 135

Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School; McClellanville, South 

Carolina................................................................................................................. 135

Furman University; Greenville, South Carolina ..................................................... 138

Utah.......................................................................................................................... 142

Bonneville Elementary School; Salt Lake City, Utah ............................................. 142

Wasatch Academy; Mount Pleasant, Utah ............................................................ 145

Virginia ..................................................................................................................... 149

Ocean View Elementary School; Norfolk, Virginia................................................. 149

Rappahannock County Public Schools; Washington, Virginia............................... 152

Washington .............................................................................................................. 155

Carl Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School; Kirkland, Wash. .. 155

Montessori Children’s House; Redmond, Washington .......................................... 158

Pullman Public Schools; Pullman, Washington ..................................................... 161

Seattle Public Schools; Seattle, Washington......................................................... 165

Wahluke School District; Mattawa, Washington .................................................... 169

Wisconsin................................................................................................................. 172

Lincoln Avenue Elementary School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin.................................. 172
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McDill Elementary School; Stevens Point, Wisconsin ........................................... 175

Indian Community School; Franklin, Wisconsin .................................................... 178

School District of Bayfield; Bayfield, Wisconsin..................................................... 181

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; Whitewater, Wisconsin ............................... 185

Acknowledgments .................................................................................................... 190
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List of Tables

Table 1. Number of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools 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. 2020 honorees by type............................................................................6
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Introduction

Origins of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School 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 an unprecedented 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 impact, 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, acoustics, daylighting, pest management, 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 (science, technology, 

engineering, and math) 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

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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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 them document nominees’ work in the Three Pillars, ultimately, states have 

flexibility in their selection and nomination, so 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 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. 

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

With the 2020 cohort, some 459 schools, 87 districts, and 49 postsecondary 

institutions have received an ED-GRS award (see Table 1). In this case, larger 

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, 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.
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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

Total 459 87 49 595

*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. Approximately 30 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 20 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

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

Bureau of Indian Education are invited to nominate. 
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Contributing to the Development of a More Coherent Definition of a Green School

A key contribution of the award is believed to be that, to some degree and for at 

least a time, it 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. 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 limited availability of funds, the award has facilitated collaborations and 

connections that have saved 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 (NOAA); U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (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, many 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 
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award has become a tool to get various parties working better together for the 

benefit of students across the nation. 

Green Schools Are Successfully Serving Disadvantaged Populations 

Annually 30–55 percent 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 disadvantaged, 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, built 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 2020 Cohort

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

nominated and exhaustively reviewed by 27 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 
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committees. At the federal level, we have selected 39 schools, 11 districts, and five 

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).

Table 3. 2020 honorees by type 

Total honorees 55

Early learning through 12th-grade 

schools 

39

Nonpublic schools 11

Charter schools 4

Magnet schools 3

Public schools 28

Districts 11

Institutions of higher education 5

Disadvantaged-serving schools 25

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. 
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It is with tremendous pleasure that we present the 2020 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 2020 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 Elizabeth Schmitz, environmental and sustainability 

education program supervisor at the Office of the Superintendent of Public 

Instruction in Washington state, and previously of the Kentucky Environmental 

Education Council, as the 2020 recipient of the Director’s Award. Schmitz hosted the 

Green Strides Tour in Kentucky in 2014 and in Washington state in 2019. She has 

spearheaded outreach to underserved school populations to advance education 

equity and has worked to streamline her state applications. She participated in 

numerous conferences promoting the award and environmental education, including 

the North American Association for Environmental Education and the Green Schools 

Conference and Expo. Finally, she has engaged stakeholders from peer state

agencies and the for-profit and nonprofit private sectors in order to share sustainable 

best practices, select ED-GRS nominees, and celebrate honored institutions.

In sum, Ms. Schmitz has modeled excellence in ED-GRS’ implementation for other 

state education authorities to follow. ED commends Ms. Schmitz for her work to 

promote environmental stewardship, health, and sustainability and for inspiring more 

schools to aim high. 
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2020 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Alabama

Magnolia Nature School at Camp McDowell; Nauvoo, Alabama

Growing up wild

Magnolia Nature School is a nature-based pre-K school housed on the 1,140-acre 

campus of Camp McDowell in Winston County, Alabama. Camp McDowell is home 

to Magnolia Nature School, Alabama Folk School, McDowell Environmental Center, 

and McDowell Farm School. Magnolia is Alabama's first nature preschool and Camp 

McDowell's youngest summer program. Children ages 3–6 explore the farm, forest, 

and streams of Camp McDowell. Through hands-on experience and inquiry-based 

learning, Magnolia is a place where curiosity is welcome and there are never enough 

answers. Magnolia’s goal is to create future stewards of the Earth. The school 

serves a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged community and provides a highquality STEAM-based education that utilizes the natural world as its classroom. 

Only in operation for three years, Magnolia has received recognition for its efforts in 

environmental education. In 2019, Magnolia was awarded the Environmental 

Education Association of Alabama Best Environmental Education Program award. In 

2018, Magnolia was awarded a three-year, $60,000 grant from The Daniel 

Foundation of Alabama, whose mission is to strengthen communities within 

Alabama through the support of effective organizations that are focused on building 

a healthy and well-educated population living in a vibrant community. 

Camp McDowell is making great strides toward energy independence and reducing 

its carbon footprint. It currently utilizes a geothermal system that helps reduce 

energy consumption and has three of its busiest buildings, including the Doug 

Carpenter building in which Magnolia students eat most meals, on this system. Solar 

arrays provide electricity to five buildings on campus, which saved McDowell $9,500 

in only the first six months of use. The savings from the solar installation are being 

placed in an energy independent fund, which can only be used to expand and invest 

in other renewable energy installations at Camp McDowell. The farm is home to 

solar powered streetlamps as well.

Another exciting addition to McDowell’s renewable energy profile is a hydroelectric 

system called an Archimedes screw, which will soon be installed on an existing dam 

on the property to allow less dependence on carbon burning systems. During peak 

water flow, this system will provide more electricity than the entire camp uses. Camp 
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McDowell will be one of the first 

facilities in North America to use 

this technology to produce 

electricity. 

Magnolia takes further steps to 

increase efficiency by using LED 

light bulbs; ensuring that lights, air 

conditioning, and heating units are 

off when buildings are not being 

used; and replacing old appliances 

with ENERGY STAR-rated 

appliances. The school recently 

had an energy audit conducted 

and will be using the analysis to 

continue to make changes to the 

campus to further lessen its carbon 

footprint. 

Camp McDowell also makes efforts to promote water quality and conservation. 

Settling ponds have been constructed on the campus to limit the damaging runoff 

from nearby lands that were once coal mined. Where once the nearby streams and 

creeks could not support life, now they are full of healthy invertebrates. Rain 

catchment systems are placed around buildings and structures on the McDowell 

farm and will soon be placed around the school building for students to use to water 

nearby gardens. Students often hike to nearby streams and creeks and are taught 

about water quality as they collect and study macroinvertebrates. Students also 

carry reusable water bottles throughout the day and are taught the value of 

protecting and preserving water sources. Camp McDowell also has a land 

management plan and a staff member whose primary job is land management and 

growing foods that can go on the over 120,000 plates that are served annually to 

guests at McDowell. 

Magnolia students participate in Camp McDowell’s recycling program for plastics, 

paper, cardboard, aluminum, and steel. Camp McDowell received a $30,000 grant in 

2015 from the United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Church to build a recycling 

center, which has a plastics bailer and cardboard press and bailer. They also gather 

and sell aluminum and steel. 

With the McDowell Farm School literally just outside the door of the Magnolia 

building, the students participate in farm chores. Any leftover fruit, vegetables, or 

bread from their meals or snacks are fed to the pigs or chickens at the farm, 
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composted in the farm compost bins, or picked up by farmers to give to their farm 

animals. The Farm School also has a black soldier fly composting area that can 

even accept meat scraps. Camp McDowell hosts and feeds large numbers of 

campers and visitors throughout the year. Kitchen staff also participate in recycling 

and reduced waste production by composting, feeding appropriate scraps to animals 

on the McDowell farm, or by giving scraps to local farmers to give to their farm 

animals. 

Several of the children who attend Magnolia, or who have in the past, live on the 

Camp McDowell campus. Their families often walk or bike to school. Those that do 

not are encouraged to carpool. 

Magnolia, as a part of Camp McDowell, takes great efforts to ensure student and 

environmental health and safety. Chemical pesticides are not routinely used indoors, 

and children learn to identify and remove pests in the garden by hand, without the 

use of pesticides. Sunscreen is applied to all children in the morning and shade 

cloths are installed in the yard area to limit student’s exposure to the sun. 

Proper risk management is utilized by teachers in the outdoor classroom. Site 

assessments are conducted before children play in any space. Teachers recognize 

hazards and identify them for the children. If an area is deemed unsafe, then the 

group will not stay there. The extent of risk is understood by the children as risky 

play is only valuable when children can easily identify it. For example, when 

applicable, children are warned that rocks are slippery and are instructed to avoid 

them or walk slowly on them. Teachers have safety protocols to use when children 

are participating in potentially risky outdoor activities, such as climbing trees, which 

is an excellent gross motor activity for physical development. It also boosts 

confidence and self-esteem, helps develop focus and concentration, promotes 

problem-solving skills, and is a rich sensory experience. Protocols are being 

established for other risky activities, such as trail hiking, using tools, stream wading, 

and for being outside in extreme temperatures. Staff members participate in 

mandatory safeguard training to keep staff and children safe. A camp nurse is

available at all times. 

Magnolia cares for all aspects of a child’s physical and mental health and believes in 

the documented benefits of outdoor play and learning. Through a partnership with 

Community Action Partnership of North America (Head Start), Magnolia is able to 

provide free health screenings, including mental health, vision, dental, and speech, 

for all children. Children participate in activities that encourage physical 

development, such as climbing, yoga, hiking, balancing, using balls, and playing 

active games. Magnolia has three full-time teaching staff who are provided with Blue 

Cross health benefits. 
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Magnolia provides breakfast, lunch, and snacks, including fresh fruits and 

vegetables, for the students daily and follows USDA nutritional guidelines provided 

by the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama. Sometimes this food is 

harvested by the children themselves on the farm or from the schoolyard’s raised 

bed gardens. Although the farm is not certified organic, all farming at McDowell is 

done organically and supplemental organic produce is purchased when appropriate 

to the budget. 

Magnolia Nature school students spend at least 80 percent of the school day outside 

exploring the farm, streams, and trails. The children feed pigs, milk goats, and check 

chicken coops. They participate in planting projects and eat food from the raised bed 

garden that they help maintain. Students water, weed, and harvest lettuce, carrots, 

and other produce to eat at lunch or as a snack. Children are fed meat from farm 

animals they helped raise. The garden and the farm are used as a teaching tool to 

help children understand where their food comes from and the hard work and time it 

takes to cultivate it. 

Teachers and students discuss food chains and plant life cycles. If a deer has eaten 

carrots from the garden, they may discuss what will happen next. Questions such as 

“Will anything eat the deer?” “What do the plants need to survive and grow?” or 

“What would happen to the plant if we did not pick it?” are asked to reinforce 

learning. Teachers and students also participate in activities and discussions which 

help them understand ways in which humans use the environment and the need to 

conserve it. 

All teaching staff are given the opportunity to go through biannual professional 

learning along with McDowell Environmental Center and Farm Staff. These classes 

include “Down to Earth,” which is about coal, what produced it, why it is harvested, 

and what can be done to conserve energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. 

Another class is called “Sustainability,” a class on human environmental impacts and 

how to become a more sustainable community. McDowell is a member of the 

Environmental Education Association of Alabama, which is an affiliate of the North 

American Association for Environmental Education and the Association of Nature 

Center Administrators. Magnolia Nature school is a member of the Natural Start 

Alliance (NSA). The school director and a teacher were invited to present at the 

2019 NSA national conference about Magnolia’s partnership with Head Start. This 

unique partnership funds quality environmental and outdoor education for a 

population that could not traditionally afford it. 

During the first few weeks of each school year, daily adventures are usually limited 

to closer to the small school building, but, even then, students have a natural play 

area with sandbox and shade trees, as well as a short trail through the woods 
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directly behind the school that they are allowed to travel and explore alone. It is 

about 75–100 feet long and weaves through some trees and bushes that make the 

children feel independent, although their teachers can see their little heads bobbing 

through the trees. 

As the children’s endurance builds, the adventures take on more distance. The 

preschoolers often hike around the 4-acre lake or to some of the amazing sandstone 

canyons and natural shelters on camp property. They learn about water quality as 

they wade into a small stream and find tiny macroinvertebrates there. Magnolia 

Nature School partners with the McDowell Environmental Center to learn about local 

wildlife and wildlife rehabilitation. The McDowell Environmental Center staff bring in 

reptiles, amphibians, and birds of prey for students to learn about. 

The incorporation of arts and music adds the “A” to STEAM. The coordinator of the 

Alabama Folk School teaches ukulele lessons and plays for the children’s dance 

parties. They have pottery classes and create nature art both in the wild and in the 

classroom. They make recycled paper. 

The Magnolia Curriculum is an inquiry-based model, which focuses on exploring 

nature and encouraging creativity. Children use natural objects to imagine, examine, 

wonder, create, and count. Teaching objectives align with the Alabama 

developmental standards for preschool children. Curriculum is shaped to meet these 

standards through activities in nature. The students are constantly using engineering 

practices in their building of bridges, sandcastles, forts, and other structures out of 

items found in nature. Students directly interact with adults with green careers, 

including farmers, members of Alabama Water Watch, and Environmental Educators 

at McDowell Environmental Center. 

Magnolia Nature School is dedicated to developing civic knowledge and skills in its 

students. Children are given classroom jobs, such as sweeper, door opener, and 

tidying up the books. Magnolia children pick up litter from around Camp McDowell 

property to keep the woods and community clean. As they do this, there are lots of 

discussions about why they are doing it. The students also help clear and maintain 

trails for the camp community. Monthly planned family activities provide a sense of 

community. The parents are invited to bring other children and extended family 

members. 

Magnolia participated in the first annual Camp McDowell Fall Festival, an event for 

the community that brought in around 700 local people, many who had never been 

to the camp before. Magnolia collects and donates clothes to children who are in 

need. The school keeps clothes to lend to children during the day, keeping them 

comfortable and protected from the weather. 
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Magnolia students are growing up connected to the natural world and surrounded by 

adults who are walking the walk each day through environmental career choices.

California

Creston Elementary School; Creston, California

Hands-on, student-centered, and engaged

Creston Elementary’s team of highly qualified professionals is committed to 

providing students with meaningful opportunities to learn about their world. Creating 

change that can be seen daily is at the forefront of Creston’s approach and 

dedication to environmental stewardship. From the introduction of rain barrels and 

native plants to creating sustainable facilities, Creston has created a learning 

environment that exceeds traditional classroom learning. 

Creston Elementary created its own Energy Conservation Plan to manage and 

reduce energy consumption. The plan follows the practices of the Atascadero 

Unified School District’s (AUSD) Resource Management Guide and serves as a 

guiding document for monitoring current energy conservation practices. Energy use 

at Creston is controlled by a programmable energy management system. 

Components of California’s Blueprint for Environmental Literacy are also used as 

guiding principles for energy reduction. Staff use these documents to guide and 

support Creston’s goal of providing continual and long-term environmental education

— grounded in sustainability — to every one of their students. 

In 2019, Creston upgraded school buildings by adding high-efficiency technologies 

and energy-reducing components, including low emissivity roofing, increased 

insulation, Low-E glass, and updating lighting fixtures to LED. The school installed 

Marmoleum on uncarpeted areas and low-flow toilet valves and sink fixtures in 

restrooms. 

The Creston campus utilizes natural areas to enhance learning and their 

sustainability efforts. The campus has very few paved areas, less than 20 percent. 

Approximately 65 percent of the remaining surfaces support a green model, 

including native plants, gardens, grass, trees for shade, and a path for exercise. In 

2019, Creston made another environmental stride forward by reducing the heat 

island effect by re-asphalting all remaining paved areas with materials containing 

heat sink colors. 

The site’s landscaping is water efficient and uses native trees, plants, and shrubs. 

When two large trees had to be removed due to potential hazards, Creston staff 
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asked AUSD’s grounds department to chip the tree into mulch to use around the 

site. Rainwater is harvested with five rain barrels around the school that students 

use to water the garden and planter beds. 

Creston students undertake three waste audits each year, using waste collected 

over a two-day period. The waste is then sorted and weighed to determine Creston’s 

waste production. The school has removed waste bins from classrooms; only 

recycling bins are available for student and staff use in the classrooms. Staff work 

closely with the district’s Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation hub to further 

Creston’s recycling and waste management practices. 

Efforts to educate students, families, and staff about the importance of finding ways 

to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution are an essential component of reaching 

Creston’s goals. To that end, Creston installed three carpool parking signs and noidling signs. The school added a section to the student handbook on the rules, 

expectations, and reason for carpooling and no-idling at school. Some school bus 

routes have been modified to be driven by smaller vans that are more fuel-efficient 

and decrease air pollution. 

Over the past three years, Creston partnered with the San Luis Obispo Council of 

Government to provide students with Bike Rodeo events. Bike Rodeos give students 

the opportunity to improve their bike-riding skills, as well as enhance their 

understanding of bike and pedestrian safety. In 2019, Creston was a recipient of a 

Safe Routes to School scholarship that enabled the school to provide students with 

incentives on days they walked or rode to school. 

The school only carries waste in proper storage devices, immediately tends to any 

leaks and cracks, installs barriers and traps, and manages the resources that draw 

pests to the site. Only after other options are proven ineffective may staff consider 

pesticides. Staff limits the time spent outdoors when the air quality is poor due to 

excessive smog or smoke. Chemicals are used only for cleaning purposes, not for 

educational purposes, and only by trained staff. All art supplies are nontoxic. 

Creston staff ensure that healthy food choices, movement, and P.E. play a vital role 

in their program. Staff regularly exceed the required hours for P.E., and movement 

breaks are provided throughout the day. Staff also demonstrate the reason behind 

policies, including showing students the amount of sugar that would be consumed if 

they celebrated every holiday, special activity, or birthday with sugary treats. 

All Creston students participate in the SunWise program to learn sun-safe behaviors, 

and the school has implemented resources from the Alliance for a Healthier 

Generation, including “Reimagine Recess” and “15 Minutes to Healthier Habits.” 
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Throughout the day, students participate in brain breaks in the classroom using Go 

Noodle, Jack Hartman, and other types of developmentally appropriate exercise 

videos. 

Creston implements the “Caring School Community” curriculum, a nationally 

recognized, evidence-based curriculum that provides students with tools to create 

healthy relationships with peers and develop essential social skills. The program 

improves students’ emotional connectedness to school by utilizing a “buddies” 

program, home-school connection, and a schoolwide component that teaches 

students respect and ownership for their actions and behavior. 

Staff and students engage in conversations about how sustainability affects the 

culture of learning and thinking at Creston. As a result, many curriculum resources 

have transitioned from paper-pencil to online. Students and staff use the school’s 

natural landscape, which is abundant in natural life, animals, and trees, for its 

ecological resources to implement California’s Next Generation Science Standards. 

Students receive direct instruction around grade-level specific standards in science, 

mathematics, and English language arts aligned to outdoor education. The school 

garden, rain collection barrels, and a collection of new programs and resources 

provide the Creston community with the opportunity to create and sustain the quality 

of their environment. 

Creston’s partnership with Cuesta College’s Sustainability Resource Center has 

enlisted resources from the local community college to offer students instruction 

using hands-on kits from the National Energy Education Development (NEED) 

Project. Classroom teachers supplement their science instruction using the NEED 

kits free of charge to provide instruction in renewable energy through the lens of 

hands-on projects that incorporate math, engineering, reading, and writing. 

The school began planting fruit-bearing trees throughout the site in 2019, with 

students providing input for their location. The main garden is home to a chicken 

coop, above-ground food beds, two greenhouses, two compost bins, and an outdoor 

classroom. Creston’s smaller garden — aptly named “Kindergarden”— is intended 

for use by Creston’s Transitional Kindergarten and kindergarten students. 

Beginning in the 2018–19 school year, a student-led, low-cost farmers market was 

created. There, students sell eggs, vegetables, and fruits. Each month, there is an 

opportunity for TK–fifth-grade students to volunteer at the school during Gardens 
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Work Day, where they volunteer their time 

by raking, shoveling, and cleaning up their 

school garden. 

A Music Garden is comprised of three 

donated pianos, two donated organs, and 

a plethora of musical instruments for 

students to explore. A Sensory Garden is 

comprised of a sensory path; sound tube; 

plants for touching, smelling, and eating; 

and a giant standing xylophone. It also 

features recycled materials and provides 

students with a calm place for learning 

and meditating. Creston’s garden projects 

provide opportunities for students to foster 

an interest in the process of being 

conscientious about their environment and 

the world around them. 

Creston uses the Living Schoolyard 

Activity Guide from Green Schoolyards 

America to inform instruction, with each 

grade level using lessons twice weekly 

throughout the month of May, California’s 

Living Schoolyard Month. These activities 

cover a range of topics, from socialemotional well-being to watershed 

stewardship. This year, students will incorporate a science fair and display projects 

accomplished throughout the school year. 

Students visit a Monarch butterfly park in Pismo Beach to learn about changing 

landscapes. Fourth- and fifth-grade students participate in “The Great AGventure” 

field trip, where they interact at six agriculturally themed stations: farm animals, 

seeds and plants, fertilizer, meteorology, harvesting and farm machinery, and 

environmental stewardship. Creston also utilizes Rancho El Chorro Outdoor Schools 

for a Traveling Naturalist program and an outdoor school. Rancho El Chorro’s 

instructional program is student-centered, hands-on, and engaged all of Creston’s 

TK–fifth-grade students with nature.
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Edison Elementary School; Alameda, California

Reverberating sustainability impact across district and city 

Edison Elementary School has been leading its community and district in 

sustainability efforts since 2000, when the school initiated a parent-led garden 

program. These efforts became the seeds for the Alameda School District’s (AUSD) 

Go Green movement, launched in 2004. Environmental themes have not only 

shaped the culture of the school, but successfully persuaded both the district and the 

City of Alameda to update policies. 

Edison earned ENERGY STAR certification in 2019 with a score of 77. Between the 

years of 2009 and 2018, Edison documented a 41 percent decrease in greenhouse 

gas emissions. Staff and student conservation education, Edison’s participation with 

AUSD’s energy conservation solution provider Cenergistic, and major campus 

modernization projects completed from 2018–19 all contributed to this reduction. 

Edison’s electrical energy, purchased from Alameda Municipal Power, is zerocarbon as of Jan. 1, 2020. The school also participates in the utility company’s 

“Power Up for Learning” educational program. In partnership with the Alameda 

Education Foundation, this innovative initiative has brought to life a STEM Robotics 

Club for upper grades in Alameda elementary schools. 

Edison has reduced its water use by 36 percent since 2009 by installing highefficiency faucets, diverting water through bioswales, and practicing systematic 

monitoring. Edison also uses drip irrigation with a three-station timer to reduce 

watering in the vegetable garden as well as the native and low-water habitats. 

Adding to water conservation efforts, the Garden Science teacher shows fifth-grade 

students how to retain water and improve garden conditions through sheet mulch, 

utilizing organic mulch, cardboard, and burlap bags. 

Random surveys of the school’s bike cage show that three times as many riders on 

Walk & Roll (W&R), days and five times as many on Bike to School Days. In 

addition, several parents lead Edison Bike Buses or Walking School Buses. Parents 

who must drive during W&R events are encouraged to park a minimum of three 

blocks away and walk the remainder. Many Edison teachers take advantage of 

public transportation via AC Transit, Bay Area Rapid Transit, and SF/Alameda 

ferries for field trips and daily commuting.

The school began monitoring waste service levels in 2013 and demonstrates an 80 

percent diversion rate, which is among the highest in both the district and county. 

After several years of audits, students have found that classrooms now produce so 

little trash they must weigh it in grams rather than pounds. Three-stream collection 
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rates are reported to the AUSD Board of Education annually during Earth Month to 

increase awareness. At the beginning of each year, Edison teaches — and reteaches — every student how to properly sort compost, recycling, and landfill waste, 

and how to rescue uneaten food during lunch. Proper sorting includes studentconducted waste audits that were institutionalized and made teacher-led over time 

through partnership with StopWaste.org. By invitation, Edison presented to 

StopWaste.org stakeholders about Go Green efforts and their results. Training 

students, staff, and custodians annually through multiple touchpoints helped to 

increase Edison’s waste diversion rate by 30 percent over the last 10 years. 

Edison does not use pesticides. Students working in the gardens use horticultural 

soap, along with biodegradable soap, oil, and compost tea. On occasion, neem oil is 

used on the fruit trees. Edison equips classrooms with acoustical ceiling tiles to 

reduce airborne noise and to improve sound quality. In 2018, Edison’s new Low-E 

solar film windows were installed to improve comfort and increase daylight. 

Overhangs were also built on classrooms with southern exposure to help with heat 

and glare remediation while allowing in more natural light. All classrooms can open 

windows for ventilation. A districtwide green cleaning program has, over time, 

reduced dozens of cleaning chemicals down to only a few Green Seal-certified 

alternatives. Edison has no parking lot, a well-publicized no-idling policy, and an 

ongoing tree-planting campaign to improve outdoor air quality around the school.

In 2008, Edison was the first AUSD school to implement a fresh salad bar and 

influenced other schools to follow. Due to this initial effort, salad bars are now 

available at all schools in Alameda. Edison has a Food Share Bin where uneaten 

healthy foods from Food Services can be shared to both reduce food waste and feed 

others. Food Share Bin items are saved for students in need of snacks, and uneaten 

foods are donated to local groups. 

Edison has an edible garden containing fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables, with a 

designated space for instruction. Edison students participate in weeding and digging 

in the teaching garden during their scheduled garden classes, at recess, or during 

weekend garden workdays. In 2018, an additional outdoor classroom was created 

for the school. Excess produce from Edison’s school garden is given to staff and 

Edison families. On occasion, when enough is in season, excess produce is also 

given to Alameda’s Food Shift Kitchen, a local nonprofit catering business that works 

collaboratively with communities, grocers, and governments to cook and serve food 

that would otherwise go to waste. 

Every student at Edison has the opportunity to try garden-grown vegetables. This 

starts with the kindergarten lesson, “Five Senses in the Garden,” which encourages 

students to taste, smell, and touch what they see growing. Students plant, grow, 
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harvest, and cook the organic vegetables they eat. At the end of the year, students 

receive a cookbook of recipes that they made, including pesto, stir fry, salad, 

rosemary potatoes, cheesy chard, fig jam, salad dressing, roasted pumpkin seeds, 

and salsa. 

Telework Schedule for 4/14/2020 from 6:30 - 3:00 MDTIn 2014, AUSD received the 

California School Boards Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award for a districtwide 

Green Schools Program. Edison was one of two model schools during CSBA’s 

validation process, and several Edison 

parents and teachers were named as 

part of this award for their districtwide 

contributions. Student letter campaigns 

from 2015 to 2019 to City of Alameda 

officials and local businesses have 

been instrumental in moving the 

needle on numerous local issues, 

including the implementation of threestream recycling bins in downtown 

areas, the creation of the City of 

Alameda’s “Straws on Request” policy, 

and a compostable foodware 

ordinance for restaurants. 

Edison’s list of assemblies, classroom 

programs, and community activities 

weigh increasingly toward 

environmental and sustainable impact 

focus areas, including visits from Ms. 

Resilience, Mr. EcoHero (mreco.org), 

Imperfect Produce, Alameda County’s 

Waterways Puppeteer, KIDS for the 

BAY, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Safe 

Routes to Schools Bike and Pedestrian 

Rodeo, and many more. Edison 

students host a table at the annual City 

Earth Day events through Community 

Action for Sustainable Alameda. Many 

of Edison’s student field trips focus on environmental education, outdoor programs, 

and science. This includes visits to Lawrence Berkeley Labs (UC Berkeley), Chabot 

Space and Science Center, California Academy of Science and Aquarium (San 

Francisco), the Oakland Zoo, the Ardenwood Historic Farm, and Alameda’s very 

own Crab Cove.
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The school’s annual Earth Week celebrations — sometimes month-long —

exemplify the school’s environmental leadership by hosting such events as 

environmental learning assemblies, slide show presentations, zero-waste lunch 

photo boards of students, campus tree planting, student morning show Green Tips, 

earth-related mural paintings, Go Green Family Nights, Golden Sneaker Award Walk 

& Roll days, and the invention of Edison’s famous “Recycle Cart” built by the Dad’s 

Club and used by every family at school to dispose of hard-to-recycle items. 

Edison’s faculty have embraced the integration of environmental education and 

sustainability concepts across its curriculum. The school employs several policies 

regarding this work, including a written definition of environmental literacy, which 

focuses efforts on three thematic areas: Ocean and Bay Science, Watershed 

Protection, and Ecology and Biodiversity Awareness. Environmental literacy is being 

integrated into Edison’s science instruction via the Full Option Science System 

(FOSS) Program, a research-based science curriculum for grades K–8 developed at 

the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California in Berkeley. The FOSS 

curriculum is used schoolwide and ensures that all students are learning about life 

science in the context of the Earth’s connected ecosystem. Students study animals, 

plants, environments, and living systems. 

Edison is motivated to take its environmental and sustainability stewardship as well 

as its ability to organize and influence other schools and districts to new innovative 

levels. In November 2019, five students from Edison’s new 2019 “Green Otters” 

student club attended AUSD’s Board of Education meeting during which a studentwritten “Resolution Calling for Climate Crisis Response” was unanimously passed by 

board members. This move, in conjunction with the City of Alameda’s new 2019 

“Climate Action & Resiliency Plan” will only strengthen Edison’s position to continue 

scaling environmental impact and education.

Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School; La Crescenta, California

Flagship sustainable career and tech

Clark Magnet High School is located within Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) 

and opened in 1998 as a science and technology magnet school with a mission to 

prepare a diverse population of students for college and the highly technical careers 

of tomorrow. Clark Magnet prides itself on its school-to-career philosophy and a 

commitment to a rigorous and relevant curriculum. More than 80 percent of the 

school’s students are non-native English speakers and over 50 percent live in 

poverty. These students achieve through a deliberate and strategic program that 

features individualized instruction structured around high-engagement strategies 

with a personalized approach to learning. 
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Clark Magnet is the flagship school of the Career Technical Education program in 

GUSD. Through articulation agreements and shared grants, the school has close 

relationships with Glendale Community College and the local California State 

Universities, as well as collaborative articulation with the district’s feeder middle and 

elementary schools. Students 

from the environmental science 

research class organized a 

BioBlitz event for the district and 

the public at Deukmejian 

Wilderness Park. Clark Magnet 

students, middle school students, 

members of the “Human Impacts 

on the Environment” class at 

Glendale College, and interested 

volunteers from the community 

used the iNaturalist mobile app to 

catalog biodiversity in the hillside 

park just blocks up the street 

from the campus. 

Clark Magnet is a leader in 

teaching environmental science 

research and Geographic 

Information Systems (GIS) with 

the creation of the Environmental 

and Spatial Technology Program 

in 2003. The program has 

evolved to include a number of 

classes, including Marine 

Science Research, 

Environmental GIS, and Geology 

of Disasters. 

Geology of Disasters uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazus 

software for risk assessment, loss estimation, and loss mitigation as a result of 

natural disasters. Once Clark Magnet students were trained in the use of this 

software, the City of Glendale asked students to assist with writing the City’s Local 

Hazard Mitigation Plan. 

Clark Magnet implements project-based learning through solving real-world 

problems with a hands-on, practical approach. This work includes the application of 

core mathematics and science standards in the projects completed in technologyClark Magnet students have gained extensive 

experience from field trips on ocean research 

vessels, particularly off the coast of Ventura and 

the nearby Channel Islands. 
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infused courses. Many facets of the academic and co-curricular programs require 

students to explore the development and application of science engineering and 

technology in achieving a sustainable lifestyle for humanity. In each classroom, it is 

not uncommon to see students dialoguing about global and environmental issues 

while collaborating on ideas to develop and utilize innovative tools and systems to 

make positive change. Students have operated the school’s robotic underwater 

remotely operated vehicle and sonar equipment while taking samples of marine life 

and photographing marine plant growth on the ocean bottom. 

Students at Clark Magnet pursue their passions and interests through a Senior 

Project. The goal is for young people to demonstrate growth — a learning stretch 

that takes them beyond their comfort zone. In recent years, a student interested in 

ecological sustainability and conservation designed their own hydroponics system 

and had it on display at the school. Another student focused on agriculture and 

designed a microclimate in their own Plexiglas ecosystem. Yet another student 

worked with several jellyfish species they had researched and bred. 

On-site, students conducted a water survey of the campus, including the placement 

of water spigots and irrigation systems. An early finding is that the current pop-up 

sprinklers on the athletic field are not long enough to get past the soil and grass, 

causing inefficiencies in how water is getting to grass and foliage. Students initiated 

contact with the GUSD facilities department to work on solutions. In addition, 

students explored the microclimates on campus to identify areas that could be easily 

covered with shade structures and other barriers to allow students to continue to 

enjoy the outdoors yet stay protected from the elements. 

Students use Xello, a college and career planning software, in the first few years of 

high school to explore interest inventories and their potential to influence the world 

around them. Clark Magnet’s service-learning requirement also gives students realworld experience and promotes a sense of connectedness to the surrounding 

community. Technology permeates the campus, allowing students access via 

computer labs, workstations, industry-standard software applications, and 924 

Chromebooks in 23 carts deployed around the campus. The online Q Student and 

Parent Portals and Google Suite for each student allow a seamless connection 

between home and school. 

Clark Magnet received ENERGY STAR certification in 2010 with a score of 94 and 

maintains a score of 91. The school achieved a 42 percent reduction in greenhouse 

gas emissions since establishing a baseline in 2009. On-site solar arrays installed in 

2012 meet approximately 55 percent of the school’s energy needs and have saved 

the district nearly $500,000 to date. Between 2012 and 2018, Clark Magnet reduced 

outdoor water use by more than 29 percent. The school sought to further these 
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reductions by installing Weathermatic Smart-Line Controllers for evapotranspiration 

watering based on weather data and other site-specific factors. 

Approximately 70 percent of Clark Magnet students ride the bus. In 2018, school 

leaders optimized bus routes to eliminate multiple stops, reduce idling, and 

maximize capacity to fill seats on each trip. As a magnet school, transportation can 

be a challenging issue. Still, school leaders were able to reduce stops across the city 

from 22 to 20 and to reduce the number of buses from 17 to 15, reducing the 

school’s environmental impact as measured by vehicle miles traveled and 

associated emissions. On an annual “Walk to School Day,” a team of Clark Magnet 

student leaders assists the nearby elementary school by walking with students, 

parents, and staff volunteers to get kids to school safely and to promote a healthy 

lifestyle. 

To prevent asthma triggers around the school, custodial and facilities crews perform 

all classroom cleaning and disinfecting before or after school hours to minimize staff 

and student exposure to chemicals. Whenever possible, cleaning is done with water 

and microfiber rags to minimize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) introduced into 

the environment. Cleaning products are selected by the district’s purchasing 

department from a list of clean products compiled by the Operation Manager. All 

school custodians are trained in chemical management and integrated pest 

management practices. 

Access to clean drinking water at Clark Magnet is supplied by the local municipality, 

Glendale Water & Power (GWP) and is tested weekly internally in addition to tests 

performed by external laboratories. GWP sends out water quality reports yearly 

confirming the water delivered meets all state and federal drinking water regulations 

but also exceeds all standards and health requirements. The drinking water at Clark 

Magnet was also tested by the City of Glendale. 

Nutrition Services sources approximately 65 percent of its produce from local 

farmers in Ontario, California. GUSD’s produce vendor sends out a monthly Farm to 

School flyer that highlights particular produce items and the farms where they are 

grown. Sustainably grown California wheat is milled and baked in Los Angeles. 

Bike Club members invest approximately 100 hours outside of school during 

afternoons and on weekends working out and competing in regional cycling 

competitions. This club is run entirely by adult volunteers and exists due to the 

generosity of local businesses. As evidence of their hard work, the girls’ team 

competed in the 2017 National Interscholastic Cycling Association State Finals.
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Students in Clark Magnet’s Environmental Club led the establishment of a rose 

garden and have planted California native plants on campus in the interest of 

attracting bees and other beneficial insects and for the purpose of growing plants 

that are drought tolerant. Students conducted an analysis of the microclimate at 

Clark Magnet and started a “living wall” of plants to reduce the heat island effect. 

Clark Magnet students celebrate senior year with multiple outdoor activities, 

including senior sunset and sunrise events and an early September trip to Catalina 

Island, where students hike, cycle, snorkel, fish, and play in the water along the 

beach in Avalon. 

To reduce waste, Clark Magnet implemented a trade-in program for P.E. clothes and 

combination locks. Typically, these items were discarded in the trash after students 

completed their P.E. requirements in 10th grade. Now students turn in their clothes, 

which are donated to local organizations, repurposed, or recycled, and locks are 

recoded and reissued, keeping them out of the waste stream. This practice has also 

saved money, which is reinvested into intramural athletics. Students also led and 

designed a project to install filtered drinking water fountains as an alternative to 

wasteful single-use plastic bottles. 

Woodside Priory School; Portola Valley, California

Where new technologies meet Benedictine tradition 

The Woodside Priory School (Priory) is a private and independent college 

preparatory school serving sixth- through 12th-grade day and boarding students. 

Priory’s motto, “Ora et Labora” (Prayer and Work), connects with its history of the 

monasteries of the Benedictine Catholic tradition. The school’s mission is centered 

on the ideals of lifelong learning and stewardship. The concepts of Service and 

Balance are central to the student experience as demonstrated by a focus on 

student service-learning. Priory encourages the alignment of education, stewardship, 

and collaboration; this focus is evident in the school’s community life, program, 

pedagogy, and campus operations. 

The efforts to create a sustainable school began in 2009 with a student-formed 

Sustainability Club. The student-led club worked with a faculty moderator, leading to 

the establishment of the Faculty Sustainability Committee in 2010. In 2012, the 

school appointed the club moderator/committee facilitator to the role of Sustainability 

Coordinator to collaborate with the school community as well as with representatives 

from the local utilities. In 2017, the title changed to Sustainability Director to 

acknowledge the multidimensional aspects of school sustainability, from community 

life and culture to educational programs and campus operations. 
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Priory began on-site solar generation in 2007. Today the school generates 30 to 40 

percent of its electricity need. Solar panels are arrayed on the roofs of five different 

buildings along with one ground-mounted array. The most recent implementation of 

solar photovoltaic generation on campus (2015 and 2017) scaled the size and output 

of the arrays to building demands to make the spaces energy-neutral or energypositive. 

Collaborative focus and efforts in sustainability have led to many initiatives and 

achievements. To encourage water conservation, Priory hosted a drought-planning 

conference for other community stakeholders, completed plumbing fixture retrofits, 

and installed satellite-controlled drip irrigation in the drought-tolerant campus 

landscaping. 

To reduce waste, the school consistently re-evaluates recycling and waste diversion 

programs. Priory has a waste diversion rate of 75 percent, and each month diverts 

an estimated 450 pounds of food waste from landfills. Garden crop waste and 

kitchen prep waste are collected and diverted from the landfill and used to feed a 

flock of 50 chickens. Chicken manure, bedding, straw, and other organic waste 

materials are similarly collected and added to a compost pile within the garden’s 

800-square-foot student-built composting enclosure. Compost temperatures are 

monitored and recorded until piles are left to rest. A master composter advises 

garden staff on composting considerations and best practices. Finished compost is

used in the school’s garden.

Recent high-performance construction projects include the Benedictine Classrooms 

(2015; 17,000 square feet), which exceed state green building requirements by 42 

percent. This project earned a Sustainable San Mateo Green Building Award for the 

building’s energy efficiency. The school’s new STEAM building (2017; 9,400 square 

feet) exceeds state standards by 49 percent and was awarded an American Institute 

of Architects of California Design Award and a Savings By Design Award from 

Pacific Gas & Electric. 

The school’s focus on sustainability goes beyond the establishment of green 

buildings. Priory’s energy and conservation program involves third-party energy 

audits, Savings By Design initiatives with the power utility, the development of an 

energy benchmarking portfolio, subsidized retrofits to building equipment, and 

participation in the Community Choice Energy Purchase program that allows the 

school to purchase 100 percent renewable energy. 

In 2007, a performing arts theater was constructed on a former parking lot. The 

theater’s living roof reduces the heat island effect. Trees scattered across the 50-

acre campus reduce the heat gain on campus roofs and roads. Nearly 30 acres of 
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the school campus is undeveloped native grassland and mixed oak woodland 

habitat, and student efforts to improve habitat quality have led to a remarkable 

resurgence in the diversity of the school’s ecological community. 

The school has identified principal pest types to be addressed through Integrated 

Pest Management practices. Plants, insects, and rodents are targeted for 

prevention, control, and/or eradication. Chemical pest controls are only used as a 

last resort. 

Following the California wildfires of 2018, the school purchased and installed air 

quality monitoring sensors at two on-campus locations — one indoor and one 

outdoor. Online reference to these sensors has helped the administration to make 

decisions about the health implications of keeping school in session — or closing the 

school — when smoke from wildfires becomes intense and problematic. To prevent 

asthma triggers, air handlers balance the airflow in all buildings to make rooms 

pressure-positive to the outside. This means that air flows out of the rooms when the 

doors are opened, to avoid pulling in dust and other particulates.

Priory’s 9,000 square foot Franklin Garden supplies the school kitchen with a daily 

harvest of fruits and vegetables. Founded in 2013, it has served as a place for 

community gatherings and educational opportunities. In 2017, the Franklin Garden 

Pavilion was completed and has raised the profile and appeal of the school’s garden 

and sustainability programs. Recent events attract members from all segments of 

the school community and have included workshops on canning foods, processing 

honey, and baking, as well as classes in various food traditions. 

Produce from the garden is a daily offering at the salad bar, and the school works 

with GreenLeaf to purchase local and organic fruits and vegetables for the dining 

program, which serves lunch daily to all students and other meals to boarding 

students. Menus are created to support health, consider the ecological impact, and 

with an awareness of humane animal treatment. Meatless meals are increasingly 

served to ensure healthy options and reduce the school’s environmental footprint. 

Students are educated about how to make healthy nutritional choices by considering 

the posted nutritional information. 

Balance is the focus of the school’s efforts to optimize student health and wellness. 

In a senior exit survey, students identified anxiety, sleep deprivation, right answer 

addiction, and cheating as barriers to their success. Specific measures in the form of 

Structural Reforms, Holistic/Spiritual Reforms, and Pedagogical and Programmatic 

Reforms for Balance have been initiated as part of a school initiative funded by the 

Edward E. Ford Foundation. Additionally, the school is a member of Challenge 
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Success at Stanford University, which has helped the school to establish 

benchmarks, guidelines, and practices for improving student wellness. 

In 2015–16, Priory initiated a codified approach to integrating sustainability themes 

across disciplines and curricula. The Faculty Sustainability Committee developed 

Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings for sustainability and 

stewardship. Priory offers sustainability classes in Ecological Design & 

Sustainability, AP Environmental 

Science, Food Production, 

Discourse of Dining, Plant to 

Plate, Stewards in Action, and 

Health and Wellness. 

Priory maintains an enduring 

whole-school sustainability 

leadership collaboration with the 

all-girls Daraja Academy in Kenya. 

The Science Department has 

partnered with trip outfitters to 

offer science field trips and 

summer programs focused on 

global ecology and sustainability 

to Australia, Vietnam, Argentina, 

Costa Rica, Myanmar, and Kenya. 

The Dean of Students, Campus 

Minister, and Sustainability 

Director organize retreats based 

on campus stewardship and the 

concept of sustainable 

communities. Schoolwide 

assemblies further students’ 

understanding of the social and 

environmental impacts of 

biodiversity loss, climate change, 

and global wealth inequality. 

Priory has offered the elective class “Ecological Design and Sustainability” since 

2014. This class begins with an introduction to the principles of sustainability and 

then moves on to become a collaborative project-based class in which the students 

have designed and built an 800-gallon aquaponics system. In 2015–16, Priory 

introduced another new elective, “Discourse of Dining.” In this class, approximately 

one-third of class time is spent in the school garden.
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There is an active student-run sustainability club, as well as student sustainability 

representation in student government. The Sustainability Commissioner role was, in 

fact, student conceived and originated. The Commissioner oversees the sustainable 

operations of after-school events — dances, performances, and athletic games. The 

Sustainability Club was also reborn because of student interest and effort. The club 

now requires habitat restoration hours as part of the membership and so that 

members remain committed. The students in the club have identified non-native 

species on campus and have worked to eradicate them. 

Class retreats allow students to focus on environmental problems and sustainability 

issues at various levels and in various contexts. The sophomore service-learning 

retreat at Priory is centered on campus service projects. Sixth-graders learn about

sustainable agriculture and food sourcing in the school's garden. The senior retreat 

takes students to an off-site organic farm. Resident students in all levels also 

complete habitat restoration. Three all-school assemblies in the last two years have 

focused on opportunities for students to take action regarding biodiversity loss and 

climate change. 

Over the last few years, Priory has emerged as a sustainability leader in the Portola 

Valley. Priory campus is a common destination for students from other schools to 

see Priory’s garden, student-created aquaponics system, and living wall planter with 

air-purifying plants. Additionally, Priory hosted a conference for science teachers 

from the area, and there was a strong interest in visiting both the garden and

aquaponics sites. 

Carmel Unified School District; Carmel, California

At this habitat ecoliteracy is cultivated

Carmel Unified School District (CUSD), which stretches from Big Sur on the Pacific 

Coast to Cachagua in the Carmel Valley, serves diverse students from across 600 

square miles, roughly the size of Rhode Island. CUSD’s mission calls out 

responsibility for the environment as a core belief. This commitment is embodied 

within the district’s organizational structure, facility maintenance practices, programs 

promoting student health and safety, and connections to the environment in and out 

of the classroom. 

CUSD’s Environmental Responsibility Team (ERT) meets regularly to brainstorm 

ways to reduce their environmental footprint, network, and share accomplishments 

in environmental literacy and community involvement. The team includes

representation from each school, consisting of teachers, site administrators, high 

school students, and parents. District representatives to the ERT include the 
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superintendent, the chief academic officer, and the director of maintenance and 

operations. In 2017, the ERT aligned its goals to the three pillars of U.S. Department 

of Education Green Ribbon Schools. 

The Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation Department monitors water use, 

indoor temperature, and electricity use, allowing for quick detection and correction of 

issues. This focus has resulted in a 15 percent reduction in electricity use and a 31 

percent reduction in water use districtwide, even as the district added buildings and 

expanded programs. These efforts helped CUSD to earn the 2019 Association of 

Monterey Bay Area Governments Energy Watch Champion Award, recognizing the 

district’s work to reduce energy use and related greenhouse gases through the 

installation of energy efficient equipment. 

The district partners with local 

nonprofit MEarth, to manage The 

Habitat, a 10-acre parcel adjacent to 

Carmel Middle School that is 

dedicated to outdoor learning and 

environmental literacy. The property 

features a pond that is home to the 

threatened California red-legged frog, 

bird feeders and houses for migrating 

birds, a bee garden, and a Monarch 

butterfly garden. In 2012, The Habitat 

opened the first LEED-certified public 

school classroom in Monterey County. 

The 1,600-square-foot flexible 

classroom is used as a culinary 

classroom where students from across 

the district and throughout Monterey 

County work with MEarth educators 

on farm-to-table lessons. The 

classroom is powered by a solar array 

built from repurposed and recycled 

materials, and it uses a living roof and 

captured rainwater to irrigate the many 

native plants on-site. The Habitat’s 

building collects rain in four 1,500-

gallon tanks and uses sprinklers to 

reduce water use and maximize water 

absorption. 
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CUSD implements environmentally preferable purchasing practices, ensuring that 92 

percent of paper is Forest Stewardship Council certified and cleaning products are 

certified as Safer Choice, ECOLOGO, and Green Seal. Furnace filters are replaced 

quarterly with MERV 8 filters to help remove particles triggering asthma. The gym 

floor is cleaned with an ionized water-based cleaner to reduce the use of chemicals. 

CUSD Board of Education’s Wellness Committee provides community-based 

guidance on the district’s comprehensive wellness efforts. The Committee focuses 

on four areas of wellness: 1) bell schedule adjustments to address issues of 

adolescent sleep deprivation; 2) stress and anxiety causes and interventions; 3) 

nutritional needs and improvements; and 4) reduction of the use of illegal 

substances, including vaping. Schools all around CUSD are implementing these 

goals. 

The elementary schools incorporate instruction in mindfulness, emotional well-being, 

and anger management using the Second Step social and emotional learning 

program. The district is piloting a program to address the social and emotional needs 

of middle school students. First-grade classrooms use the Mind Up curriculum for 

mindfulness instruction. 

CUSD utilizes a consortium of local farms through a woman-owned farm to school 

business called “Savor the Local.” Through this program, CUSD purchases organic 

strawberries, apples, pears, plums, and seasonal vegetables. Cafeterias provide 

fresh salad bars. CUSD participates in “California Thursdays,” featuring such 

unprocessed foods from California as walnuts, avocados, vegetables, and dairy 

foods. 

The district’s youngest learners approach environmental literacy through STEAM, 

while making consistent efforts to reduce environmental impact. The Carmelo Child 

Development Center makes recycled paper and crayons and has a trading post to 

exchange toys or school supplies in order to reduce consumption. The center limits 

waste, keeps trash out of the watershed, and practices vermicomposting. Children 

take field trips to learn about local watersheds and integrate literacy and art with 

science by reading about sea turtles, looking at and painting pictures of the turtles’ 

habitats and inquiring why they are becoming endangered and what can be done to 

help. 

Environmental integrated teaching and learning are thoroughly interwoven 

throughout the courses and curriculum. CUSD’s curricular approach is aligned with 

the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) and California’s 

Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs). CUSD’s transition to CA NGSS is 

evidenced by new courses that integrate environmental and sustainability concepts 
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into core curriculum. All sixth-graders take an Ecoliteracy course and learn about 

biodiversity, human impacts, and advocacy. All middle school science classes go to 

The Habitat to study local and migrating birds, native plants, and insects. 

All school sites have gardens, and a recent survey revealed that nearly 86 percent of 

CUSD teachers are making classroom connections to nature or the environment; 60 

percent of those teachers do this more than once a month. Elementary schools have 

designated garden teachers, and middle school students work with MEarth for 

garden education. Elementary school students have art and a garden-based 

program integrated into literacy and math. At one school, the kindergarten science 

program is wholly conducted in the garden, primary students have garden science 

once a month, and intermediate students have a Garden-to-Table program. 

All school sites incorporate composting into their curriculum. Transitional 

Kindergarten students maintain worm bins and use the compost for gardening or as 

food for local pigs. Food scraps from lunches are composted in some elementary 

school gardens, and scraps not fit for the composter are used as chicken feed. 

Students in the Ecoliteracy class participate in “Friday Farming” each week; with 

assistance from MEarth staff, students add to, turn, and use compost in the garden. 

Middle school students pick vegetables from the garden and prepare meals based 

on the history and culture they are learning at the time in their core, social studies, 

and world language classes. 

CUSD classes integrate the environment into different disciplines and work with the 

Monterey Bay Outdoor Education Program (MBOE) to connect students to their local 

environment and increase their understanding of the interconnection between 

humans and nature. Students are taken to local destinations to study their unique 

biodiversity and the richness of land-sea connection. Students complete an MBOE 

journal to develop environmental literacy through math, history, art, poetry, and 

science. 

The Carmel High School (CHS) Environmental Club is the first local Surfrider 

chapter leading regular waste reduction initiatives. The club partnered with Elkhorn 

Slough National Research Reserve to raise money to restore native wetlands. 

Students also partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 

screen environmentally themed movies alongside panels featuring local experts in 

the CHS theater. The club hosts a series called Earth Experts on local television. 

“This Club Saves Lives” at CHS hosts a “Thirst Gala” each year, raising money to 

build wells in water-stressed locations. Carmel Valley High School partners with the 

Big Sur Land Trust as environmental stewards of the Songbird Preserve on the 

Carmel River. Students remove invasive species, work on native plant restoration, 

and participate in trail maintenance. 
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CUSD aims to center environmental literacy in the district’s culture by providing a 

dedicated instructional coach to assist teachers and promote environmental 

education. Instructional coaches, administrators, and elementary teachers consider 

and reference California’s EP&Cs during curriculum adoption. For the past two 

years, teachers have attended paid professional learning workshops on the 

integration of the EP&Cs across the curriculum during the district’s Summer Institute. 

Colorado

Aspen Prep Academy; Greenwood Village, Colorado

Ten acres of wetlands and wonder

Aspen Academy moved to a 10-acre campus in 2008. Its 80,000-square-foot 

building and campus were renovated in a manner that maximizes sustainability and 

offers students innovative learning spaces, including 14 outdoor labs and 

classrooms and over 50 teaching gardens. 

Aspen Academy won the Environmental Leadership Program Bronze Award through 

the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in 2019. The school’s 

annual energy consumption decreased by 45 percent from 2014–15 to the 2017–18 

school year due to the installation of LED lights, occupancy sensors, lighting timers, 

and ENERGY STAR appliances throughout the school campus and parking lots. 

White roofs, painted between 2011 and 2017, covering 3,260 square meters of the 

school buildings, have reduced energy use, have reflected 85 percent of the 

sunlight, and have greatly reduced the total urban heat island effect in the area.

Water consumption was reduced 50 percent since 2011. Artificial turf made from 

recycled tires was installed in 2012 to cover 1,525 square meters of a field to replace 

grass requiring irrigation on the playground. The area around the building was 

graded to improve water drainage and windows were installed in the below-ground 

middle school classrooms. Automated rain sensors were installed on the irrigation 

system in 2014 to reduce water usage when there is precipitation. Five water bottle 

filling stations were installed throughout the school to encourage students to drink 

filtered water in reusable bottles.

The amount of paper used for printing was reduced by more than 26,500 sheets per 

school year since 2018 by using electronic documents, including for employee 

contracts, safety documents, benefits enrollment, and curricular materials. Trex 

recycled plastic material decking was used to build an outdoor stage and a bridge 

over the wetlands garden in 2012. Electric hand dryers were installed in all 

restrooms to reduce the use of paper towels. Low VOC paint and carpet tiles made 
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from recycled materials are used throughout the school buildings. A coffee maker 

that brews individual cups of coffee without brewing cups is provided.

Aspen encourages carpooling by students’ families. The school community uses the 

Way to Go app as a way for families to coordinate carpooling. Recent data indicate

that 36 percent of families at Aspen carpool. Biking and walking to school are 

encouraged. There is a no-idling policy in place at the school entrance. 

Each student participates in at least one 30- to 45-minute fitness-related class every 

day. Two mental health professionals and a health and safety manager are on staff 

and a nurse is on contract. The Aspen Youth Leadership Institute provides a 

curriculum that addresses the development of emotional and social intelligence as 

well as community and civic leadership at Aspen. The cafeteria contracts with a local 

food service that provides locally sourced ingredients. Aspen also offers two 

extracurricular cooking opportunities: 1) A Journey in Cooking, which focuses on the 

cultural experience of food preparation and the celebration of sharing food together; 

and 2) Sticky Fingers, which offers hands-on, real-world cooking classes.

Aspen Academy subscribes to Wellable, an online platform that allows faculty and 

staff to participate actively in a wellness program that encourages exercise, nutrition, 

and stress relief. All employees of Aspen have an account with Wellable and are 

encouraged to use it as often as they can. Staff participate in challenges and classes 

that include cooking, self-defense, and meditation. In addition, each month staff 

holds a healthy potluck to which employees share healthy food options.

Fresh air is circulated throughout the 

buildings using HVAC economizers 

and classroom windows. Daily 

maintenance inspections ensure that 

the campus is free of pests, pollutants, 

moisture, allergens, and other hazards. 

Filters are replaced in all HVAC 

systems on a quarterly basis. Aspen 

Academy uses Dude Solutions, an 

operations management software that 

helps to optimize facility and operations 

processes. 

The National Wildlife Federation 

recognized Aspen as a Certified 

Wildlife Habitat. This habitat provides 

natural sources of food and water for 
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native plants and animals, all without the use of pesticides. These include over 50 

teaching gardens, a wetlands garden, and a beehive. Each teaching garden is 

named for the type of plants it holds (i.e., Sensory Garden, Rose Garden, Colorado 

Native Garden, etc.) and allows for students to study the specific characteristics of 

those plants in the ecosystem. In addition to ecological lessons, the wetlands garden 

provides a quiet place for students to work. The beehive is an essential resource for 

the fourth- graders in their unit studying the vital importance of bees. Fourteen 

outdoor classrooms were designed for art, design, theater, and environmental 

education. The school also features window well reading nooks for the second- and 

third-grade classrooms to foster a connection with nature. 

Environmental and sustainability education is infused throughout the curriculum in all 

grades. As part of the Full Option Science System (FOSS) curriculum, every unit 

incorporates journaling in the outdoors. Kindergarteners learn the concept of sharing 

with their community as they plant, harvest, and produce consumable goods from 

their “KinderGarden.” Third- graders learn how they can take an active role by 

participating in various projects focused on reducing, repurposing, and recycling. 

They created a “waste station” in every classroom consisting of a green bin for 

compost, blue bin for recycling, and black bin for trash. Students also created 

educational posters above each waste station to help students decide which bin their 

waste goes in. The sixth grade completes a project-based unit on renewable and 

non-renewable resources and designs action plans to reduce energy and water use 

on campus. 

The kindergarten takes a field trip to the Children's Growing Gardens in Boulder to 

learn about harvesting, insects, and how to make food from gardens. The first grade 

embarked on a research project to find out why the FOSS science kits use plastic 

straws instead of a better alternative. They researched and wrote letters to FOSS 

explaining their concern about using straws and suggesting possible solutions. The 

fourth grade manages the beehive and participates in the Audubon Society’s 

Backyard Bird Count by learning about and counting species of birds that are in the 

area. Fifth-grade math classes practice finding the area and perimeter of things in 

the school’s outdoor space. An outdoor scavenger hunt at the end of the school year 

asks kids to use geometry concepts. 

Fifth- through eighth-graders are invited to participate in a weeklong outdoor 

education program with Expedition Backcountry Adventures during which students 

are empowered to step out of their comfort zone, develop a robust knowledge of 

outdoor skills, and cultivate an appreciation and commitment to serving others. 

Students participate in five adventures: hiking, rock climbing and rappelling, 

orienteering, mountain biking, and wilderness medicine training. Other trips have 

taken them to Moab, Utah, for hiking, rafting, and camping; the San Francisco Bay 
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area for kayaking, hiking, and beach restoration; and Costa Rica for sustainability 

service projects 

Connecticut

Middlebrook School; Wilton, Connecticut

Taking the lead to grow green

As a community, Wilton, Connecticut, has a rich history of environmental 

conservation and sustainability. Led by Wilton’s environmental nonprofits, the town 

has a focused effort on preservation of the Norwalk River Valley Trail and 

surrounding waterways, a robust Energy Commission leading the way in solar 

power, and a successful no-idling campaign. Four years ago, it became clear that 

Wilton schools were not keeping pace with the town’s established goals for 

environmental conservation. Recycling was not being implemented in school 

cafeterias, composting was unheard of, and single use plastics were not even on 

schools’ radar screen. In response to this profound lag, Middlebrook School decided 

to take the lead to grow green. 

Over the past five years, Middlebrook School has taken its role as pioneer in the 

sustainability movement very seriously. Middlebrook School’s robust initiatives and 

programs have become examples of success for neighboring schools and 

communities and the school is pleased to have created a wave of sustainability 

initiatives throughout the county. At Middlebrook School, “growing green” was 

started by just a few teachers who wanted to challenge their students to reflect on 

environmental habits in the cafeteria. This first idea grew into a full-fledged 

movement that helped train the entire school district onto a path of sustainability. 

By joining CT Green LEAF Schools, the Middlebrook Green LEAF Team embarked 

on a robust CT Green Leaf school self-assessment. Through a sustained and 

intentional schoolwide effort, Middlebrook worked hard over the past four years to 

close many of the school’s environmental and sustainability gaps. 

The foundational element of reaching Middlebrook’s environmental and sustainability 

goals was the development and implementation of a highly successfully sixth-grade 

Family and Consumer Science class that focuses on school gardening and in-class 

sustainable cooking. Middlebrook School now boasts a 3,000-square-foot garden 

and 600-square-foot greenhouse, built with the support of local Eagle Scouts. The 

outdoor garden is equipped with rain barrels and a drip irrigation system, also 

installed by Eagle Scouts.
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Middlebrook students, teachers, and staff led a behavior and policy change for 

districtwide composting and recycling. The early success of the Family & Consumer 

Science class created the impetus for a schoolwide evaluation of cafeteria waste. 

This sixth-grade class partnered with the school’s eighth-grade ISTEM class to 

develop a prototype for cafeteria waste stations. What started as an academic 

challenge turned into new waste stations being set up in every school cafeteria 

throughout the district. This has resulted in the diversion of nearly 2,000 pounds of 

food waste per week across the district. 

Building on the momentum of this sustainability in school cafeterias, the Middlebrook 

Green Team implemented a biannual Zero Waste Week, designed to bring attention 

to schoolwide, local, regional, and global environmental issues and maintain the 

school’s focus on environmental stewardship. High interest, unique activities with 

kid-appeal include, for example, “pay as you throw,” “pack your lunch raffle,” and 

“parent zero waste trivia.” In order to ensure success, the team enlisted the help of 

another community partner — Chartwells School Dining Services, the school lunch 

provider. 

The community nonprofit Wilton Go Green provided tremendous financial and 

volunteer support for Middlebrook’s Zero Waste Schools initiative. Beginning in 

2016, the local recognition that Middlebrook was receiving for their zero-waste 

efforts caught the attention of the Center 

for EcoTechnology (CET), a 

Massachusetts-based nonprofit focusing on 

climate change initiatives. CET chose 

Middlebrook for a case study and 

documentary on the school’s successful 

Zero Waste Schools program that is now 

streaming on their website. 

Middlebrook now has a widely used 

outdoor classroom, pollinator gardens, and 

rain barrels. In spring 2018, Middlebrook 

School flipped the switch on their newly 

installed solar panels to start reducing its 

carbon footprint and saving the community 

money on energy. As of September 2019, 

the district captured 1 million kWh and 

saved $70,000. Trout Unlimited, an 

advocate for Wilton’s Norwalk River 

Watershed, selected Middlebrook School in 
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2019 for its Stormwater Project to reduce stormwater runoff at the school’s 110-acre 

campus in Wilton.

Middlebrook’s Green Team includes a highly visible presence by facilities 

management. Recent efficiency improvements include low-flow toilets in bathrooms 

and water filling stations in hallways. A Tools for Schools Committee verifies air 

quality compliance, green cleaning supplies, and appropriate use of chemicals and 

pesticides. 

Middlebrook supports students’ physical health through its robust outdoor Project 

Adventure course featuring low- and high-ropes courses. Next to Project Adventure 

is a newly designed outdoor learning center that provides students with an 

opportunity to engage in active multimodal learning beyond the traditional 

classroom. 

In 2018, as part of a schoolwide initiative to support mental health, school 

administrators supported teachers’ personal health and well-being by introducing 

meditation, alternative arts, and yoga. These restorative practices have had a 

positive impact on the overall well-being of the school community. The Middlebrook 

Family & Consumer Science classes not only includes the sixth-grade course on 

sustainability, but also gives the seventh- and eighth-grade students an opportunity 

to perform scratch cooking with healthy whole foods in the culinary kitchen. Seventhgrade tackles baking and pastry arts with a focus on whole grains and creative 

healthy substitutions, and the eighth-grade culinary arts students study multiple 

cooking alternatives, including vegetarian and vegan meals. 

Many of Middlebrook’s teachers have woven elements of sustainability into their 

classroom curriculum, whether it is art projects made from recycled materials or 

social studies research into natural resource decimation in the Amazon rainforest. 

Based on the school’s new culture of integrating environmental and sustainability 

education, Middlebrook’s seventh-grade teachers are working to take this curriculum 

to a new level. Their goal this year is to develop project-based learning that will 

create real-world applications for students. 

Middlebrook School recognizes that its work will continue to evolve and grow as the 

world adjusts to an ever-changing environment fraught with challenges. The Green 

Team now has a five-year plan and goal to tackle the issue of single-use plastics in 

the cafeteria. The next goal is to have dishwashers installed so that Middlebrook can 

switch to reusable trays and flatware. In support of this goal, staff are involved in 

ongoing conversations with school administration and Chartwells Dining Services to 

reduce the amount of single-use plastics brought into schools.
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Delaware

Odyssey Charter School; Wilmington, Delaware

Global citizens via sustainable international studies

Odyssey Charter School, an innovative and diverse dual-language Greek School, 

was founded in 2006 and is currently the second largest public charter school in 

Delaware. Odyssey is an all choice lottery 

school located immediately outside the city 

limits of Wilmington on the site of a former 

DuPont business park. Odyssey’s mission 

is to provide its students with a lifelong 

enthusiasm for learning, help students 

develop a keen awareness of world 

citizenship and culture, and establish 

critical thinking and problem-solving 

through participation in a foreign language 

education program. 

The Odyssey Green Team, which consists 

of students, teachers, and parents, is 

deeply committed to providing the nearly 

2,000 students with hands-on and 

meaningful real-world opportunities to be environmental stewards of the earth. 

Odyssey strives to foster the attitudes, skills, and knowledge within students to 

become responsible and empowered global eco-citizens. This is evident in its 

student created Eco-Code prominently displayed in the school cafeteria. 

All of these efforts have been made through the framework of National Wildlife 

Federation Eco-School USA, working toward “Pathways” of sustainability. Odyssey 

Charter is also a participant in the Delaware Pathways to Green Schools program 

and has worked toward the Sustainable Foods, Energy, Waste and Consumption, 

Healthy Living, and Schoolyard Habitat Pathways. Most recently, Odyssey earned 

an Eco-Schools Green Flag in November 2019. Odyssey is thus the first charter 

school in Delaware and only the fifth public school in the state to earn this 

prestigious international award.

Odyssey has received over $30,000 in grant funding. This donor list includes 

Teaching Tolerance, National Geographic, NEA Foundation, New Castle County, the 

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, American 

Heart Association, Voya, Whole Kids Foundation, and Energize Delaware. Most 
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recently, Odyssey was chosen to create “upcycled” ornaments for internationally 

renowned Longwood Gardens. 

In 2019, high school students won second place in the Alfred M. Greenfield UNLESS 

Regional Contest with the Philadelphia Zoo for their project “Ban the Bag, Save the 

Bat.” Due to Odyssey students’ efforts in collecting plastic film, Odyssey received a 

TREX bench. Not only did Odyssey Charter collect plastic film on campus, they 

played an active role in advocating for Delaware House Bill 130, the “Plastic Bag 

Bill.” Students participated in every stage of the legislative process. 

Odyssey is one of three schools leading the effort to plan a statewide and studentled Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) to engage at least 200 students. Odyssey 

strives to make environmental education accessible to students beyond the school 

community. High school students worked on a joint project with the Louise-Henriette 

Gymnasium School in Berlin to learn about sustainable food and grassroots 

activism. In addition, third-grade students participated in a pen pal program with a 

rural Liberian school to learn about water scarcity and to develop global 

understanding. Another project included Odyssey fundraising more than $3,400 to 

help build a well near the school, improving water access for hundreds of Liberians. 

In just three short years, Odyssey has implemented several sustainability initiatives 

on its urban campus: an edible garden with 24 raised beds (750 square feet), a 

community chicken coop (10 hens and a rooster), an outdoor classroom, pollinator, 

milkweed gardens, and an indoor aeroponic garden program. Every season, as part 

of Odyssey’s Farm to School Program, students consume vegetables harvested 

from the garden. This bounty is also shared with the local community, and over 

1,000 pounds of produce have been donated to local distribution and support 

programs. 

Furthermore, in 2019, the school purchased an interactive and mobile culinary cart 

to teach students how to be food citizens. High school students in Food Studies 

participate in weekly cooking labs, and middle school students take an exploratory 

culinary arts course taught through a Greek lens. Produce from the many gardens 

serve as ingredients for these innovative courses. 

Odyssey’s mission to create global citizens is illuminated by sustainable international 

studies opportunities. High school students traveled to Germany and Switzerland to 

learn about innovative sustainability efforts and see state-of-the-art models of 

renewable energy. Faculty and students bring these experiences back to Odyssey to 

enhance their learning and course experiences. 
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Last year, the American Heart Association helped Odyssey to purchase 20 CPR 

dummies to enable sixth- to 12th-grade students to learn and practice CPR through 

their general health education curriculum. 

In 2018, Odyssey made the switch to compostable trays. To date, 168,000

Styrofoam trays have been prevented from entering a landfill. In spring 2020, 

Odyssey replaced all single-use plastic cutlery with metal cutlery. Odyssey installed 

six water bottle filling stations to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic 

bottles. The school received a $1,920 grant from Energize Delaware toward a 

composting project; the equipment allowed Odyssey to further reduce organic food 

waste. A share table was introduced in the cafeteria, and students are encouraged 

to reduce waste by placing items they will not eat on the table to share with others.

Odyssey has consistently placed in the top three of the Green Schools Clean 

Streams pledges, a county program that educates others on what should go down 

the drain and into the sewer system. The recycling of over 1,000 pounds of singleuse plastic bags ensures fewer bags will end up in the environment, such as 

streams. 

In 2017, Odyssey received an energy audit from Practical Energy Solutions. The 

audit revealed action items to reduce energy use. During the 2017–18 school year, a 

$250,000 project to upgrade electricity by replacing fluorescent lights with LED lights 

(indoor and outdoor) began. Based on the average in 2017–18 and the average in 

2018–19, Odyssey’s total number of kWh decreased on average of 42,000 per 

month. The school sets standard heating and cooling points of 68–70 degrees 

during the heating season and no lower than 73 degrees for air conditioning to 

conserve energy. Odyssey has also begun to replace the aging heat pumps with 

high efficiency boilers. 

Students turn off classroom lights and computer monitors, resulting in at least a 

18,140-pound savings in carbon dioxide per year. Odyssey’s greenhouse gas 

emission reduction plan for transportation includes 13 school buses — eight low 

sulfur diesel buses and five propane buses. 

Ursuline Academy; Wilmington, Delaware

Caring for a common home 

Ursuline Academy is an independent, Catholic school focusing on developing over 

400 students for leadership in a global society. It serves students from pre-K to 

grade 12 and is located in an urban setting. The school is coed from the Montessori 

program (ages 3–5) to grade 5 and all-girls from grades 6–12. Following in the 
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footsteps of 16th-century patron, St. Angela Merici, the values of service, living 

simply, and helping those in need are emphasized. 

Ursuline’s Upper and Middle School (grades 6–12) building scored a 79 on 

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager through an energy audit performed in 2017 by 

Practical Energy Solutions of Philadelphia and a rating of 69 in the Lower School 

(Montessori–grade 5) building. Beginning in 2018, most of the school buildings have 

been retrofitted and upgraded with motion sensor lighting and the new Student Life 

Center has all LED lighting. This building houses the cafeteria, library, chapel, 

classrooms, administrative offices, and a large two-story atrium lounge with plentiful 

natural sunlight. 

In 2020, Ursuline will be extending its sustainability commitment by embarking on a 

comprehensive set of energy conservation and renewable energy measures through 

a project with Seiberlich Trane Energy Services, funded by the Delaware 

Sustainable Energy Utility with some grants from Delaware Department of Natural 

Resources and Environmental Control. The project will replace Ursuline’s aging 

HVAC systems in the Lower School and Lower School Annex buildings with a stateof-the-art HVAC system. There will also be a demonstration photovoltaic solar array 

installed on the Lower School roof that will include real-time monitoring and 

measurement for display to students, faculty, and visitors. Any lights not already 

LED will be retrofitted. A comprehensive building envelope and weatherization 

retrofit will improve building envelope, efficiency, and thermal comfort. Finally, any 

remaining higher-flow water fixtures will be retrofitted to low-flow fixtures. 

A survey of the school community demonstrated that more than 75 percent of 

students fill reusable water bottles regularly at the nine water bottle refilling stations 

located throughout the school campus, three of which were purchased through 

grants from Green Building United and the Great Schools Clean Streams campaign. 

Faucets in much of the campus are on motion sensors. Drought-resistant native 

plants are used throughout the campus. The playing fields use Bermuda grass 

instead of turf. 

Ursuline features recycling bins in every classroom of the school as well as the 

cafeteria, counseling center, library, and offices thanks to Wrigley’s Litter Less. 

Students empty the recycling bins weekly. Ursuline has contracted with Roadrunner 

Recycling. The paper used in the school is 35 percent recycled with all printers set to 

double-sided printing. Students in grades 6–12 have laptops and the use of Google 

Classroom for schoolwork has resulted in a significant reduction in paper usage. 

More than three years ago, the cafeteria changed from Styrofoam to compostable 

bowls and plates. Single use dispensers are used for the silverware and napkins. 

There are no trays or straws. 
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The cafeteria is focused on healthy choices and removed all sodas more than four 

years ago. Only healthy drinks are sold, all food is baked and not fried, and there is 

a good variety of salads and fruits available for purchase. Ursuline has a full-time 

Safety Coordinator and a full-time nurse who provides training and education for 

staff in the use of the EpiPen, AED defibrillators, and asthma and allergy education. 

Students from age 3 through grade 8 go out for recess one to two times a day. 

There is a spacious, new playground behind the Lower School and a large grassy 

field in the middle of the campus. Many students are involved in extracurricular 

sports with the school providing 12 sports, eight of which are outdoors. 

Approximately 82 percent of students in the Upper School participate in at least one 

sport annually. 

Four counselors are available to the 410 students. They maintain partnerships with 

local organizations who also do presentations on topics, such as cyberbullying and 

internet safety. Clubs, such as Mental Health Advocacy, Spectrum for LGBTQ+ 

students, Undefined for students of color, and SADD (Students Against Destructive 

Decisions), help students to maintain a healthy outlook. The Undefined Club in the 

Upper School also works with children in the Lower School through activities related 

to self-esteem, concepts of beauty, and historical and cultural knowledge focusing 

on African Americans. 

Students in the Lower School benefit from an outdoor classroom in which students 

use raised beds for vegetables and herbs, design and build birdhouses, compost 

with worms, graph rainfall, maintain a wildlife edible Christmas tree, among other 

activities. The outdoor classroom was certified as a Schoolyard Habitat by the 

National Wildlife Federation in 2019. 

Students in grades K–5 have taken part in the “Wander and Wonder” program, in 

which students are encouraged to wander outside, learn about a certain topic and 

then wonder about future questions. For example, students in grade 4 created and 

tested weather vanes at the nearby reservoir area to see the difference between 

local, global, and prevailing winds. Then they “wondered” about wind turbines and 

their negative effect on birds and worked together for ideas that could maybe help 

solve this problem.

Students in grades 3–6 participated in an energy expo in the spring of 2019 where 

they were able to see how energy works, experience alternative forms of energy, 

and learn about energy conservation. This program will be repeated, using high 

school students to educate the younger grades as they go from station to station 

during the expo.
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Students study ecosystems, climate change, and sustainability in their science 

classes, including Honors and AP environmental classes at the high school level, but 

topics also receive attention in many other classes. Students in all of the Upper 

School world language classes study environmental concerns and good nutritional 

practices using the native languages. The Global Challenges class studies climate 

change and the effect from corporations and political decisions. They look at the 

effect of rising sea levels and tainted drinking water issues in various locations in the 

United States.

Theology classes have studied Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, a letter on “Care for Our 

Common Home,” about the importance of ecology and the negative effects of 

climate change, especially on the poor. In the popular AP Human Geography class, 

students look at the Green Revolution, the global system of agriculture and the 

consequences of agricultural practices, as well 

as the challenge of contemporary agriculture 

and urban sustainability. Ursuline also has a 

strong photography program and eight 

students have taken first or second place in 

the National Association of Conservation 

Districts photography contest in the past three 

years. 

Activities, including field trips to outdoor sites, 

such as zoos, orchards, and farms, and team 

building camps and gardens, take place at all 

education levels. Students in second grade 

and the Upper School environmental club visit 

the recycling plant run by the Delaware Solid 

Waste Authority. Ursuline is part of Delaware’s 

Adopt-a-Wetland program and has adopted 

the Cool Spring reservoir adjacent to the 

school where students engage in cleanups 

several times a year. The school is also 

fortunate to have speakers on environmental 

issues. Plastic Free Delaware presented the 

films “STRAWS” and “Bag It” in anticipation of 

the ban on plastic bags in large stores in 

Delaware beginning Jan. 1, 2021. 
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Florida

Highland Elementary School; Lake Worth, Florida

Greenhouse gas emissions down while student population up

Highland Elementary School is a Title I school, nestled between Interstate 95 and 

Tenth Avenue North, serving a student body that is 96 percent eligible for free and 

reduced price lunch. Situated along The Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County, 

students have tremendous opportunities to gain an understanding of the water cycle, 

erosion, weathering, and continental drift. There is scientific evidence on campus to 

prove that the land where Highland Elementary School is located was once 

underwater and eroded over time to form the top of a sand dune; hence the name 

“Highland.” Even today, students participating in nature walks on campus come 

across seashells within the soil. Highland’s green team and over 1,000 students 

have worked together with school administration to also overhaul grounds 

enhancement, sustainability, health/well-being, curriculum integration, schoolwide 

green culture, and community involvement.

Originally built in 1954, Highland Elementary School has been renovated over the 

years. The school was rebuilt in 1998 and complied with the standard Florida energy 

building code of the time. Even though the student population at the school grew by 

6 percent, Highland Elementary reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 1 

percent, or 10 metric tons. All light switches on campus have been labeled with 

“Turn it Off” stickers and the school participates in a regional, “How Low Can You 

Go?” energy use reduction challenge. Student Green Team members are identified 

as Green Champs by wearing badges, such as, “Solid Waste Authority,” “Classroom 

Custodian,” and “Energy Saver.” The school just received a white roof coating on the 

portable classroom building in order to reflect sunlight to keep the building cool and 

reduce energy usage.

With hard work and persistence, Highland’s green team transformed the overgrown 

campus into a recognized Florida Green Apple School, garnering local media 

attention and the gift of a Bustic Willow tree from the Lake Worth Tree Board. 

Highland has eradicated the non-native and extremely invasive Brazilian pepper tree 

species from the school grounds, enabling them to use the vast campus for native 

plants that are aesthetically pleasing. 

Highland organizes a biannual event called Drop Everything and Reduce (DEAR). 

Every staff member and every student walks the campus in search of trash, litter, or 

debris. Using a book sale fundraiser, the school generated funds to purchase a 

water refilling station for Highland. Then Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful 
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generously donated a second water refilling station to the school. This helped to 

reduce plastic bottle usage and improve student hydration. Highland uses low-flow 

faucet and toilet fixtures to conserve water.

The culturally diverse Highland community embraced better management and began 

participating in campus and neighborhood clean-ups. The school took the lead on 

calling the city to ensure that 

streets were swept, 

crosswalks were painted, 

and residents received 

recycling bins that were 

used appropriately. These 

changes have helped 

change student mindsets as 

well. 

The fifth annual Walk to 

School Day was embraced 

by Highland students and 

staff and reinforced through 

the engagement of many 

community partners, 

including the Palm Beach 

County Fire Department, 

Sheriff’s Department, and 

Bridges at Highland 

program. This event helped 

educate the students and 

families in the community 

regarding safe routes to 

school. 

Highland also focused its work on a few health and wellness improvements. The 

principal invited bus drivers for a luncheon where air quality goals and procedures 

were explained. Bus drivers now turn off engines while waiting for the students to be 

dismissed. To maintain healthy indoor air, Highland works with the district's indoor 

air quality team to quickly report possible asthma triggers, such as mold, so that it 

can be remediated before causing harm to students and staff. 

Highland participates in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart 

community service learning program and in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 

Pennies for Patients fundraiser. Healthy hydration competitions and themed “color 
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[food] weeks” promote drinking water and eating nutritious produce. Highland has its 

own kickball team, “The Highland All Stars.” 

The Highland cafeteria offers students healthy food choices for breakfast and lunch 

for a balanced diet, including grains, fruits, dairy, and vegetables. Highland has 

organized a temperature-controlled share table for students to select additional 

healthy snacks, such as fruits, salad, milk, and juice to supplement their lunch 

options, consume during snack time, and bring home. 

The Highland butterfly garden is full of native and naturalized flora that is a huge 

boon to the local pollinator population and learning. In spring, students observe 

native pollinators as well as unique bee species. Students also visit MacArthur 

Beach State Park, Norton Sculpture Garden, and Grassy Waters Preserve to 

engage in outdoor learning.

Highland received a $1,000 grant to support clubs that engage students in an 

interdisciplinary approach through project-based learning with the use of recyclables 

and environmental education. Highland Elementary’s green team enhances 

environmental education through hands-on STEAM activities. Activities include 

providing students with the opportunity to plant edible foods to share with their 

families, working with local families and the surrounding community to create 

backyard gardens, providing students with seeds to explain why particular birds 

have specific beaks and feet, observing the birds and butterflies that visit the garden,

and transferring the outdoor experience to academic tasks in science, literacy, and 

mathematics. Environmental and sustainability education has become so popular 

that the green team has expanded into two additional STEAM clubs. 

Martin County School District; Stuart, Florida

A district-run environmental science center that features a floating classroom

Martin County School District (MCSD) demonstrates commitment to the three EDGRS Pillars on a daily basis with innovative efforts that have been recognized at 

local, state, and national levels. Coordinated by Florida Atlantic University’s Pine Jog 

Environmental Education Center, a regional Green Schools Recognition Program 

honors local schools that have taken a holistic and innovative approach to greening 

their campuses and academic programs. Their efforts include school grounds 

enhancement, resource conservation, environmental curriculum connections, 

community involvement, and a schoolwide commitment to sustainability. 
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The District works closely with Waste Management, the vendor for solid waste 

removal and recyclable materials collection, resulting in successful 

disposal/processing services. MCSD diverts 35 percent of materials from landfills. 

Energy-saving LED indoor and outdoor lighting and lights controlled by occupancy 

sensors are included in the District’s newest projects. The district operates on a fourday week in the summer months. School sites try to limit disruption of natural 

hydrology and follow South Florida Water Permit regulations that improve water 

quality, efficiency, and conservation. School sites are developed with native 

plantings. 

Green Teams at schools sponsor activities like No Idle Zones, Bike to School 

promotions, and National Walk to School Day. The fleet of approximately 100 school 

buses are fueled by ultra-low sulphur diesel, and the Superintendent’s Office uses a 

hybrid car. 

The District employs the EPA Tools for Schools Indoor Air Quality Program. 

Conditions adversely affecting moisture control are also addressed using Tools for 

Schools guidelines and are identified and repaired on a timely basis. Students with 

asthma are eligible for an Individual Education Plan evaluation. Any asthma triggers 

are removed from the student’s 

space. MCSD consistently 

conducts integrated pest 

management, including the 

careful consideration of all 

available pest control techniques 

and subsequent integration of 

appropriate measures that 

discourage the development of 

pest populations and keep 

pesticides and other 

interventions to levels that are 

justified and reduce or minimize 

risks to human health and the 

environment.

MCSD leverages student-led 

mental health programs and 

community partnerships while 

building the capacity of schoolbased mental health 

professionals. A comprehensive 
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set of 27 programs helps all students develop appropriate cognitive, behavioral, and 

emotional skills. Health and safety are emphasized during Healthy Snack Day, afterschool gardening clubs, and CPR training provided for sixth- graders. Annual fitness 

activities include track meets for all grades and events such as Jump for Love. The 

Employee Wellness Program improves the health and wellbeing of staff and their 

dependents through information, preventive screenings, and popular activities such 

as the recent Chopped Cooking Contest. 

Food and Nutrition Services professionals have been honored for promoting 

healthier eating habits, such as through their Crunch Crew initiative. These efforts 

were supported by a federal grant from the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable 

Program. Food and Nutrition Services recently produced a video for parents to assist 

with school meal choices for diabetic children. The Martin County School District 

completed the Florida Healthy School District Assessment in 2018, achieving Silver 

Status.

High school students in MCSD participate in the Regional and Florida Envirothons. 

There are five study areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and 

a current environmental issue. RiverKidz provides second-grade students with a 

standards-based curriculum that increases their understanding of the community’s 

ecosystem and encourages them to become active in preserving local waterways. 

All students from kindergarten through seventh grade, as well as high school marine 

and environmental science classes, visit the Environmental Studies Center (ESC) to 

participate in hands-on environmental education. Students explore the St. Lucie 

Estuary, Indian River Lagoon, Hutchinson Island’s beaches, mangrove swamps, 

freshwater ponds, and wetlands. They receive instruction in the Center’s indoor and 

outdoor interactive classrooms, science labs and museum, and, at different grade 

levels, experience ESC’s floating classroom, a 30-foot T-Craft boat. Each summer 

the Center offers Camp WET (Water, Environment, Technology) for students 

entering fifth and sixth grade with the goals of raising environmental awareness, 

increasing knowledge of natural habitats, and developing sustainable behaviors 

among students and their families. 

Annually the District’s fourth-grade teachers participate in professional development 

using the Everglades Foundation Curriculum so that they can provide students with 

a hands-on environmental learning opportunity. Additional community collaboration 

takes place courtesy of Florida Power and Light, which sponsors in-school 

presentations by Captain Wattage and provides solar stations for several schools. 

Inwater Research Group, Inc. provides free experiential conservation education 

through their traveling Turtle Trunk Program. Martin County School District’s Hobe 
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Sound Elementary School is the first in the nation to be a fully certified Audubon 

Sanctuary Program. 

The District provides a Career and Technical education program at the high school 

level in Landscape Operations, leading to a certification by the Florida Nursery, 

Growers and Landscape Association as a Certified Horticultural Professional. 

Coursework and on-site career experiences prepare students for postsecondary 

training as well as employment opportunities in the field. Environmental and 

sustainability topics are important program elements. 

Team Green Martin is a school-based program that brings together students in both 

exceptional student and general education classrooms to work toward conservation 

goals and environmental preservation by focusing on recycling. Students4H2O is a 

districtwide effort and students in all grades participate. Each year, the group 

collaborates with the City of Stuart and the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast 

on Waterfest, a free, community-wide event that promotes awareness of water 

conservation and environmental stewardship and is attended by hundreds. 

Modern Energy Solutions, Inc., created by student entrepreneurs, presented at 

Launch X’s 2019 Global Demo Day at MIT. Their energy-saving invention currently 

has a patent pending. 

Georgia

Kennesaw State University; Kennesaw, Georgia

Sustainably stronger together

A member of the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University (KSU) is 

the third-largest university in the state and one of the 50 largest public institutions in 

the nation — a comprehensive, residential institution with 13 colleges on two metro 

Atlanta campus locations. On Jan. 6, 2015, the Board of Regents of the University 

System of Georgia approved the consolidation of Kennesaw State and Southern 

Polytechnic State University. The new Kennesaw State University houses a wider 

variety of academic specialties than either original institution. The university has 

been named among one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the 

United States and Canada by the annual edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 

322 Green Colleges.

The KSU Climate Action Plan has set out proposals and initiatives for promoting 

behavioral changes, enacting university policies, and initiating projects in the areas 

of transportation, energy consumption, water use, and solid waste removal. There 
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are now 22 LEED certified buildings across both campuses. There is over 15 kW of 

installed solar capacity minimal solar arrays on the Marietta campus — a 5-kW 

rooftop system on the Engineering Technology Center building and a 10-kW groundmounted system in front of the greenhouse. There are also solar picnic charging 

tables near the lab buildings. Additionally, Marietta campus hosts the Alternative 

Energy Innovation Center and offers a minor in Renewable Energy Engineering 

Technology. The center has focused on photovoltaic, solar thermal, and energy 

storage systems. KSU has been exploring strategies to expand its renewable energy 

portfolio. 

The Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability works to improve sustainability 

outcomes on KSU campuses in a number of ways. The Energy and Water 

Dashboard is a joint initiative of the Office of Sustainability and Maintenance and 

Operations to allow students, staff, and faculty to view real-time and historical utility 

data for select buildings. The university has installed low-flow fixtures, meters the 

water consumption of many individual buildings, has a stormwater management plan 

in place, and is working to collect rainwater. 

The university has updated design standards for new building and major renovations 

and created operating standards that include sustainability provisions and energy 

and water use intensity goals. KSU’s ENERGY STAR purchasing policy was 

instituted in 2008. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents awarded 

Kennesaw State the 2012 Sustainability Award for Energy Performance. 

In 2007, Kennesaw State signed onto the American College and University 

Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which is now Second Nature’s Carbon 

Commitment. As part of the agreement, Kennesaw State pledges to proactively 

engage students, faculty, and staff in measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of 

the campus. Despite enrollment increasing by about 8 percent, greenhouse gas 

emissions were reduced by nearly 6 percent in that same two-year period. 

Commuting accounts for 76 percent of KSU's annual greenhouse gas emissions. 

The university offers a number of alternatives, including the Big Owl Bus public 

transit; off-street bike paths and amenities; walking campuses; carpooling, 

ridesharing, and Zipcar facilitation; telecommuting, compressed work week, and 

flextime; and Georgia commute options. 

Landscaping practices work to reduce space devoted to lawns and maximize 

xeriscaping using native plants to reduce the need for watering.

The university student dining hall, The Commons, has garnered national accolades 

for its Farm-to-Campus-to-Farm Program. The KSU Farm-to-Campus-to-Farm 
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program expanded in 2013 to an additional 25-acre farm in collaboration with the 

Georgia Department of Transportation, located approximately two miles from the 

Kennesaw Campus. The KSU Field Station has been used to grow up to 20,000 

pounds of produce, such as lettuce, annually for the Commons dining hall at KSU. 

The farm arm has implemented low-cost, energy-efficient technology-based 

approaches for high-yield crop production. Now four greenhouses also dot the 

landscape. Each one has its own unique attributes to help extend the growing 

season year-round. The first greenhouse, called the propagation lab, is the most 

important since this is where plants are reproduced through seedlings or through 

tissue culture. Two others are high tunnel structures, which feature conventional inground growing. The most high-tech structure is the hydroponics lab.

Twenty-five years ago, KSU set aside part of the campus's original forest on Marietta 

Drive as a natural resource where students can study centuries-old trees‚ learn 

about density‚ the distribution of trees and plants and natural history.

Interactive GIS-based sustainability maps for Kennesaw and Marietta campuses 

offer information about sustainability features at KSU, such as solar photovoltaic

installations, LEED-certified buildings, Zipcar locations, bike trails, bus routes/stops, 

and sustainable dining options

KSU boasts two compact, walkable campuses with access to an extensive countywide trail network, an on-campus and off-campus bike share program, and oncampus amenities, such as a bike shop, showers, fix-it stations, and numerous bike 

racks. In recognition of Kennesaw State’s commitment to sustainability and 

achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus, the 

University has been designated as a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of 

American Bicyclists. 

The university represents high standards of synchronized efforts on health, nutrition, 

outdoor P.E., counseling, and psychological services for students, faculty, and staff. 

KSU Health Promotion and Wellness is a unit of the Division of Student Affairs and 

serves to improve the balance of the intellectual, emotional, physical, social, 

environmental, and spiritual development of students through awareness and 

education. To support a healthy learning environment for students, Health Promotion 

and Wellness offers a variety of services and programs at a free or discounted cost. 

The programs and services offered support students’ overall wellness through health 

promotion workshops and events including, but not limited to, stress management 
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programs, nutrition consultations and workshops, risk reduction education, and CPR 

certification. 

Kennesaw State is one of the first schools in the nation to establish a new program 

to help its homeless student population. Campus Awareness, Resource & 

Empowerment collaborates with the community and other departments across KSU, 

such as admissions, financial aid, and campus housing, to provide students a wide 

range of offerings in addition to the food campus pantry, one-on-one case 

management, personal care items, temporary housing, job coaching, temporary job 

placement, scholarships, and volunteer opportunities. 

The Environmental Health and Safety Department has been KSU’s source of 

expertise and assistance on environmental and occupational safety matters and 

continuously works to keep KSU in compliance with applicable federal, state, and 

local environmental health and safety laws, rules, and regulations. KSU adopted a 

no-idle policy in 2009 to reduce tailpipe emissions.

Kennesaw State has a presidential commission on sustainability, which serves as an 

advisory body at the university to promote and support collaborative efforts of 

faculty, staff, and students toward sustainable development goals within and across 

KSU's colleges, departments, and external partners. The Commission's efforts are 

designed to promote and support innovative sustainability education and sustainable 

practices. 

One of the commission initiatives is the KSU Annual EQUINOX Week dedicated to 

the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Established in 

2017, the initiative seeks to catalyze and advance pathways of multidisciplinary 

scholarship and partnership among institutions of higher education, policymakers, 

and community members. Throughout that week in March, a diverse set of 

multidisciplinary programs are organized on both campuses, including symposia, 

exhibits, and awards related to the UN SDGs.

Kennesaw State creates and maintains strategic, interactive partnerships in 

professional and civic communities. Multidisciplinary partnerships provide deeper 

understanding of the real-world issues on sustainably, such as climate action and 

energy conservation, to open up multiple green career pathways.

On both KSU campuses, there are growing demands and interests in 

multidisciplinary education on sustainability, as well as civic skills and impact of 
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sustainability. The sustainability director offers workshops and fellowships to faculty 

to engage them in sustainability across the curriculum. 

Across campuses, KSU promotes the use of the living learning spaces by faculty, 

staff, and students, including the KSU Hickory Grove Farm, The Oasis outdoor 

classroom, the KSU Dining garden, the Living Wall in The Commons, the 

permaculture garden, the arboretum, the greenhouse, and the solar photovoltaic 

system. These living learning spaces provide sustainability related experiential 

learning experiences and supply opportunities for students to address real-world 

issues and applications. 

The Oasis, a handson outdoor 

classroom built in a 

previously unused 

courtyard space, is 

one of most unique 

and innovative 

laboratory spaces on 

campus, enabling 

biology students to

study native Georgia 

plant life.

The Hickory Grove 

KSU Farm offers 

opportunities for 

student learning and 

faculty research, 

including for piloting innovative solutions to real-world challenges. The KSU Farm 

provides transformational experiential learning for students of every discipline 

through opportunities to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to realworld issues. 

The Field Station provides a living laboratory for researchers, educators, and 

students, promoting an interdisciplinary learning environment conducive for 

experiential academic experiences and strategic collaborations within the university 

community and beyond. The Field Station also provides space for research in 

biology, ecology, geology, and other relevant fields to improve the quality of life.

KSU is home to some 20 student clubs related to sustainability. EcoOwls is a 

student organization that gives students leadership opportunities by taking charge of 
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student-led projects that make a positive change in the environment; groups like the 

Green Ambassadors are leaders in sustainability and spread knowledge and 

awareness of sustainability at KSU through their sustainability campus tours; and 

OwlSwap Clothing Recycling encourages sustainable fashion alternatives, 

conscientious consumerism, and worker rights. The Office of Campus Planning & 

Sustainability hosts internships for students interested in advancing specific projects 

in sustainability. Other sustainability-minded clubs include: Students for 

Environmental Sustainability; Social Culinary Society; ENACTUS, focused on 

socially responsible entrepreneurship; and Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Hawaii

SEEQS: The School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability; 

Honolulu, Hawaii

Stewards of the earth, citizens of the world

The School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability (SEEQS) is a public 

charter middle school where students have powerful learning experiences, facilitated 

by passionate educators, that connect them to the place they live in so they can 

make meaningful change in their lives and for the planet. Students take ownership of 

their learning and do real work, with real impacts. Over the course of their middle 

school experience, each student engages in three yearlong investigations into a 

sustainability topic, presents related project work at six public project exhibitions, 

and compiles a portfolio of these accomplishments. 

SEEQS is located on the campus of Kaimuki High School, a Hawaii Department of 

Education school. This arrangement enables both SEEQS and Kaimuki High School 

to take advantage of efficiencies of scale related to energy consumption and 

facilities maintenance. SEEQS manages its environmental impact and costs through 

the use of two semi-permanent classroom structures primarily cooled by natural 

breeze and requiring minimal energy consumption. 

Students take an active role in supporting SEEQS’s efficient use of water. For 

example, students transformed previously unused plots of land into rain gardens 

designed to capture and hold rainwater. This reduces the need for irrigation, 

decreases flooding impacts, and contributes to the health of the local watershed. 

They considered water conservation when installing drip irrigation systems for 

gardens and incorporated flow meters to track use.

SEEQS’s urban location enables students and faculty members to travel to school 

using public transit or human-powered options. SEEQS has installed bicycle and 
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skateboard racks to support anyone who chooses these forms of transportation. 

Some students also travel to and from school by foot.

Students maintain raised garden beds, aquaponics, and field systems on campus. 

Students learn about the impacts of their food consumption choices and study the 

issues of food security and food independence in the islands. The food produced is 

offered to families at no charge through a weekly farm stand.

SEEQS has shifted away from the use of Styrofoam lunch trays, implemented a oneto-one Chromebook program to reduce paper waste, and instituted a (studentchampioned) ban on single-use plastic drink containers on campus. SEEQS uses 

recycling bins for paper, plastic, and glass, and students maintain a composting 

system for food waste that is collected during lunch. Students also collect 

compostable materials from nearby restaurants to maintain proper balance of 

nutrients in the compost. 

SEEQS has built-in structures to support both the physical and mental wellness of 

students. These include a focus on intentional community-building based on a 

number of social-emotional learning frameworks, a student schedule built to 

accommodate adolescent sleep needs, and school lunches that meet state nutrition 
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guidelines. Most days begin with physical activity to stimulate the body and brain, 

including gardening, hula, or basketball.

A facilities manager and part-time custodian oversee the maintenance and care of 

facilities and grounds, including regular cleaning and maintenance to manage dust, 

bacteria, and mold, as well as regular inspection of doors, windows, and other 

physical structures. In addition, families are encouraged to shut off engines while

waiting to pick up students to reduce emissions and protect air quality.

Where SEEQS excels most, however, is in its delivery of environmental and 

sustainability education. Every student enrolls in one of three yearlong, projectbased, interdisciplinary Essential Question of Sustainability (EQS) courses, each 

designed around an essential question on a topic relevant to Hawaii. Past questions 

have included, “How do humans and the oceans impact each other?” or “Why 

harness energy, and how?” Each EQS course meets four afternoons per week for 

two hours and is co-taught by five teachers from a variety of disciplines.

Courses focus on interconnections between humans and the environment, create a 

real-world context to apply disciplinary knowledge, engage community members as 

partners in learning, empower students to choose the focus of their projects, and 

motivate students through authentic public project exhibitions. Student project work 

has included the construction and maintenance of rain gardens, raised garden bed, 

aquaponics, and composting systems on campus as well as regular conservation 

work at the nearby Manoa-Palolo stream.

Each semester begins with EQS Camp, a series of day-long field studies offcampus, in collaboration with local community partners, that launches students into 

their investigations. Through these experiences, students become familiar with the 

real work already being done in the field and begin to consider the aspects of the 

broader topic that resonate most. Each semester culminates in a public EQS Project 

Exhibition, where students present their work to an authentic audience. Project work 

is first scaffolded by teacher-led group projects in the first semester, followed by 

student-led individual and small group projects in the second semester.

Students regularly spend time at the Manoa-Palolo stream, which runs alongside the 

SEEQS campus and is a central feature of the local watershed. They learn about the 

factors that contribute to stream health, participate in projects to study water quality 

and remove invasive species, and have hosted two Aloha Aina community work 

days that resulted in the removal of an estimated 2,000 pounds of trash and 35 cubic 

yards of invasive flora from the stream.
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SEEQS partners with Watershed Investigations Research Education and Design 

(WIRED), an organization that connects sixth- to 12th-grade students and their 

teachers with university researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students, 

and private and public sector entities, such as the Department of Land and Natural 

Resources. WIRED supports SEEQS by providing access to specialized equipment;

access to lab space; and expertise in stream, estuary, and ocean assessment.

Illinois

Joseph Sears School; Kenilworth, Illinois

Sustainability learning takes root in an outdoor classroom

Joseph Sears School is a one-school district that serves students across grades JK–

8. The school’s commitment to sustainability began in 2002 when the student council 

initiated a paper recycling program and then students formed a green club. 

Embracing student leadership and citizenship, the school collaborated with an Eagle 

Scout to establish composting at Sears School in 2008. The student not only 

received the Eagle recognition, but he was awarded the Illinois Governor’s Volunteer 

Service Award in 2011 for his efforts in expanding Sears School’s recycling and 

environmental education programs. Today that program has developed into an 

innovative schoolwide waste reduction program that includes recycling and 

composting throughout the school.

With the support of the organization Go Green Illinois Schools, the school has 

hosted meetings and shared best practices with area teachers, administrators, 

parents, and students. The district has worked with the Solid Waste Agency of 

Northern Cook County for many years to complete waste audits and improve waste 

reduction efforts. A student green club, Planet Panther, is co-led by the 

Sustainability Coordinator and two junior high science teachers to implement school 

sustainability efforts. Recently, the club worked to eliminate plastic straws by 

switching to paper straws and also sold reusable straws, donating their proceeds to 

the World Wildlife Fund. Sears has one-to-one iPads, encouraging students and 

teachers to frequently use Canvas, Notability, and Google Docs to reduce paper 

usage. All paper products are compostable.

During various renovations, Sears added new energy efficient boilers and cooling 

systems. Lights are replaced with LED bulbs; smart boards and flat screens are 

under centralized control for power; projectors turn off at the end of the day; 75 

percent of rooms have light occupancy sensors; and weekly emails go out to staff to 

remind them to turn off equipment when not in use. The school has installed 

automatic flushing toilets and shut-off faucets in restrooms. In the outdoor 
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classroom, rain barrels in the garden have significantly decreased the need for 

irrigation. The school has installed four water bottle filling stations.

In a town that has a total area of 0.61 square miles, most students — between 60 

and 90 percent on any given day — walk, bike, or roll to school. This number is 

tracked during Bike and Walk to School week and during Earth Week.

Another milestone moment for the school was in 2012, when an outdoor classroom 

garden was established and became a collaborative community project. In addition 

to rain barrels, the garden has composting bins, a peace pole, a Native American 

Trail Marker Tree, and organic beds to build a sense of stewardship and education 

for the environment.

The outdoor classroom has a dedicated faculty coordinator who works directly with 

the building and grounds director, chief education officer, and superintendent to 

ensure curriculum, maintenance, and daily needs of the space are met. The 

coordinator also collaborates with parent volunteers, and a community fall harvest 

celebration is held in the garden each year. The area includes native and prairie 

plants, rain and butterfly gardens, organic vegetable beds and fruit trees, a Native 

American trail marker tree, a compost bin, a peace pole, and a sundial to support 

hands-on learning and appreciation of nature. This garden has grown substantially, 

leading the way for more interest and an increased commitment to integrating 

sustainability education in the curriculum and daily activities. 

In 2017, the school hired a sustainability coordinator, who is a faculty member. In 

2018, this sustainability coordinator established a faculty Sustainability Committee 

that meets twice a month. The work of this committee, in combination with past 

initiatives and the results of a recent sustainability audit, has provided the school 

with a clear path to improved sustainability. The pillars of sustainability prompted 

alignment of the school’s activities, subject matter, achievements, and objectives 

with common sustainability goals. Recommendations from all three pillars have been 

implemented by faculty, students, and staff. Furthermore, sustainability goals and 

vision statements have been accepted by the Board of Education. 

A Wellness Committee supports employees in making healthy choices, offers an 

annual fitness challenge, staff cooking groups, Pilates, and yoga. A daily Mindful 

Minute after lunch allows students and teachers time for quiet mindfulness. 

Additionally, five Mindful Mornings throughout the year allow for a longer exploration 

of mindfulness by students and teachers alike. This effort is coordinated with support 

and instruction from the Social Emotional Learning Committee. Movement Minutes 

allow for all JK–8 students to have an additional 20 minutes of movement throughout 

the day. 
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Sears offers P.E. every day for 30 minutes for students in grades K–5 and 40 

minutes per day for students in sixth to eighth grades. In addition, during lunch, 

students have 40 minutes (20 minutes to eat and 20 minutes of recess). 

Kindergarten students have a 50-minute lunch, including outdoor play. Outdoor 

recess occurs when the temperature feels higher than zero degrees with wind chill. 

The gym features a new climbing wall and high-ropes course. Local produce is 

provided when possible through the food vendor. Additionally, the outdoor classroom 

coordinator offers fresh produce from the school garden for students to taste during 

lunch, in practical arts recipes, and for staff and faculty. 

Chemicals and pesticides are not used in the outdoor classroom and organic 

gardens, with an integrated pest management plan overseen by a contractor. 

Recently a new custodial company was hired that uses Green Seal Certified 

products. Interior paints are water-based, nontoxic, and zero VOC. The school has 

completed radon testing and has carbon monoxide sensors. The school has a 

proactive schedule for testing water and soil and for monitoring ventilation systems 

and asbestos in the 1914 building that had a wing added in 1944. An HVAC software 

control system monitors the classrooms and building to maintain fresh air standards.

District policy mandates that natural resource conservation must be taught across 

grade levels. This includes ecology, endangered species, and the 

interconnectedness of species and the environment. In their first full year at Sears, 

kindergarten students help set up habitats for fish, worms, and bugs in their 

classrooms and take care of them. They also create recycled and reused art projects 

throughout the year. In World Language, Latin students create plant labels, including 

common name, identifying photos, and botanical name. In junior high, students 

conduct a case study investigation of how pesticides disrupt food webs through 

biological magnification. In sixth-grade science, they complete a research project on 

endangered species and engineer plastic sculptures of their animals from recyclable 

and nonrecyclable items.

The outdoor classroom has a teacher sign-up to support environmental education 

use across grade levels and subject areas. Some of these outdoor classroom uses 

by grade level include junior kindergarten study of birds; kindergarten planting of 

potatoes to harvest in first grade; second-graders’ exploration of plants and insects; 

third-graders’ seed dispersal and seed identification; fourth-graders’ collecting 

isopods and helping with neighborhood cleanup; and fifth-graders’ study of food 

webs, decomposition, and composting. Sixth-graders study a unit on invasive 

species. Seventh grade completes a unit of study on Native Americans, 

environment, and three sisters planting methods in the garden. Eighth-graders 

complete an investigation of seed germination. Students in practical arts classes 

harvest, cook, and preserve produce. Music classes use the space to practice and 
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perform. World language classes complete problem-based units on pollution and 

local birds.

The district has sponsored staff visits to area schools as resources for how to use 

gardens in instruction, ideas for LEED proposals, approaches to waste reduction in 

lunchrooms, and involvement with student clubs. The district also sponsored a 

recent visit by local high 

school Marine Biology 

students to first-grade 

classrooms to share books 

on endangered marine 

species. A newly 

constructed school and 

park district building, the 

Village House, has become 

the platform for a social 

studies problem-based unit 

in which students 

developed proposals and 

created presentations on 

the reconstruction project. 

Students have generated 

ideas, including sustainable materials, renewable energy, water conservation and 

quality features, and LEED certification. 

Students visit the Grove, Lincoln Park Zoo (where they adopt an animal), Emily 

Oaks Nature Center, Evanston Ecology Center, Heller Nature Center, and Camp 

Duncan. In seventh grade, students learn about Chicago architecture on a Wendella 

Boat tour. Each June since 2014, three full days are dedicated to all grades to 

experiencing outdoor learning overseen by the outdoor classroom coordinator and 

led by the organic gardener. Students explore such themes as pollinators, beneficial 

insects, plant parts, and seasonal and local food.

College of Lake County; Grayslake, Illinois

A trail of living labs

At the College of Lake County (CLC) sustainability, health and wellness, and 

diversity each have their own council bodies to advise the Governance Coordinating 

Council (the main decision-making body at the college) to ensure that these areas 

are considered in governance decisions. 

The Sears School outdoor classroom is a laboratory for 

hands-on, problem-based learning and critical thinking.
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CLC’s Climate Action Plan sets aspirational goals for the college to reduce its 

greenhouse gases (GHGs), with the ultimate goal of GHG neutrality by the year 

2042. The Greening Our Campus section of its Sustainability Plan provides interim 

goals that guide the college along this path of reducing emissions and conserving 

resources, including building utilities, dining services, grounds operations, 

purchasing, transportation, solid waste disposal, and water consumption. 

In 2019, CLC received LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC for its newest 

addition, the Science and Engineering Building. In fact, according to the USGBC, 

CLC’s Science and Engineering Building has the most green building points of any 

new construction project in the state of Illinois. The building features solar 

photovoltaics, a geothermal heat exchange system, rainwater harvesting, 

daylighting, efficient variable speed ventilation with 100 percent clean air exchange, 

and a green roof. Each of these features not only makes the building more efficient, 

there is also interpretive signage from which students and visitors may learn. The 
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Science and Engineering Building is not just a building to learn within; the building 

itself is a learning tool. 

On other parts of the campus, the College has invested in classroom technology 

upgrades, a renovation of core building wings, and a student services one-stop 

center, and is poised to begin a major expansion of the Lakeshore Campus in 

Waukegan. The geothermal heat exchange system is heating and cooling three core 

buildings, greatly reducing HVAC costs and associated GHG emissions. This main 

geothermal system includes over 80 wells, drilled 500 feet deep, to heat and cool the 

B and C wings and the new café in the core of the campus. This geothermal heat 

exchange has been so efficient that another building is being retrofitted onto that 

system, without having to drill any additional wells. CLC has been taking advantage 

of rebates through the state to upgrade its lighting fixtures, saving up to 80 percent 

of energy usage with LED lighting in parking lots and interior streets. 

In 2020, a new era of renewable energy production is taking off, with a contract to 

install 2 MW of solar photovoltaic energy to the Grayslake Campus and up to 285 

kW to the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan. This expanded solar infrastructure 

takes advantage of state incentives to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement that 

allows the college to save money on its utilities and promote renewable energy, 

while selling renewable energy credits on the market to help fund the project.

CLC installed water-conserving fixtures in the faucets, toilets, and urinals in 

washrooms across all three campuses beginning in 2010. Water filling stations were 

also installed to encourage students, faculty, and staff to use reusable bottles. The 

grounds department has been installing native vegetation to reduce or eliminate 

irrigation. In 2017, CLC completed installation of over 2,500 linear feet of bioswales 

in its parking lots. These grant-funded bioswales are designed to reduce the amount 

of stormwater run-off to the parking lots with native plants that absorb and infiltrate 

the stormwater.

CLC conducts waste audits every couple of years to measure its success in diverting 

waste from the landfills. Past audits assess the college’s recycling rate at 42 

percent. CLC has an exhaustive obsolete equipment policy, making sure that any 

functional equipment first gets used on campus, then is offered to local school 

districts, offered up for auction, and lastly recycled before being sent to the landfill. 

CLC is careful to divert its construction waste and any hazardous waste 

appropriately. Food scraps and coffee grounds from food services are returned to 

the soil with composting at the farm. 

CLC’s Grayslake Campus is located in the center of Lake County, making it ideal as 

the transportation hub for the Pace Suburban Bus Service. CLC has campuses in 
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both Waukegan and Vernon Hills. Lake County is in the process of building out 

bicycle trails across the county. CLC is looking for ways to partner with the Village of 

Grayslake and the Forest Preserves to initiate a bike-sharing program later in 2020.

In addition to providing health center, counseling and referral, and P.E. services, 

CLC provides health and wellness training and services. The Health and Wellness 

Promotion Department provides education and experience to empower students to 

help themselves and others through the principles and practices of illness, injury, 

and disease prevention and holistic coaching. The program offers an A.A.S. degree 

in Health and Wellness Promotion and certificates in Personal Training and 

Wellness Coaching. The Center for Health and Wellness Promotion includes 

personal training, wellness coaching, and massage therapy services for faculty, 

staff, students, and community members. The museum contains a most 

comprehensive collection of health and wellness artifacts, with some dating back as 

far as 230 B.C. 

Indoor air quality is managed by the HVAC Department at the college. HVAC 

technicians monitor thermal comfort, humidity, CO2 levels, and fresh air intake 

remotely from the intranet Delta control system. Thermal comfort and fresh air intake 

are a priority in maintaining healthy indoor air quality. The new science building 

provides 100 percent fresh air returns to throughout its space.

The campus farm produces vegetables and herbs, grown without any artificial 

fertilizers or herbicides. Staff, students, volunteers, and interns at CLC’s campus 

farm harvested nearly 25,000 pounds of produce last year to be sold to Café Willow 

and at its weekly seasonal farm market. Over 3,000 pounds of produce from the 

campus farm were donated to nonprofit groups, food pantries, and churches in 2017. 

CLC officially opened its apiary in September 2016 (a project led by a student in 

collaboration with faculty and staff) as part of an independent study. Six hives are 

maintained on the campus farm, providing pollinator services, honey, and 

educational opportunities. CLC honey is sold in the campus bookstore and used in 

the café. 

CLC spent two years examining how sustainability fits within (and how it can be 

extended across) the curriculum. By undertaking two years of focused Academic 

Quality Improvement Projects, CLC was able to explore how sustainability is 

currently being incorporated into course material and also to develop and provide 

resources to instructors wishing to strengthen their curricula with sustainability 

applications.

CLC offers a variety of immersive experiences for students seeking interdisciplinary 

and applied learning opportunities. Students explore biology, geology, history, and 
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humanities courses that make the Rocky Mountains, Europe, Asia, or Latin America 

their classrooms. For example, students can take geology and HVAC technology 

courses exploring renewable energy in China. Students gain service learning 

experience in an underserved rural area while also getting to visit the Forbidden City 

and the Great Wall over a two-week spring break. 

The Living Lab Trail helps campus visitors to understand what sustainable 

technologies are working behind the scenes. The Living Lab Trail is a meta-learning 

opportunity. It identifies health and wellness concepts while serving as a vehicle for 

wellness. The Living Lab Trail interpretative signage begins with descriptions of such 

features as bioswales, prairie restoration, geothermal heat exchange, and the 

campus farm, among other sites. The second section of the signs connects what 

visitors see in front of them to similar issues and opportunities in the community. 

Finally, the signage points to similar issues elsewhere around the world. The 

signage provides trail-takers opportunities to connect with the world, helping to 

stimulate critical thinking and to connect technology with meaningful careers. 

CLC is a founding member and administrative agent of the Illinois Green Economy 

Network (IGEN), a consortium of Illinois community colleges working together to 

share resources, common experiences, and best practices to help grow the new 

green economy. IGEN helps colleges, such as CLC, to improve resource 

management on campus, develop new green job training and educational programs, 

and collaborate with partners in the community and across the state.

Indiana

Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation; Fishers, Indiana

Fueling CurioCity for the planet

Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation (HSE) serves more than 22,000 students 

and is comprised of 13 elementary schools, four intermediate schools, four junior 

high schools, and two high schools. It is the mission of HSE to be a forward-thinking 

school district, providing education opportunities to ensure the success of every 

student, teaching them to become a responsible citizen and to positively influence 

an ever-changing world community. 

In 2017, HSE hired an energy manager with the task of monitoring energy use, 

increasing efficiency, and engaging students and staff in sustainability endeavors. 

Since the creation of this position, the district has increased enrollment and opened 

a new school, but total energy costs have decreased. HSE Schools used fewer 

kilowatts in 2018 with one more school and 1,000 more students than it did in 2016. 
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In 2019, HSE installed 4,800 solar panels. These arrays have an annual predicted 

production of 2,385,600 kWh — enough to power three of the 23 schools in the 

district. The solar arrays are providing students a first-hand example of 

sustainability. STEM and Humanities classes have incorporated information from the 

arrays into curriculum. 

HSE Schools has single-stream recycling at every school. Working with Food 

Services, students and staff helped to eliminate many of the single-use plastics 

coming from the cafeteria. The students then created an art campaign and engaged 

the community. A local restaurant began displaying the artwork and removed plastic 

straws from their establishment. The district has installed more than 60 water bottle 

filling stations to reduce the use 

of single-use plastic bottles. 

The stations contain filtration 

systems to ensure students 

and staff are drinking clean 

water.

As a district, HSE meets or 

surpasses state and federal 

guidelines pertaining to indoor 

air quality and water quality. 

HSE has won the National 

Clean Air Award from the 

National Air Filtration 

Association two years in a row. 

The district proactively monitors 

and tests for lead, radon, and 

mold in all buildings, exceeding 

state requirements. 

HSE has standardized the 

chemicals used throughout the district by installing centrally located chemical 

dispensing system instead of single-use spray bottles at every school. This has 

shown a decrease in the chemicals and water used while maintaining cleaning 

standards. Custodians perform yearly chemical inventories and partner with SafetyKleen to remove any unused or unwanted chemicals properly. 

Student-led projects have introduced vegetable gardens, rain gardens, pollinator 

gardens, flower beds, and trails. Several of the schools have created outdoor 

learning spaces that can be used as an extension to the classroom. Water samples, 

population studies, soil judging, and macroinvertebrate identification are a few 
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activities commonly completed in these outdoor spaces. HSE is cultivating a 

relationship with Flat Rock River Camp in St. Paul, Indiana, to send sixth-graders to 

study environmental science. During students’ seventh-grade year, they travel to 

Camp Tecumseh in Carol County, Indiana, where they stay for three days and two 

nights to learn about ecosystem recovery, water quality monitoring, plant 

identification, and population counts.

HSE has a schedule that replaces older buses with more efficient models. Threequarters of the fleet has been replaced with newer, more efficient diesel engines. 

There is a plan to replace the remaining 78 less efficient models within a few years. 

The new diesel engine buses get 9 to 10 mpg instead of 6 to 7 mpg compared to the 

older fleet. HSE also pays a premium to fill the buses with 50 cetane diesel gas. This 

type of fuel starts quicker with less smoke, improves lubricity to reduce fuel injection 

system wear, and burns cleaner, reducing harmful emissions such as sulfur. 

As a district, students are supplied with superior nutrition that meets or exceeds the 

USDA School Dietary Guidelines. Schools incorporate smart snack a la carte 

options, such as carrots, broccoli, and tropical fruits. This produce option is provided 

twice a week and is free to any student, whether they purchased a lunch or not. 

Food Services also collaborates with school nurses to identify students with health 

concerns to provide them with alternatives that meet their needs. HSE has partnered 

with a local food bank to provide students in need with additional meals for 

weekends and holidays. 

In 2017, HSE was awarded the Lilly Endowment Comprehensive Counseling 

Initiative Grant and was selected to participate in the national Collaborative 

Improvement and Innovation Network with the Center for School Mental Health. HSE 

has partnerships with Community Health Network, Prevail of Central Indiana, 

Fishers Youth Assistance, and the Peyton Reikhof Foundation to help support 

students, teachers, and community members who need assistance.

The City of Fishers has partnered with HSE to create CurioCity, an online portal 

allowing teachers to request guest speakers, panelists, apprenticeships, internships, 

externships, study trips, project-based learning experiences, and service-based 

learning. Local businesses and stakeholders can also access this portal and submit 

opportunities that they are willing to host or sponsor. CurioCity has facilitated the 

pairing of scientists, engineers, political figures, and others to meet with staff and 

students to share experiences and resources. The HSE Energy Manager utilized the 

portal to create a guest speaking opportunity to discuss the school’s solar array 

projects. During the first five months of the 2019 school year, this allowed him to 

speak to more than 1,900 students about solar arrays, renewable energy, 

environmental impact, and sustainable features at district schools.
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As part of the solar array installation, Ameresco provided Hamilton Southeastern 

Schools two solar powered wagons. These wagons can travel to any school or event 

that the district hosts to expose the students to solar power and renewable energy. 

In the first five months of school, the solar wagons were utilized by 16 schools, with 

seven more school visits scheduled. The solar power wagons allow the HSE Energy 

Manager to impact classrooms and expand the National Energy Education 

Development curriculum currently used in the district.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation is a great resource for teachers as 

they focus on implementing environmental and sustainability education. The 

Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that awards more than $100,000 per year to teachers in 

scholarships and grants. Many of the funded projects focus on sustainability. Across 

the district students are working with greenhouses, beehives, chicken coops, 

robotics labs, and using equipment purchased through a HSSF grant. They also host 

a yearly donation drive called PastaBowl through which HSE Schools collected and 

donated more than 41,000 pounds of pasta to local food pantries in 2019 alone. 

STEM is not the only class that focuses on environmental and sustainability 

education. HSE media specialists, energy manager, and humanities teachers have 

started to promote and incorporate the American Library Association’s Top 10 

Sustainability Themed Children Books. The books work with the district’s initiative to 

support the United Nations Global Goals. The incorporation of these goals creates 

vertical alignment that allows students to grow in their depth of impact and 

understanding. Common vocabulary, building skills, increased engagement, and 

collaboration are accomplished by incorporating the Global Goals across the various 

age ranges. Since the Global Goals were incorporated into the curriculum, HSE has 

seen an increased engagement in civil action by students on environmental fronts.

Each high school offers a Socratic seminar class through the government program. 

A large component of this class is to investigate a major political issue. In recent

years, more students have selected environmental policies. During several of the 

third-year foreign language classes, students research, create, and promote an 

ecotourism guide for a country of their choice. During this lesson, students must also 

discuss threats to that ecosystem and create a political action plan on how to 

preserve the ecotourism for future generations. Chemistry courses have also taken 

steps to reduce their impact on the environment by removing labs and 

demonstrations that use potentially harmful chemicals. Many of the labs have been 

modified to reuse chemicals.
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Kentucky

Redwood Cooperative School; Lexington, Kentucky

Outdoor classrooms for all

From its inception in 2014, Redwood Cooperative School has valued environmental 

sustainability as a key program tenet. Environmental education, literacy, and service 

learning are so much a part of Redwood that they are embedded in the school’s 

vision statement: “Redwood strives to be a regional leader in child-centric, 

progressive education that creates global citizens and empowered problem solvers 

with a commitment to community and environment.” Each year, the school’s 

Leadership Team surveys the school classrooms, buildings, and grounds to find 

identifiable environmental needs. They then plan and implement improvement 

projects, involving each student in the school in the process. 

Redwood has installed LED lights, programmable thermostats, and water-efficient 

toilets. Leadership team members educate students and teachers about energy 

saving strategies and perform weekly energy surveys to gauge the school’s progress 

in conserving energy. 

For the last four years, Redwood has co-hosted the citywide used cooking oil 

recycling project, called the Gobble Grease Toss. Redwood partners with Lexington 

Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG), the University of Kentucky Center for 

Applied Energy Research (CAER), and Kelley Green Biofuel to collect and recycle 

used cooking oil the day after Thanksgiving each year. Over four years, students 

collected more than 1,200 gallons of used cooking oil from the community and 

prevented it from being thrown into landfills. Instead, some is used for biofuel 

research and the remainder is converted into biofuels that are used in Kentucky farm 

equipment. 

At Redwood, reducing solid waste is an ongoing effort. Students are required to 

bring a water bottle to school. Each student is educated about proper recycling as 

part of a schoolwide recycling program. In addition to city collection items, Redwood 

collects and recycles unique items, such as markers, food pouches, and additional 

plastics that the city does not recycle. During the summer before the 2019–20 school 

year, the city of Lexington announced that it would no longer be able to collect and 

recycle paper. Thus, fourth- and fifth-grade students began collecting and recycling 

or repurposing the paper that Redwood produces. They make paper bead 

necklaces, fire starters, plant pots, and they even built a chair for the preschoolers! 

The remaining paper is shredded and used as bedding in Redwood’s school chicken 

coops, the worm bin, and in the regular compost bins. The processed compost is 
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used to fertilize the school gardens. Additionally, Redwood has begun a cell phone 

recycling project with a goal of collecting 300 used cell phones to take to the 

Cincinnati Zoo for their cell phone recycling program that helps protect gorilla 

habitats. 

The space directly outside of every classroom has been turned into outdoor 

classrooms, so that each class has easy access to outdoor learning as an extension 

of their classrooms. Teachers use this space to offer an outdoor component to 

regular lessons, including literacy, engineering, and math; for hands-on 

environmental learning activities; for enjoying snacks and lunches; and to generally 

connect with nature. Teachers also utilize other outdoor space on campus to 

enhance lessons. For example, during a multiplication unit, teachers offered a 

rotation outside where students played multiplication hopscotch to reinforce 

multiplication facts. 

On Earth Day, students were able to break ground on a rain garden. The leadership 

team surveyed school grounds during times of rain, measuring and calculating 

percentages of pervious and impervious surfaces, calculating runoff volume, and 

determining the ideal size rain garden to handle the volume of watershed runoff at 

Redwood. They spent the next several weeks building it with the help of community 

experts. Seeds for the native rain garden plants were started in classrooms and 

planted in the rain garden. 

After collecting and analyzing data on idling habits in morning and afternoon carpool 

lines (finding that two thirds of cars were idling for 15 minutes or more, even on days 

with mild weather), students purchased a bike rack and “idle-free zone” signs with 

raised funds. Students are encouraged to ride their bikes to school and people in 

carpool line are asked not to idle their engine while waiting for their children. 

Redwood does not use any harmful chemicals, such as pesticides or cleaning 

products. All cleaning products are safe for the environment and children’s health. 

Plants throughout the building absorb toxins and improve indoor air quality, 

contributing to the respiratory health of students, families, and staff. The children 

make natural deterrents, such as using garlic and mint to control mosquitos. The 

school is piloting the use of beneficial nematodes. Filters are checked regularly, and 

any identified moisture is mitigated. Water samples from drinking fountains are 

tested by the water company to ensure optimal drinking water quality.

Redwood built a raised bed garden using free end cuts from a local lumber yard to 

reduce waste. Each class starts seeds in the classroom and tends to the seedlings 

until they are ready to be transplanted in the outdoor garden, and all classes tend to 

the outdoor garden and harvest produce. Some of the produce is enjoyed by 
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students as nutritious supplements to their snacks and lunches and some produce is 

donated to local food pantries. Redwood is also home to an aquaponics system with 

koi and edible plants that the students tend and utilize for food production, data 

collection, and STEM education. In science class, they are working to colonize 

mushrooms, which allows them to learn about another type of growing and harvest. 

Preschool students tap maple trees in their playground area and process the sap to 

make maple syrup. The students host a plant sale in the spring each year, selling 

some of the starter plants that they have grown in the classroom to raise money for 

their garden, other environmental projects, and to assist Redwood families in 

beginning their own food production gardens. Last year, Redwood partnered with a 

local farm to promote community-supported agriculture through weekly farm shares 

for participating families. School 

grounds now include edible berry 

shrubs throughout the property so 

these fresh foods can be accessible 

to students.

Redwood participates in the 

University of Kentucky Extension egg 

incubation project. Classes incubate, 

hatch, and care for the chickens. 

Students provide food and water and 

collect eggs from coops on campus. 

Some classes have used their eggs 

to make baked goods; others have 

donated the eggs they collect. 

Keeping chickens at school allows 

students and families to connect with 

farm animals, develop compassion, 

learn about locally produced foods, 

and reduce the carbon footprint of 

food transportation. 

All students, preschoolers through fifth-graders, are provided 90 minutes of daily 

unstructured outdoor time for social and emotional growth, free play, and nature 

explorations. Middle school students have 75 minutes of unstructured outdoor time 

daily. Students and families are involved with neighborhood trash cleanups, 

community tree plantings, stream studies and exploration of natural areas. Each 

week, Redwood teachers are provided an opportunity to take yoga and mindfulness 

classes free of charge. 
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Teachers are offered professional development and outreach opportunities that help 

them integrate environmental education curriculum into their classrooms. As a result, 

65 percent of all Redwood teachers are certified in a formal environmental education 

curriculum. In July 2019, Redwood hosted its first annual conference on 

environmental education. The school welcomed 80 teachers and many professionals 

in environmental education. 

Teachers utilize a model of project-based learning to gather students’ input and 

interests to devise relevant curriculum through thematic units of study. Theme 

studies support environmental literacy and learning. The first-grade class 

participated in a long-term study of bats and, after conducting research and building 

models of bats and bat boxes, students wrote persuasive writing pieces to the 

administration requesting that the school allow them to build and place two bat 

boxes on campus. Upper Elementary students held a bake sale to raise money for 

the first-grade bat boxes. Middle School students used the knowledge they gathered 

during social studies to launch a social media campaign to help save the rainforests. 

All families were able to watch the videos they created and engage in the project. 

During the study of water quality and research of rain garden features, students took 

a field trip to a restored stream to participate in macroinvertebrate identification as 

an indicator of water quality. Students often attend field trips to the Living Arts and 

Science Center and the UK Arboretum, as well as the Buckley Nature Preserve, 

Raven Run Park, Bernheim Forest, EKU Planetarium, Lower Howard’s Creek Nature 

Preserve for a stream study, Toyota Manufacturing to view sustainability efforts, and 

tree planting at McConnell Springs. The Redwood Leadership Team hosts an annual 

Earth Day Extravaganza, a fair that families and students are invited to attend. They 

rotate through STEM and environmental learning centers. 

Fayette County Public Schools; Lexington, Kentucky

Unleashing students’ ideas and enthusiasm OR It’s all about sustainability

Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) works to empower students to lead the way 

through access to data, strategic community partnerships, and national best 

practices — and has experienced its greatest success when students’ ideas and 

zeal are unleashed. FCPS is a majority-minority school district with 69 schools, 

42,000 students, 94 native languages spoken, and 49 percent of students qualifying 

for free and reduced price meals. 

In 2019, FCPS developed Kentucky’s first school district sustainability and wellness 

strategic plan, “It’s About Sustainability.” The plan is a five-year roadmap that builds 

upon the district’s strengths, momentum, and years of sustainability progress in 
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building efficiency, environmental literacy, and student and staff wellness. This plan 

seeks to improve FCPS’s stewardship of fiscal, natural, and human resources by 

empowering students, staff, and families to improve sustainability and wellness on 

each school campus and reflects a future-oriented perspective on sustainability that 

is optimistic, emphasizes development and strengths, and focuses on human 

potential. 

The Plan is a living document that is systematically reviewed by the Sustainability + 

Wellness Steering Committee, a team of diverse stakeholders representing each of 

the five focus areas. A critical metric will include schools’ annual performance on the 

Sustainability Scorecard, a benchmarking tool organized by the Sustainability + 

Wellness three pillars: 1) Environmental Literacy, 2) Building Efficiency, and 3) 

Student Wellness. In addition to a districtwide three-pronged Sustainability 

Scorecard to provide schools with a tool to benchmark performance and identify 

opportunities for improvement, It’s About Sustainability offers an incentive program 

called Go Green + Earn Green, divided into four $200 Power Packs and five Green 

Culture activities. Through Go Green + Earn Green, schools have the opportunity to 

earn up to $1,200 to be reinvested into student-driven sustainability improvement 

projects through activities, such as a sustainability meeting with district and school 

personnel, energy awareness campaign, appliance consolidation, and other 

sustainability improvement projects.

All new FCPS buildings have a target EUI goal of 35 kBtu per square foot or lower. 

The newest high school, Frederick Douglass High School, achieved a perfect 100 

ENERGY STAR score with a sub-20 kBtu per square foot EUI. Since FCPS started 

monitoring and managing energy consumption in 2011, it has reduced EUI overall by 

24 percent. Over that same period, FCPS saw its student population grow by over 

4,000 additional students and an additional 800,000+ square feet of building area. 

Recycling, increased energy efficiency, water conservation, utility rate audits, and 

grants have provided a cost savings to the district of over $16 million since the 

inception of the FCPS sustainability program. In 2012, Fayette County Board of 

Education adopted a recycling resolution, acknowledging the fiscal, environmental, 

and student engagement benefits of comprehensive, districtwide recycling. In 2013, 

FCPS It’s About Sustainability published “FCPS Composting Manual for Schools.” 

Plastic lids are not recyclable in Lexington. In an effort to divert plastic lids from the 

landfill and in partnership with GreenTree Plastics in Evansville, Indiana, over 20 

FCPS schools have collected and upcycled over 20,000 pounds of nonrecyclable 

plastic lids into campus benches and tables incorporated into their outdoor 

classroom settings.
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In 2016, It’s About Sustainability launched the Outdoor Classroom Coalition with the 

mission to remove logistical and resource barriers to outdoor learning spaces. With 

support from the district’s Coalition, 85 percent of FCPS sites have installed an 

outdoor classroom. 

All plants and landscaping on FCPS properties are regionally appropriate. Twentytwo school campuses have rain gardens to assist with filtration of water runoff. In 

2013 FCPS It’s About Sustainability published FCPS Rain Garden Manual for 

Schools to include best management practices for rain garden installation and 

curriculum integration. In plumbing, a reduced pressure backflow preventer is 

installed at the domestic water entrance, preventing the reverse flow of polluted 

water from entering into the water supply. Lead-free plumbing components were 

used during construction of buildings. In all new construction and renovations, water 

bottle refilling stations are installed to encourage students to hydrate and reduce 

single-use plastic bottles.

FCPS’ chemical management 

program includes a chemical 

purchasing policy (low or noVOC products), storage and 

labeling, training and 

handling, hazard 

communication, spills, and 

selecting third-party certified 

green cleaning products. 

Many schools are moving to 

reduce or eliminate biohazard 

waste generated as a result 

of science dissections. 

School buildings are kept 

between 71–74 degrees 

Fahrenheit during the cooling 

season, and between 69–72 

degrees Fahrenheit during 

the heating season. Newly 

renovated schools have CO2 

monitors that regulate the fresh air ventilated into rooms. Schools that do not have 

the monitors are regularly checked using handheld CO2 meters.

In partnership with KY Division for Air Quality, students collect data on afternoon 

carpool line campus idling. Upon completion, students implement a two-week no 

idling awareness campaign using newsletter templates, announcement scripts, 
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posters, and tokens of appreciation. Post campaign, students again collect idling

data and install a no-idling sign on campus. Since no idling was launched in 2014, 

30 percent of FCPS sites have adopted a no-idling policy. 

FCPS purchased health curriculum resources from ETR, the HealthSmart

Curriculum and materials. Each school was given texts and workbooks to integrate 

into their school curriculum. P.E. and Health teachers were then given a full day of 

professional development to map the curriculum and integrate online resources into 

the district’s portal. All elementary and middle schools have a half-time nurse and 

high schools currently have a full-time nurse, with the aim of a full-time nurse in each 

school by 2025. Additionally, there are Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHC) in 

eight FCPS elementary schools, one middle school, and one soon to open in a high 

school. The district works with partners to offer mobile dental services and mental 

health screenings, assessments, and services in middle and high schools. 

A coalition of community partners, including district nutrition, the county health 

department, and state extension service, works toward increased locally sourced 

school food and provides classroom lessons on the environmental, economic, and 

wellness benefits of local food, primarily through 45-minute, hands-on lessons on 

each benefit. In 2019, FCPS piloted a Farm-to-School Lunch Challenge, a weeklong 

effort to raise awareness of the benefits of local food, with locally procured food 

items on the line every day; competition for increased student participation in school 

lunch, including prizes; and visits from local farmers. Since 2015, over 2,000 

students have been reached by farm-to-school lessons, and cafeteria procurement 

of locally sourced items has increased by 50 percent. 

Leveraging best practices from dozens of local, state, and national partnerships, 

FCPS supports environmental and sustainability education through Sustain Educate 

Empower Kentucky (SEE KY), programming that is strategically aligned to the three 

dimensions of Next Generation Science Standards, with special emphasis on 

engineering practices and real-world applications and purposefully infused with 

STEM activities and learning objectives. Each school’s SEE KY team is led by a 

school sustainability coordinator, and curriculum is closely monitored to maintain 

state academic standards alignment. 

In addition to providing instruction and tools, the district’s It’s About Sustainability 

program serves as a portal to local, district, state, and national resources, 

partnerships, and curriculum. Go Green + Earn Green funds may be invested into 

registration, transportation, and accommodations for green school professional 

development opportunities or student transportation to environmental education 

experiences. Each September, It’s About Sustainability hosts a full day training for 

school sustainability coordinators, to include training on data-driven lessons and 
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community partner speed dating several dozen local and state environmental 

education partners. 

Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council is a project-based coalition of student leaders 

from all of Lexington’s public and private schools. The 65-member Council meets in 

person monthly and virtually weekly in Project Committees to design and implement 

collaborative projects. BYSC offers unprecedented collaborative and leadership 

opportunities. 

Maine

Camden Hills Regional High School; Rockport, Maine

Oceans of student-driven sustainability

Camden Hills Regional High School (CHRHS) is a public high school located in 

coastal Rockport, Maine, serving 720 students in grades 9 through 12. It has a 

graduation rate of over 90 percent, with almost 70 percent pursuing postsecondary 

degree programs. Although CHRHS takes pride in its academics and routinely 

scores among the top 10 high schools in the state, it is how it has allocated 

resources to respond to an ever-changing world for students that makes the school 

stand out. 

CHRHS policies, budgeting, and its people all focus on ensuring systems that will 

promote and support healthy students, a healthy school, and a healthy planet. 

CHRHS serves as a beacon of sustainability throughout the midcoast. Nonteaching 

staff (facilities and maintenance, school nurse, librarians, food service, counselors, 

and groundskeepers) actively contribute to continuous improvement as a 

sustainable and healthy school community. 

A student sustainability group, Windplanners, with overwhelming support from 

district administration and the community, has worked to reduce the environmental 

impact of the school. Their initiatives include a major study and capital campaign to 

install the 100-kw wind turbine, working through one of the first power purchase 

agreements for high school installations in the state for a 159-kw solar array. These 

two installations provide 30 percent of electricity needs from on-site renewables. 

Working with the facilities director, students helped initiate several energy-efficiency 

projects that have reduced demand by another 20 percent. These projects include 

full retrofitting of lighting indoors and out to LED, installing a manual switch for a high 

load transformer, and taking several transformers off-line. The facilities director and 

district leadership have worked quickly to enter into an agreement to build a solar 
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farm that will move CHRHS, along with two other schools in the district, to be 

powered by 100 percent on-site renewable energy before the end of the year. 

On transportation day, everyone is encouraged to carpool, ride the bus, walk, or ride 

instead of driving by themselves. Through an independent STEM project, the 

Windplanner group built a sensor that allows the school to monitor incoming and 

outgoing traffic. The school has a no-idling plan in place and is studying ways to 

make rural routes more efficient and to encourage biking among the closer residing

students.

CHRHS’ newest initiative involves several staff members and the Windplanners in 

building an organic waste management system. The aim is to compost 100 percent 

of the school’s organic waste and, eventually, that of two other nearby schools. 

CHRHS currently produces about 75 cubic yards of compost each year and 

anticipates this to increase to about 150 yards. Students serve as compost 

managers and every freshman has a turn at compost duty. The composting system 

includes paper waste and local horse manure; is used on school gardens and fields; 

and yielded a $700 profit in fundraising sales last year. CHRHS also has systems in 
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place for recycling in every classroom; installed five water bottle filling stations; and 

shifted from plastic silverware to reusable silverware. 

Eight years ago, with the help of some community members and money raised 

during an annual plant sale, CHRHS installed a terraced garden on some marginal 

land that was considered a mowing hazard. Each year, the school designs and 

plants the school garden with the goal of the harvest maturing when school begins in 

the fall. The school is also home to an orchard and asparagus patch that produce 

when school is in session. Both of these initiatives have been focused on helping 

increase the amount of local produce that supplies the school cafeteria. 

Students have access to people and resources that support their emotional growth 

and well-being. This includes schoolwide conversations related to mental, sexual, 

and physical health, which take place in homeroom groups, as well as all-school 

assemblies and other special events. Camden Hills actively works to create a safe 

and open space for its students. This year we have had a focus on sexual consent in 

the context of sexual assault and mental illness. Students have been involved in 

presentations and conversations that shed a light on understanding these topics. 

CHRHS’ library is very responsive to providing a wide variety of activities and stress 

relieving resources, which is likely why it is one of the most popular places in the 

school. The library has become a wellness area providing resources like massage 

chairs, therapy dogs, animal cams to view nature in action, adult coloring pages, and 

board games. 

The school’s cafeteria is open every day for breakfast and lunch, with many healthy 

options. Whenever possible food is locally sourced, or even comes from the school 

garden. CHRHS offers vegetarian options and implements a meatless Monday 

initiative. The home cooking station is usually the most popular with fun and different 

food options daily. Chefs draw inspiration for meals from international cuisine. In 

addition to the school food program, CHRHS addresses food insecurity through a 

snack pantry offering healthy choices and available to all students during and after 

school. 

The outdoor classroom has stone benches under a canopy of trees and is heavily 

utilized by teachers during the warmer months. The 3/4 mile nature trails follow the 

circumference of the CHRHS campus and allow students and staff to go on walks 

and enjoy the beautiful woods on the campus while unplugging from the stress of 

school and getting exercise. Due to the well-studied benefit of outdoor activity on 

mental health, CHRHS actively encourages students to use the outdoors to
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destress. The Nordic ski team, mountain bike team, and cross-country team all use

the trails for practice or competition. 

A facilities manager is skilled in monitoring, maintaining, retrofitting, and envisioning 

a sustainable and healthy school building. Building controls allow for remote 

monitoring of temperature, humidity, and CO2. There are regular visual inspections 

with periodic external evaluations of moisture penetration. Any issues that arise are 

addressed. CHRHS is currently working to address water leaks in the aging heating 

system. The school is on a public water supply that is fortunate to have almost 90 

percent of its watershed under protected land status. The supply is regularly tested 

and meets all safe drinking water standards. The organic management of the 

school’s sports playing fields has led to a significant reduction in irrigation water use.

Over 77 percent of teachers incorporate sustainability education in courses. All 

freshmen Global Science courses cover climate science and sustainability. In this 

class, about half the course is spent understanding the nature of climate change, 

including the greenhouse effect, sustainable energy, and even includes an activity in 

which students engineer sustainable solutions to problems around the town. 

Students are taught how to calculate their carbon footprint, investigate how carbon 

dioxide behaves to trap heat, investigate sources of carbon dioxide, learn the 

chemistry of ocean acidification, and study current NOAA data sets and peerreviewed consensus studies through collaboration with TUVA Labs. Labs revolve 

around environment topics; some examples include testing solar home prototypes 

and testing the effects of ocean acidification on marine shells. 

The honors level of this course along with Honors English for freshmen have been 

redesigned to offer one-half of the year as a collaborative experience with a focused 

investigation into climate. Connecting to information gained from their science 

studies, Honors English 9 students analyze authors’ use of technique as it relates to 

climate fiction (cli-fi); write their own cli-fi stories to communicate their 

understanding, fears, and hopes about current sustainable practices; and practice 

debating skills. 

AP Environmental Science (APES) labs are designed around investigation of the 

quality of air and water on campus. Students gather water samples at various sites 

before returning to the classroom and running this water through a series of tests to 

determine its quality, providing helpful data for the campus facilities director. 

Additionally, APES students gather data for storm surge research through a probe in 

Rockport Harbor that is then used in research by the University of Maine. 

Gardening and Horticulture includes germination, pest and disease management, 

propagation, and soil amendments. Students plant and maintain vegetable and 
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ornamental seedlings in the school greenhouse, which adjoins the school, for a 

student-run plant sale in late May and for planting in the school gardens for use in 

the school’s lunch program. 

Humans in the Environment uses readings on the environment from the past and the 

present to teach students about the complex choices humans have in how they 

affect the environment. Outdoor Literature examines the transcendental mindset of 

philosophic literature (including prose, poetry, fiction, biography, and professional 

writing) to answer questions regarding human roles in the wilderness, whether it 

should be conserved, preserved, exploited, or used for recreation. 

In both US History and Active Citizenship, students study environmental crises and 

activist movements in response to them and design their own acts of citizenship. AP 

Human Geography introduces students to the study of patterns of movement and 

use of the Earth by humans, covering such material as refugees/asylum seekers, 

agriculture, sustainability, and history in certain important geographic locations.

In the P.E. course Maine Outdoor Experience, students are outside every class to 

explore the lifelong fitness and recreation opportunities that the state offers. 

Students engage in activities that include hiking, sea kayaking, snowshoeing, and 

wilderness camping with an emphasis on “leave no trace” ethics.

One of the largest annual field trips is to the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine, 

which promotes local, organic, and sustainable lifestyles and practices. Students in 

AP Environmental Studies are joined by exchange students, transitional life skills 

students, and others with curricular ties to the event in a collaborative celebration of 

rural life and sustainable communities. Students can choose more long-term courses 

or trips rooted in place-based experiences beyond the immediate community. 

Tropical Marine Biology Seminar is centrally designed around an 11-day summer 

visit to the Island School/Cape Eleuthera Institute in Eleuthera, Bahamas, where 

students work in teams to investigate a selected place-based research opportunity. 

Advanced Marine Ecology is a college-level class that partners with the University of 

Maine at Machias to teach students about the intertidal species of the Gulf of Maine 

and the research process. Students conduct environmentally centered research in 

Machias, Maine, during the summer with a college professor.

Mount Desert Island High School; Bar Harbor, Maine

Empowered to take action

Mount Desert Island High School (MDIHS) is a rural public high school in Maine that

draws 542 students from 10 K–8 schools in and around the Mt. Desert/Bar Harbor, 
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Maine, region, including three tiny schools 

(3–36 students) from nearby outer islands. 

Green and sustainability efforts are 

supported by school and district 

administrators, school board members, 

the school’s Environmental Concerns 

(Eco) team, teachers across departments, 

and staff, including counselors, 

custodians, and cafeteria staff. There is 

widely shared interest in the health and 

wellness of students and staff, support for 

educational experiences that prepare 

students to be active informed citizens 

interested in the changing world, and an 

increasing emphasis on environmental 

sustainability. 

Decisions for the past decade have been 

made with environmental health and

efficiency in mind. Most obvious are the 

1400+ solar panels on the roof of the high school. MDI High School was the first high 

school in Maine to generate all of its electricity needs from on-site solar in the fall of 

2019. Soon, everyone will be able to see the new electric bus parked outside with its 

diesel counterparts. 

In 2011, energy efficient boilers were installed when replacement of the old boilers 

was necessary. Two years ago, the school completed a conversion to LED lights 

inside school and LED “night-sky” compliant lighting in parking areas. The building 

renovation also completed that year included a focus on improving the building’s 

insulation to better regulate temperatures and save energy. The new storage 

building near the athletic field, completed a year ago, was built with smart climate 

control, solar panels, and restrooms with low-flow toilets, water-on-demand faucets, 

and electric hand dryers. There is an electric vehicle charging station in the parking 

lot for staff and students to use.

MDIHS advisory groups and the Eco team oversee recycling of every type. National 

Honor Society members pick up returnables weekly throughout the building and 

students manage the recycling in all of the administrative offices as well. This is the 

fourth year that the cafeteria is using reusable metal instead of disposable plastic 

silverware. Composting in the cafeteria started at the end of 2018–19. The school 

contracted with Agri-Cycle to efficiently convert food waste into electricity, fuel, 
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fertilizer, and other beneficial products. Cafeteria staff participated in the Smarter 

Lunchroom program to learn additional ways to cut down on food waste.

The custodial staff uses eco-friendly cleaning products to keep the floors buffed, 

classrooms and bathrooms clean, and the windows sparkling. During the building 

renovation in 2017, filtered water bottle filling stations were installed throughout the 

school to reduce plastic waste and promote hydration. As part of the library 

renovation, the last remaining fluorescent light ballasts will be removed, eliminating 

what was once an extensive PCB hazard throughout the building. The school was 

built in 1979, so an asbestos management plan was put into place 20 years ago and 

staff are trained annually. Drinking water is regularly tested for nitrates, coliforms, 

lead, copper, and pesticide residue. MDIHS has eliminated the use of toxic 

substances in the art studios and chemical management is taken very seriously, 

following the OSHA safety guidance for science labs. There is signage and an 

ongoing effort to discourage engine idling. The school is set back quite far from the 

main road, minimizing traffic noise and air quality degradation from passing cars and 

trucks. There is an integrated pest management plan and practices in place. 

MDIHS is home to state-of-the-art fitness center and dance studio, staffing for 

guidance and counseling, a full-time nurse, and an abundance of choices for P.E. 

classes and extracurricular athletic options. CPR certification is a part of the required 

Wellness class. This ensures that approximately 50 percent of the total student body 

is certified in CPR at any given time. Students have a choice of a variety of classes 

to complete the P.E. requirement: Foundations of Fitness, Lifetime Activities, Team 

Sports, Weight Training and Cardiovascular Fitness, Outdoor Activities and Fitness, 

and Adapted P.E.

An active staff wellness program is led by two teachers who challenge their 

colleagues each month to improve their physical and mental health through water 

challenges, movement challenges, morale boosters, and other activities. For many 

years, the nurse at MDI High School coordinated a small Wellness Fair once a year 

for high school staff. This has turned into a districtwide biennial Health and Wellness 

Professional half day held at MDIHS in March to build community, emphasize 

wellness, and help staff relax and rejuvenate.

During the 2019–20 school year, more than 50 percent of students will be in at least 

one course that includes a focus on climate change, human impacts on the 

environment, and/or proposing and designing solutions for problems they identify 

and research. In comparison with five years ago, all incoming freshmen will graduate 

having had to use critical and systems thinking to consider the environmental issues 

facing the planet and how they might respond. For example, MDIHS has completely 

redesigned the required freshmen biology class to include a strong environmental 
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focus. Freshmen biology now includes the study of carbon cycling in photosynthesis 

and cellular respiration through case studies of deforestation and loss of 

phytoplankton and a study of ecology that includes looking at and discussing trophic 

cascades, biomagnification of pollutants, and many case studies of human impact 

on the environment (Aleutian Islands, Willamette River, Yellowstone wolves). The 

course culminates with a Human Impact Project in which students research and 

present one way that humans are impacting the earth, such as through the spread of 

invasive species, poaching, or irresponsible mining. 

Most of MDIHS students will engage with the related issues of climate change and 

human impact multiple times during their high school career, regardless of their 

pathway to graduation, through traditional classes, advanced classes, experiential 

learning experiences or other electives, and/or during their senior exhibition 

capstone project. MDIHS students not only explore climate change and 

environmental issues in many science classes, they also explore these topics in 

human geography, current events, AP History, and foreign languages. In addition, 

students examine topics related to environmental degradation and possible 

stewardship solutions when engaged in experiential learning. 

Students enrolled in the nine-week Farm to Table elective visit local farms and 

spend some time in the kitchen, learning to prepare and cook locally grown and 

gathered food. In the Food and Nutrition course students discuss the environmental 

impact of agriculture and ways that it can be done more sustainably, compare the 

environmental and economic impacts of eating locally versus globally sourced foods, 

and explore the nutritional importance of water and impact of global climate change 

on the availability of clean water. Students in the Clothing Construction course 

compare natural versus synthetic fibers and fabrics and discuss the environmental 

impact of each, as well as the impact of mass production of natural fabrics versus 

organic and/or locally grown fibers. The Guatemalan Studies class, offered every 

other year since 2012, is a semester-long course combined with two weeks of study, 

cultural immersion, and service learning in the highlands of Guatemala.

MDIHS students can also apply for school year and summer internships at The MDI 

Biological Laboratory, where they can study sea life adaptation to the changing 

climate. The MDI Biological Laboratory also partners with individual MDIHS teachers 

to have students participate in an ongoing place-based citizen science investigation 

and data literacy project into arsenic levels in local wells. Another powerful pathway 

to developing critical, creative thinkers and problem solvers are Design Thinking 

courses.

It would be easy for MDI High School students, like so many other young people, to 

be discouraged about slow progress on climate change reform or to be anxious 
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about the state of the world. They would not be alone. Instead, when interviewed, 

Eco Team members talk about hope and optimism. Listening to Eastern Maine 

Skippers’ presentations, Senior Ex presentations, and student presentations to the 

community about plastics pollution or the need to declare a climate emergency, it is 

clear that MDIHS students feel educated and empowered to take action. Students 

can study a topic related to how their own lives may be impacted by climate change 

for their Senior Ex capstone project.

Next steps for students on the Eco Team, staff and administrators include

researching the best way to reduce paper waste in the bathrooms, further exploring 

the implications of the high school cafeteria being part of the Sustainable MDIHS 

pledge, embarking on an energy benchmarking project, improving recycling signage,

and looking into programmable venting and air quality testing. And, of course, 

evaluating how the new electric bus performs. 

Maryland

Oakland Terrace Elementary School; Silver Spring, Maryland

Dual language, sustainable focus

Oakland Terrace is completing its second year as a dual language two-way 

immersion school. Students receive 50 percent of their content instruction in English 

and 50 percent in Spanish. Additionally, Oakland Terrace is home to a Preschool 

Education Program (PEP), full day pre-K program, and a Social Emotional Special 

Education Support (SESES) program that serves students with social/emotional and 

behavioral challenges. As a Maryland Green School that just received its first state 

program recertification in 2019, Oakland Terrace has successfully engaged all 

students, staff, families, and community in programs and activities that promote 

stewardship to improve the health of the planet and make learning more relevant for 

children. 

Oakland Terrace incorporates lessons for improving the planet and human health 

into instruction and activities within the traditional classroom at every grade level and 

outside of school. Included as venues for environmental literacy experiences are the 

schoolyard garden/ outdoor classroom, the specials (Art, Music, P.E., and Media 

Studies), field trips, recess, lunch, as well as before/after-school activities and clubs. 

For example, pre-K classes take nature walks, observe animal life, and discover 

their community. Kindergarten classes go outside into the wooded areas around the 

school to observe animal tracks. Through their observations, they make deductions 

about animal types, behavior, and habitat. First-grade students visit the Montgomery 
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County Recycling Center to better understand the recycling process, identify what 

can be recycled, and ways they can increase recycling at home and in their 

community. Second-grade students participate in the Audubon/Whole Foods Salad 

Science Program. Students plan the garden, plant seeds, tend the garden, harvest 

salad greens, and host a salad party. 

Third-grade students create woven art pieces using materials that they dye with 

plants collected outside, as they learn about North American indigenous and colonial 

peoples. Fourth-grade students study the flow of energy within an ecosystem. They 

explore interactions of organisms with each other and develop an understanding of 

the basic needs of plants and animals. They relate these discoveries to their 

environment and the ecosystem it supports. Students in fifth grade learn how North 

American indigenous peoples and colonists used plants for food, flavoring, medicine, 

and personal hygiene products. They learn techniques, such as companion planting 

and natural ways to increase yields. They work together to design, grow, and plant 

seedlings in the school garden. Through reflection activities, they develop an 

appreciation of the resources needed to care for the earth and for survival. 

In Art, students make handmade paper using 

recycled materials and design a reusable canvas 

tote bag with environmental or social issue 

messaging. In Music, students participate in 

“Listening Walks” outside to help them understand 

how to distinguish between different sounds, thus 

helping them isolate the various instrumental 

sounds in music. 

Various student green teams design, create, and 

display water conservation educational posters,

manage recycling, and care for the garden and 

outdoor classroom. Oakland Terrace partners with 

nearby Brookside Nature Center to offer 

professional development for teachers and 

coordinate field trip planning. Each grade level 

experiences different field trips at the nature 

center.

Oakland Terrace ES has consistently reduced its 

energy use by ensuring that the lights are turned 

off in classrooms when they are not occupied. 

Many teachers use task lamps at the desk instead 

of the overhead lighting when the classrooms are 
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not occupied. Staff and students monitor doors and windows to ensure that they are 

kept closed to prevent outside air from entering. 

Nearly 60 percent of students bike or walk to school. Oakland Terrace participates in 

a Clean Air School Bus program to retrofit school buses and in a Safe Routes to 

School program. 

The district coordinates school environmental health monitoring, including integrated 

pest management, drinking water testing, radon, lead paint, indoor air quality, and 

asbestos. After-school programs include The Audubon Nature Club, The Great 

Adventure Lab, Basketball Club, Dance Yoga, Tiny Chefs, Girls on the Run, Let Me 

Run, student Walking Club, and staff Softball, Kickball, and Fitness Challenges. The 

school is adjacent to a county park and participates in a farm-to-school program that 

serves local produce in the cafeteria. 

Students submit walking-field-trip permission forms at the beginning of each school 

year. Students can walk to the local creek, Kensington Branch; the woods 

surrounding the school for environmental education; the adjacent park for picnics 

and trash pick-up; and local businesses, such as Giant food store, that can provide a 

valuable learning experience about nutritional choices.

Oakland Terrace maintains two rain gardens installed by the Montgomery County 

Department of the Environment’s Rainscapes for Schools Program. These rain 

gardens help filter water that washes from the hardscape surfaces of playground 

areas before entering the Kensington Branch or the groundwater. The school has a 

large internal courtyard that encompasses approximately one-quarter of the entire 

green space of the property. That space includes an outdoor classroom, colonial 

subsistence garden, pollinator garden, aquatic garden, woodland, and sensory 

garden. 

Wellwood International School; Baltimore, Maryland

Meaningful outdoor learning experiences at every grade level

Wellwood International School (WIS) began its green school journey in 2013, with 

many students and faculty members working to promote environmental stewardship. 

In 2015, Wellwood was honored to receive Maryland Green School certification and 

then a first recertification in 2019.

Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) utilizes Energy Watchdog, an energy 

management database that tracks all energy bills associated with Wellwood’s school 

building. Between July 2017 and June 2019, WIS reduced greenhouse gas 
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emissions by 7 percent and non-transportation energy use by 5 percent. Wellwood 

has gone through building renovations since 2009 that include a roof replacement, a 

new chiller system, HVAC renovations, and energy performance contract upgrades. 

All lighting fixtures throughout the building were upgraded to LED motion sensor 

lights.

In 2016, second-grade students conducted an informal water audit of the classroom 

and bathroom sinks to identify any dripping faucets and then requested repairs. 

Students encourage water conservation by posting signs by bathroom and 

classroom sinks to remind students to turn off the water off after using. Wellwood 

has installed a rain barrel near the butterfly garden to maintain the garden during the 

summer months and does not use other outdoor irrigation. Wellwood has tested 

school drinking fountains for lead since 2016. Wellwood installed new drinking 

fountains in the winter of 2019. The school also provides reusable water bottle filling 

stations from water coolers.

Fifty-two percent of students use bus transportation. These buses all run on ultra-low 

sulfur diesel fuel. WIS has posted no-idling signs in both the bus and carpool loops. 

Students that reside within one mile of Wellwood are encouraged to walk to school.

Wellwood is one of two elementary schools in the BCPS system to be piloting a 

compost program for the county. While students at Wellwood have used 

compostable lunch trays for several years, this year they also partnered with a local 

veteran owned and operated composting service. Classroom “Recycling Captains” 

take a leadership role in the cafeteria, making sure their peers are disposing of 

waste properly.

When students enter the WIS lobby each morning, they are greeted by a Maryland 

Green School Flag and a horticulture tower garden. This tower garden, used by all 

students at WIS, teaches children how to grow their own vegetables and then enjoy 

a healthy salad. The school implements robust indoor air quality and asthma 

education programs. It has a proactive approach to the safe handling of chemicals 

and pest management. All students are encouraged to refill their reusable water 

bottles and to place unopened food items on the cafeteria share table.

Each year, fifth-grade students participate in a BioBlitz program, when citizenscientists go into an area park to identify as many organisms as they can using field 

guides and experts. The BioBlitz includes a field study at a local Baltimore County 

area park for every fifth-grade student, in which they end up hiking up to two miles. 

WIS offers yoga, Zumba, flexible seating, movement breaks, and an annual fun run. 

Students also travel to nature centers, farms, and parks throughout the year for 
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engaging off-site field trips that allow them to experience all aspects of outdoor 

education.

As an International Baccalaureate candidate school, Wellwood has established its 

own unique transdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes environmental literacy and 

citizen science in every grade level in a “Sharing the Planet” unit of inquiry. Day-long 

assemblies and STEM activities with community partner, Elemental Education, have 

allowed students and families to learn about renewable energy sources, sustainable 

food choices, and waste reduction. This year, Wellwood will be holding its sixth 

annual schoolwide Earth Day celebration, with Earth Day themed games, learning 

stations sponsored by local organizations, and opportunities to teach the community 

about sustainability.

WIS offers copious professional development on sustainability related topics, such 

as waste, food, green schools, and environmental education. Each grade has 

multiple environmental projects throughout the year. For example, kindergarten 

builds bug hotels. First-grade designed bucket seats from repurposed five-gallon 

buckets that were donated by Home Depot. Second-grade students studied 

pollinators while on a field trip to a local farm. Third-grade emphasizes the 

importance of recycling by designing small race cars using repurposed materials. 

Fourth-grade oversees the WIS recycling team. Fifth-grade students study building 

energy use.

Second- and fourth-grade students worked together with the local Pikesville Master 

Gardeners to install a native butterfly garden. 

Students in a carpentry class at a local high 

school created benches that were installed by 

Wellwood teachers, while students helped to 

spread mulch, in order to establish an outdoor 

classroom area. Each fall and spring, students 

care for the WIS no-mow zone by collecting 

litter. The fifth grade also built and installed 

bluebird houses. Now, fourth- and fifth-grade 

students work together to monitor and clean 

these boxes throughout the spring. 

Over the past five years, students have planted 

over 50 trees on school property and the 

adjacent parks and recreation field in a 

partnership with the local environmental 

conservation group, Bluewater Baltimore. 

Wellwood’s first-grade students grow and 
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maintain indoor plants in their classrooms. Students have meaningful outdoor 

learning experiences at every grade level.

Minnesota

School of Engineering and Arts; Golden Valley, Minnesota

Real science in a “SEA-cret” forest

Part of the Robbinsdale Area School District, the School of Engineering and Arts 

(SEA), is rooted in the STEAM (science-technology-engineering-arts-math) 

philosophy. SEA’s school traditions, not just the curriculum, are built on the 

foundation of inquiry and hands-on learning. Originally built in 1970 with an open 

school concept, SEA was named after Minnesota environmentalist, Sigurd Olson, as 

it was an environmentally focused school. When it re-opened in 2012, it set out to 

create a community that broke the traditional educational paradigm, yet fit within the 

established boundaries for a public school. 

SEA tracks utility consumption in SkySpark Analytics. Its solid waste diversion rate is 

just over 56 percent. Food service uses reusable trays and its produce waste is fed 

to on-site animals. Building occupants use water bottle filling stations and natural 

daylight is most often the primary source of lighting within classrooms. The school 

has led its district in composting and recycling practices. Junior Naturalist student 

leaders monitor and educate the school community about energy use, recycling, and 

care of school yard gardens and chickens. 

Approximately 95 percent of the SEA population walks, bikes, buses, or carpools to 

and from school each day. SEA ensures that vehicle loading and unloading occurs 

at least 25 feet from building air intakes, doors, and windows and that this space is 

staffed to ensure safety. Bus routes are electronically monitored and analyzed on a 

regular basis to determine efficiency changes. This includes sharing routes with a 

second elementary school. 

SEA has worked to reestablish native plants, orchards, and gardens. SEA does not 

use irrigation on school grounds. Instead, it focuses on native habitat to balance soil 

biology, thus reducing the need for water. SEA features 1,600 square feet of native 

grasses and flowers that literally buzz with action throughout the summer and fall. 

Approximately 18 percent of the SEA schoolyard is devoted to the Minnesota 

Department of Natural Resource’s (DNR’s) School Forest program, where students 

not only learn core content, but also sustainable forest management practices as 

they work alongside Minnesota DNR Foresters and Minnesota Conservation Corps 
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members. SEA also partners with Hennepin County Forestry in the creation and 

management of a 30-fruit tree orchard located on school grounds.

In order to promote a healthy school culture, SEA encourages walking and biking as 

modes of transportation, trying new fruits and vegetables at lunch, encouraging 

healthy alternatives to celebrations, and participating in Farm to School programs. At 

least 50 percent of SEA students’ annual P.E. takes place outdoors. SEA is home to 

an active Fuel Up to Play 60 student leadership group that advocates for in-school 

health and wellness by creating “Jammin’ Minutes” videos on the morning ‘news’ 

show. Launched by the NFL, the National Dairy Council, and USDA, the Minnesota 

Vikings have been to SEA several times to celebrate SEA’s successes with Fuel Up 

to Play 60. These awards have included a $10,000 grant, being a dance competition 

winner, and recognition for a creative video focused on encouraging healthy eating 

habits. 

SEA uses a coordinated school health approach to assist in promoting overall health 

issues. For example, fifth-grade students learn from the Golden Valley Police 

Department, who provide education promoting healthy living as well as information 

on chemical substances and advocacy to just say “no.” All kindergarten students 

receive a free breakfast while all other students also have this as an option to start 

their day. The nurse promotes awareness of allergies within the building. Signs are 

posted outside of classrooms where students with severe allergies spend time; 

tables are designated peanut-free in the cafeteria; and the cafeteria serves peanutfree, dairy-free, and gluten-free alternatives. 

Students are acknowledged and celebrated weekly as a school community for 

exhibiting positive behaviors with themselves, toward others, and the world. Many 

teachers provide movement brain breaks every 15–30 minutes as well as teaching 

breathing techniques for calm and focus. A team comprised of administration, school 

nurse, social worker, psychiatrist, and staff meets weekly to discuss students, create 

a plan of evaluation or reevaluation for services, and/or develop plans of support for 

social/emotional, behavioral, and/or academic need. School climate is also 

enhanced through buddy classrooms, whereby each primary grade level classroom 

is paired with an intermediate grade classroom to participate in various activities. 

SEA is located in a diverse and vibrant neighborhood that has fully embraced the 

school in multiple ways. Many retired neighbors volunteer during the school day in a 

variety of contexts. These neighbors support SEA school financially with donations 

as well as always keeping an eye on SEA’s outdoor classrooms, gardens, orchard, 

and chickens. SEA participates in the neighborhood Pumpkin Festival by staffing a 

pumpkin education table with student Junior Naturalists, participating in the parade, 

and growing large pumpkins and tall sunflowers. SEA collaborates with a high 
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school for older students to volunteer to teach scientific concepts in hands-on, 

applicable ways in a Seeds for Science program. 

During their time at SEA, students learn from multiple environmental professionals, 

including Minnesota DNR Foresters, Fisheries, Invasive Specialists and 

Conservation Officers; National, State, and County Park Rangers, and Interpretive 

Naturalists; and numerous scientists and engineers with a broad array of green 

career focuses. These visitors contribute knowledge and experience in terms of 

careers, content, and context to real life, especially in terms of sustainability-focused 

careers and green technologies. 

In addition to learning from professionals in environmental careers, students attend 

environmentally focused field trips multiple times each of their school years with 

rarely a repeat visit during their six-year tenure. Such locations include Mississippi 

National River and Recreation Area, where students studied locks, dams, and 

alternative energies; numerous Three River Parks; the arboretum; zoos; the 

Minnesota Twins Stadium green tour; the science museum; and Target 

headquarters. Whether it is at an environmental learning center, a nearby wetland, a 

national park, or on school grounds, each interaction is unique and powerful for 

students. 

Annually, outdoor, environmental, and sustainability education is part of the required 

staff professional development, thanks to such agencies as Minnesota DNR, Project 

Learning Tree, National Fisheries and Wildlife, and Three Rivers Park System, 

which focus on core content integration. Additionally, staff have facilitated 

professional development for others wanting more knowledge and experience on 

environmental and sustainability education at district and state trainings. 

Teachers regularly teach required core content in math, language arts, music, art, 

physical education, and science outdoors. Students learn in the school’s prairie, 

butterfly garden, greenhouse, vegetable gardens, and small school forest, officially 

known as the SEA-cret Forest per a partnership with the Minnesota DNR. 

Additionally, students help to raise, make observations, and collect data from 

animals, including chickens, tortoises, reptiles, a tarantula, and many fish, including 

300 rainbow trout per funding from the DNR. 

Regardless of the subject, the curricular formula focuses on students developing 

observations, from which wonders are formed, and, in turn, questions are derived. It 

is from these student-driven questions, combined with standards, that learning 

targets are composed. Children learn about different types of pollution, climate 

change, and how choices as consumers and producers impact the earth. Students 
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raise several hundred 

rainbow trout from 

hatch to release. They 

conduct investigations 

focusing on water 

quality with 

aquaponics. 

SEA students

participate in real 

science. Fourthgraders volunteer with 

Hennepin County’s 

River Watch program, 

collecting and reporting 

data from an adopted 

Creek twice annually. 

Kindergarten students 

plant tulips each fall 

and make observations 

each spring reporting 

data to a citizen science website. Students remind teachers and one another to 

conserve energy and to sort waste into compost, recycling, and trash. 

Through all of this, the aim is to create children who are hope-filled, not hopeless, 

with regard to current and projected environmental challenges.

Missouri

Sunrise Elementary School; DeSoto, Missouri

Where the sun rises daily on a 22-acre outdoor classroom

Sunrise Elementary School began its sustainability efforts in 2015 by developing 

educational outdoor spaces and making modifications to the building, grounds, and 

school curriculum. Since these sustainability efforts began, grant awards have saved 

the single-school district $77,000. From 2017–19, Sunrise scored 100 percent on the 

Annual Performance Report released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and 

Secondary Education.

Sunrise has participated in the Green Schools Quest (GSQ) program since 2016. 

The Green Schools Quest is a six-month, project-based contest for Missouri schools 
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that catalyzes student-driven green projects. Mentors are provided for all GSQ 

schools, cash prizes awarded to the winners, and school green teams work 

collaboratively to advance toward unique green goals.

The outdoor classroom is now a 22-acre plot that allows for a variety of learning 

experiences in several ecosystems, including a pond, woodland, and a cultivated 

vegetable garden. In 2016, Sunrise installed a storm water detention basin that 

detains approximately 75 percent of the school campus runoff water. Students and 

staff achieved the National Wildlife Foundation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat outdoor 

classroom designation during the 2018–19 school year. Through an annual 

schoolwide professional development session, teachers learn ways to use the 

outdoor classroom space for a variety of subject areas. The space is also utilized for 

after-school programming and by the community-at-large during after-school hours. 

Local farmers donate approximately 10,000 pounds of manure to the gardening 

program per year, which is then mixed with Sunrise’s composted food waste.

The Missouri Department of Conservation hosts a three-year training and provides 

science curriculum for all pre-K through eighth-grade science teachers on their 

grade-level curriculum free of charge. In addition, the Missouri Department of 

Conservation funds outdoor field trips for each grade level annually. 

The Jefferson County Health Department provides monthly lessons for grades K–2 

on a variety of health topics, such as USDA’s MyPlate, handwashing, and family 

health education. Sunrise partners with the University of Missouri Extension to offer 

health education and cooking 

lessons to every student in 

preschool through eighth grade. 

Cooking lessons use school 

garden harvest and/or tower

garden produce. Local farmers 

provide mini-lessons to specific 

grade levels based on content 

needs, and a potato farmer 

provides produce for first- and 

fourth-grade students to study 

roots. 

A master gardener offers lessons 

during the planting season to 

second grade. The Jefferson 

County Beekeepers Association 

partners with Sunrise and worked 
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alongside the school district to help teach multiple sessions regarding the 

importance of bees. Two beehives have been installed in the outdoor learning 

environment, and students maintain the hives, extract honey, and sell it to the 

community. 

The use of water bottle refilling stations, rain barrels, tower gardens, and an 

aquaponics system all reinforce the value of water conservation for the school 

community. The rural school uses well water, which is tested and adjusted monthly 

to ensure water quality. 

Sunrise participates in multiple recycling contests. Parents and staff have become 

increasingly involved by collecting recyclable items from home to add to Sunrise 

collections. Sunrise participates in a milk carton challenge that has reduced district 

landfill waste by 35 percent. Sunrise sends hard plastic to a local plant that shreds, 

melts, and molds it into composite boards used to build raised garden beds for the 

school garden. The green team of approximately 60 middle school students leads 

this effort, providing the hands-on labor of rinsing hard plastic, sorting recyclable 

materials, and weighing items prior to distribution. 

Sunrise composts 40 pounds of raw fruit and vegetable scraps on-site per week 

from the lunchroom, yielding a 2.5 percent reduction of landfill waste. This will soon 

be extended to collect lunch scraps for a Feed the Pigs program, where local hog 

producers will come to the school daily to pick up food waste to be used for feed. 

The goal is to reduce Sunrise lunchroom food waste by 90 percent. The Sunrise 

Feed the Worms program also helps students engage in responsibly dealing with 

food waste. Students are sent home with a container to fill with scraps their family 

generates then return it to school to help feed the worms in the vermicomposting 

program. Families receive a brochure that teaches them what can and cannot be put 

in. Seventy-five percent of Sunrise students participate in this program. 

Work is also underway to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at 

Sunrise. Sunrise installed a geothermal heating/cooling system, and 100 percent of 

the school building has been converted to LED lighting. The new wing, built in 2017, 

is equipped with occupancy sensors in its locker rooms, bathrooms, eight 

classrooms, and office. Beginning next school year, Sunrise middle school science 

classes will start tracking energy usage through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 

New dismissal procedures reduce parent vehicle idling by 50 percent and bus idling 

by 40 percent. 

Students and staff at Sunrise have implemented an inclusive program to promote 

health and wellness that affects the school population and external community as 

well. Sunrise recently held its third annual Health and Wellness Fair open to area 
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residents. At this event to encourage and support healthy lifestyles, 20 vendors and 

local agencies showcase their programs. There are also medical professionals on 

hand to do basic health screenings at no cost. This fair has grown by 40 percent 

since its inception, and 80 percent of the staff attend every year. This past year, 

there were also 100 community members in attendance. 

Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School; Ladue, Missouri

Working toward a better future

Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School (MICDS) is a junior kindergarten 

through 12th grade nonprofit, independent day school offering nonsectarian 

education. It is comprised of three divisions across a 100-acre campus, the Lower 

School, which has 206 JK- through fourth-grade students; the Middle School, which 

has 400 fifth- through eighth-grade students; and the Upper School, which has 640 

ninth- through 12th-grade students. Sustainability is of paramount importance in 

every sector of MICDS, and efforts are carefully guided by the MICDS Sustainability 

Committee. 

Among MICDS’ efficiency achievements are a comprehensive energy audit; 

installing synthetic turf to reduce mowing, painting, and runoff from the athletic fields 

and playgrounds; and state-of-the-art irrigation that waters native plantings only 

during drought conditions using collected rainwater. Other upgrades include lighting, 

HVAC, and windows that reduce energy consumption. 

MICDS opened the STEM Building and Center for Community in 2014 and earned 

LEED-certification on Earth Day in 2015. Both the facilities and the surrounding 

landscape have multiple features that create learning opportunities for students and

increase environmental and fiscal sustainability. Such features include a 

greenhouse, an orchard, native plantings throughout 50 percent of the project 

boundary disturbed by construction; 98 percent of all ornamental plantings on 

campus are native plants. All landscapes consist of either water-efficient or 

regionally appropriate plants. There are numerous segmented locations on campus 

that host native planting, and the most common is local prairie grass. 

The STEM Building also boasts a 10,000-gallon rainwater tank and 1,100 gallonsper-day tank that stores greywater. Captured rainwater is filtered with UV light for reuse in drip irrigation in many of MICDS’ native plant reclamation gardens that border 

buildings, with the evaporative cooler in the greenhouse, effectively reducing overall 

demand for potable water sewage conveyance by 76 percent. The filtered rainwater 

is also used throughout the building in low-flow toilet room fixtures, which reduce 

demand for potable water by 64 percent. The building has an over 400 square-foot 
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solar thermal array used to generate hot water and ventilation air preheat/reheat. 

The hot water is also connected to the boiler as a preheater. 

When at full capacity load, the 100,000-kW solar panel array offsets between 13 

percent of the building’s electricity and as much as 100 percent of the school’s 

electricity needs on long, sunny days when the load decreases. The facility features 

passive solar design, technologically advanced heating and cooling systems, and 

highly insulating building materials. 

Across the campus, MICDS maintains high-level efficiency standards, most 

significantly from a lighting program that occasioned a savings of more than $50,000 

on the MICDS electrical bill. An abundance of 

natural light in hallways and classrooms of the 

U-shaped building and CO2 sensors reduce 

the amount of electricity used for lighting, 

heating, and cooling, and improve the indoor 

environment. The CO2 sensors in each 

classroom detect when the space is occupied 

and when fresh outside air is required. When 

classrooms are unoccupied the mechanical 

units automatically turn down to reduce energy 

consumption. 

These efforts have earned MICDS an 

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score of 

89. In recent years, MICDS has brought 

online three photovoltaic arrays totaling 220

kW that are fixed on three buildings (one in 

each division), but most notably, the STEM 

Building produces more renewable energy 

than MICDS uses during the summer months. 

Over 35 percent of the STEM Building 

materials include pre- and post-consumer 

content, reducing the impacts from the extraction and processing of virgin materials,

and over 50 percent of this building’s materials were sourced within 500 miles of the 

site. 

A change in waste hauler contract provides the opportunity for MICDS’ next 

significant schoolwide student-led initiative of educating the student body to put into 

practice updated recycling, composting, and landfill waste reduction techniques. 
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The campus is home to several bioswale retention areas, many of which have been 

outfitted to be used as a place of academic and social gathering. MICDS 

encourages healthy physical activity through unscripted recess times, ample sports 

offerings combined with a two-season high school sports participation requirement, 

as well as requirements for structured P.E. that exceed the state level. 

MICDS offers many healthy food options monitored by a staff of trained nutritionists. 

All food is made in small-batch form to eliminate food waste. MICDS hosts biyearly 

faculty wellness fairs in addition to supplying a full-time wellness and counseling 

staff for all members of the community. 

MICDS has adapted its World Language department to pursue the United Nations 

Sustainable Development Goals. High school students can pursue AP or regular 

environmental science, among other sustainability focused classes, such as Human 

Geography, plant sciences, and Sustainable Development. MICDS has supported 

independent studies on sustainable design, mapping wolf populations in suburban 

St. Louis, in-depth exploration of the history of U.S. energy policy, using automated 

farming to study soil with a student built FarmBot, and the study of greenways in the 

St. Louis region. 

The Mars Farm project partnered with a local startup company to develop 

instructions to build and deploy growth chambers. Upper School students physically 

built five growth chambers, programed Arduino microcomputers to control lights and 

fans, and wired Raspberry Pi microcomputers to remotely capture temperature, 

humidity, and photographs of the plants as they grow. The Upper School students 

trained the Middle School students, who served as the “astronauts on Mars” who 

physically measure the plant leaves, root mass, pH of hydroponic liquid, and 

communicated with the Upper School students “back on Earth.” After the plants 

matured, they were shipped to the Upper School where they were prepared for taste 

testing with Lower School students. All construction, programming, training, 

communication, and testing was done by students in each division. This successful 

plant science project will be submitted for publication to several science journals 

over the summer. 

The STEM Building courtyard and patio provide room for conversation and outdoor 

games. The Middle School lunch grounds were renovated to foster engagement, 

and the library courtyard encourages outdoor learning and conversation. MICDS 

also has butterfly gardens, bird observation areas, a tree nursery, ongoing work at a 

honeysuckle abatement area, and sidewalks meandering through habitats and 

bioswales to foster learning experiences. 
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Parkway School District; Chesterfield, Missouri

Sparking a new generation of stewardship

Parkway School District (PSD) promotes a whole-school sustainability approach to 

conserving natural and fiscal resources, reducing the impact of district operations on 

the environment, and protecting the health of students, staff, and the community 

within the goals of a strategic plan. The strategic plan and district mission are the 

foundations upon which PSD educates students and integrates environmentally, 

socially, and fiscally sustainable best practices into all areas within the district. The 

Board of Education has approved various environmental policies related to energy 

management conservation, sustainable landscaping, and waste minimization. 

Currently, a robust and comprehensive 

sustainability policy with associated 

guidelines is being written to be 

implemented in early 2020.

The district is 84 percent of the way toward 

its energy efficiency goal to reduce energy 

use 20 percent by 2025 from a 2015 

baseline through efficient equipment 

upgrades, proactive conservation behaviors, 

and expansion of renewable energy 

technologies. ENERGY STAR Portfolio 

Manager documents a cumulative 

districtwide savings of approximately 

77,000,000 kBTU and $960,000 since 2010. 

Parkway has received 19 ENERGY STAR 

certifications over the last two years.

In May 2012, the board approved the 

installation of solar panels at each of the district’s 33 buildings by Generate Capital. 

This initial project had a total capacity of 825 kW. In the summer of 2019, a 300-kW 

expansion across four sites was completed bringing the total district capacity to over 

1.1 MW. PSD participates in utility incentive rebate programs to fund the installation 

of occupancy sensors, LED lighting, building controls, and efficient HVAC equipment 

to reduce energy use. Through this program, the district has completed 177 projects 

and received $1,475,000 in incentives. 

By conserving water throughout the district, PSD seeks to achieve 20 percent wateruse reduction by 2025 from a 2015 baseline through conservation practices, 

upgrading plumbing fixtures, and rainwater capture systems. Low-flow aerators have 
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been installed on faucets across all schools in the district. Dual flush handles have 

been installed at 11 schools with the remaining schools to soon follow. The 

landscaping at 15 schools has been replaced in full or in part with drought tolerant, 

Missouri-native species, with three more sites planned for 2020. There are 

bioswales and bioretention basins at 11 schools to manage storm water run-off. 

Permeable pavement systems have been installed at three schools with plans for 

another site to be installed in 2020. The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager confirms 

that PSD has reduced water use by 9 percent since 2012. 

With the implementation of both the composting and recycling programs, PSD was 

able to cut the amount of landfill dumpsters across the district in half since 2012. All 

Parkway schools compost their food waste, lunch trays, bowls, utensils, soiled 

paper, and coffee cups. Weight reports and contamination reports are obtained from 

the waste hauler regularly. In October 2019, PSD composted 39 tons of organic 

material from school cafeterias. The district has eliminated the use of plastic straws 

and continually seeks to eliminate other single-use plastics. All unwanted materials 

and furniture from schools is placed in surplus at the district warehouse. The

warehouse manager reallocates these goods as necessary for reuse across the 

district.

In 2013, PSD received $1.5 million in a federal highway grant to acquire 30 

compressed national gas (CNG) buses and build a CNG fueling station. This project 

made Parkway one of the only school districts in the state to use CNG buses and 

the fueling station is one of only a few in the region. The CNG buses make up 20 

percent of the total school bus fleet of 150, the rest of which are newer, cleanerburning diesel. An additional CNG fueling station was added in 2019 to allow for two 

buses to simultaneously fuel and increase capacity for expanding the CNG bus fleet.

PSD requires all appliances and technology equipment to be ENERGY STAR 

certified. All copy paper purchased by the district is 30 percent recycled content. The 

paper towels and toilet tissue purchased are Green Seal certified and made with 100 

percent recycled content. Office furniture purchased is BIFMA LEVEL certified or 

certified by comparable rating systems. All paint purchased for the district is zero 

VOC-containing.

School grounds include produce gardens, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, indoor 

hydroponic gardens, native plant and animal habitats, outdoor classrooms, and 

hiking trails that are used as outdoor learning spaces. Schools harvest produce from 

their gardens; it is collected by Nutrition Services staff for use in the daily menu 

offerings and salad bars across the district. 
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Every day, Parkway students at all schools have healthy meal options, including a 

salad bar filled with fresh produce. Meatless options, such as plant-based chicken, 

veggie burgers, and beans, are offered daily and advertised as healthy alternatives 

that reduce the carbon footprint. Each school has a share table that collects whole

fruits, unopened milk and juice, and snacks to reduce food waste and provide for 

hungry students. Before school breaks, all milk and juice cartons are collected and 

donated to a local community food pantry. Nutrition Services has partnered with 

culinary classes and other classrooms to provide nutrition education, menu-creation 

contests, and taste-testing opportunities with vendors. 

There is a district wellness committee made up of parents, students, staff, and 

community members that meets monthly, as well as 32 wellness leaders across the 

district that put together district health and wellness initiatives. The Employee 

Assistance Program and employee clinic system with Care ATC, among countless 

other wellness programs, have earned PSD the 2019 Business Health Culture 

Award. Various schools feature trails, low-ropes courses, and food pantries. In sixth 

through eighth grades, students participate in an “Adventure and Outdoor Education” 

unit in P.E., where they are introduced to the low-ropes course, rock climbing, and 

team building to promote leadership skills through problem-solving initiatives.

The Environmental Services department oversees integrated pest management 

control methods that are used to limit the use of pesticides and custodial employees 

are trained in integrated pest management (IPM) methods. This includes a full-time 

employee whose primary responsibility is implementing IPM best practices within the 

district. PSD has an Indoor Air Quality Task Force that regularly monitors and 

resolves moisture issues in the early stages of detection to prevent mold and/or 

mildew growth based on the EPA’s Tools for Schools program. PSD follows the 

Missouri Green Cleaning Guidelines and Specifications for Schools for the purchase 

of cleaning supplies and equipment.

In 2019, the Board of Education approved the addition of the Parkway Principles of 

Education for Sustainability to the guaranteed curriculum framework for all K–12 

students. A team of passionate teachers, the Sustainability Department, the 

elementary STEM curriculum coordinator, and staff from the Missouri Botanical 

Gardens EarthWays Center collaborated to create Parkway’s Principles of Education 

for Sustainability. PSD is thus one of the first school districts within Missouri to 

incorporate sustainability into the guaranteed curriculum for all K–12 students.

All 1,300 sixth-grade students across PSD participate in the Outdoor School 

Program at Camp Lakewood. Students are immersed in hands-on, placed-based 

learning about their impacts on the environment and the interconnectedness of all 

living things during their four-night stay. Students keep a field guide as they go 
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through the units, including local geology, horseback riding, tree identification, 

habitat restoration, survival skills, hiking, soil testing, gardening, water quality 

testing, stream insects and crustaceans, cartography, and skulls and pelts. 

The Parkway Sustainability Department piloted the Sustainable Schools Challenge 

to increase sustainability learning and meet the district sustainability goals in early 

2019. All students and staff can participate in activities that are related to the district 

goals for energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, sustainable outdoor 

environments, sustainability, and health and wellness. Each month, the Sustainable 

Schools Challenge focuses on a different U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 

through the monthly mini-challenges and newsletters. By submitting activities for 

points, schools compete for prizes to fund other sustainability projects. 

The Spark! program provides high school students in the Parkway and Rockwood 

School Districts with dynamic, immersion-based student learning experiences to 

ensure students can understand and respond to an ever-changing world. Within 

Spark!, students spend five to eight hours per week working to complete projects 

that they design or in collaboration with business partners to solve real-world 

problems. There are six strands, including bioscience, engineering, pre-professional 

health sciences, teaching and learning, technology solutions, and a sports medicine 

strand that will be available in 2020. Students in these strands shadow industry 

professionals, participate in internships, complete projects, and gain exposure to a 

variety of career fields.

Each year, many Parkway schools participate in the Green Schools Quest, a projectbased sustainability competition, through the USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter. Of 

the 70 schools participating during the 2019–20 school year, 11 of those are 

Parkway schools from all grade levels. Participating schools are paired with a 

community mentor from a wide variety of career fields based on project type. 

High school students provide services to the community and other Parkway schools 

during their annual Day of Service projects. A high school social studies elective, 

Environmental Issues, allows students to explore the development of the 

environmental movement and current issues, such as wildlife preservation, air and 

water pollution, land use, population, and energy options.
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Nebraska

Mickle Middle School; Lincoln, Nebraska 

Sustainability culture with a champion lead

At Mickle Middle School, environmental sustainability is integrated across all 

classrooms and the school grounds. The school’s journey began in 2010 with a 

nonprofit partner helping to establish and support a garden. It was accelerated, in 

2017, when the school designated an official sustainability lead. 

The Sustainability Champion began by trying to determine how staff and students 

could better utilize the garden space. Currently, Mickle has a 35 x 35-foot garden, 

which houses a variety of plants in 

approximately 1,225 square feet. In 

2017, the garden primarily was a 

weed patch being taken care of by 

Community Crops instead of Mickle 

students and staff. With help from 

administration and other teachers, 

the sustainability lead created an 

elective class, called Guided 

Studies, that allows students to give 

back to the community and learn 

leadership skills. This is where the 

culture of sustainability was formed. 

During the fall of 2017, the students 

in this class started picking and 

washing produce for students in 

need. Only about eight students, at that time, were taking part in the school’s first 

backpack produce program in a school that has 49 percent of its student body 

eligible for free and reduced price lunch. As awareness about sustainability at Mickle 

grew, so did the students’ passion for gardening. Mickle implemented a program to 

help keep the garden running in the summer and staff began volunteering. The 

Mickle Garden Club was formed.

Now, the garden has 12 3 x 8-foot raised beds, where herbs, beans, lettuce, kale, 

broccoli, cauliflower, standard and sweet potatoes, peas, onions, peppers, and 

carrots are planted. There also is a 3 x 20-foot bed for tomatoes with a trellis, and 

seven 3 x 3-foot raised beds with connecting trellises. The school has a variety of 

melons and cucumbers from these beds on vertical trellises. The Mickle garden is 
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also in the process of installing a strawberry bed. There is another section of the 

garden for popcorn, as well as pumpkins, zucchini, and other vining squash. 

Two areas are designated for Nebraska pollinator plants. Other flowering annuals 

and perennials can be found throughout. Tables with seating serve as outdoor 

instructional space. In the spring of 2019, four drip irrigation systems were installed 

using 55-gallon rain barrels placed on raised stands. 

That winter, the class turned its focus to reinvigorating the recycling program. 

Students devised a recycling-in-a-backpack initiative, whereby all recycling, other 

than paper, is placed in a backpack, then sorted and recycled by students. They 

wrote and filmed an informational video about recycling for the building. Mickle also 

participates in Crayola ColorCycle, and garden waste throughout the school year is 

composted.

In August 2018, Mickle signed on as one of only a handful of schools across the 

country to pilot the Arc for Schools platform. This platform is a building 

benchmarking tool that was previously only used for LEED building certification for 

Operations and Maintenance and was being tested as an educational resource for 

schools through the USGBC. Arc measures building performance for five categories: 

energy, water, waste, transportation, and human experience. The district provided 

the data for the energy, water, and waste categories, and the school distributed the 

transportation and human experience survey questions. Mickle has an energy score 

of 94 and a water score of 91. The building benefits from geothermal heating and 

cooling systems.

Environmental staff complete routine air monitoring at each building on an eightmonth cycle. During these visits they gather data (such as temperature, humidity, 

CO2, and CO) from occupied rooms. As part of the Arc for Schools Human 

Experience score, VOC readings are also taken in the building to understand overall 

air quality in learning spaces. The district standard requires radon testing at all 

school facilities and continual retesting on a rotating basis. Mickle’s custodial staff is 

responsible for moisture inspections. The school uses integrated pest management 

measures to avoid exposure to pesticides in the school environment. It is the policy 

of Lincoln Public Schools to ensure minimal or no exposure to pesticides in the 

school environment.

During Sustainability Week, the building is covered in posters about water and 

energy usage at Mickle. There are daily trivia questions for prizes, sustainability 

announcements, and guest speakers. Students from the Environmental Science 
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class at the University of Nebraska develop environmentally sustainable projects to 

complete with Mickle students. 

Sixth grade learns about how seeds pollinate, as well as the reproduction of flowers. 

Seventh grade learns about renewable and nonrenewable resources and spend a 

day giving back to the community by picking up trash. In art, students create 

sculptures using reusable materials. In Spanish, students create identification 

markers for the garden in both Spanish and English. Life Skills students learn basic 

communication, trade, and life skills by working in the garden and recycling 

throughout the building. Guides Studies seventh-graders offer sustainability 

education to their peers. Family and Consumer Science use produce from the 

garden in their cooking. 

Three years — and many seeds — later, Mickle has a team of staff that run the 

entire sustainability program under the leadership of the Sustainability Champion. 

Four dedicated staff members focus on Garden Club with the 20 students that 

consistently come throughout the school year. Two different staff members are 

dedicated to recycling within the building once a week. 

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart; Omaha, Nebraska

Care for creation

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1881. It is an all-girls, 

independent, Catholic high school with an enrollment of 338 students. Located in 

historic Midtown, the 

campus is also home to a 

co-educational preschool. 

Duchesne Academy is a 

member of the Network 

of Sacred Heart Schools 

in the United States and 

Canada. 

In August 2016, generous 

donors responded to 

Pope Francis’ 

environmental encyclical, 

Laudato Si, by offering to 

underwrite the cost of 

partnering with the Verdis 

Group, an Omaha-based 
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sustainability consulting firm. Students, faculty, and staff embrace sustainability as 

an integral part of the school’s culture, and Duchesne has become a model for 

private and public schools in the Omaha area seeking to implement sustainability 

initiatives. 

In August 2017, the school became the first in Omaha to implement composting. As 

a result of composting and improved recycling procedures, the school now has a 

diversion rate of 77 percent, up from 14 percent. The cafeteria purchased a new 

dishwasher and transitioned to the use of ceramic plates, metal cutlery, and 

compostable cups and bowls. The lunch program structures the menu so that 

leftovers from one day can be prepared as part of meals in following days. 

Duchesne requires all students to use iPads at school. With the implementation of 

the Canvas learning management system, more teachers have moved their classes 

to paperless where course materials are available online and assignments are 

submitted electronically. Duchesne has undertaken electronics, holiday light, and 

plastic film recycling campaigns working with various partners. Students organized a 

clothing swap.

In the summer of 2017, the school replaced its 1960s era boiler and radiated heat 

system with high-efficiency heat pumps. In the summer of 2019, the school replaced 

178 windows with double-pane, high-efficiency windows and installed LED lighting in 

many classrooms and offices. In August 2019 the school received a grant to 

upgrade 150 T8 fluorescent bulbs to LED. It is estimated that 35–40 percent of 

lighting across campus is LED and this number increases each year. In September 

2019, Duchesne installed a 12-kW solar array, becoming the first high school in 

Omaha to produce renewable energy on campus. On average, the solar array 

produces enough energy each day to power the school’s STEM Lab, Library, and 

neighboring classrooms. Duchesne has a current score ENERGY STAR Portfolio 

Manager and received certification in 2016, 2018, and 2019. 

Rain sensors have been added to the irrigation system so that sprinklers do not run 

unnecessarily when ample rain has fallen. Existing toilet tanks are gradually being 

replaced with 1.6-gallon tanks on an as-needed basis. In 2014, a significant 

drainage project addressed diverted rainwater runoff to a water retention basin. 

Since the fall of 2016, the school has retrofitted six traditional water fountains with 

Elkay “EZ H2O” water bottle fillers.

The school is visited once a month by Orkin, with any treatments conducted outside 

of school hours. The school is monitored annually for asbestos by an independent 

contractor. In 2007, rooftop units were added to assist in the exchange of air. In 

2017, two additional units were added to monitor CO2 levels. These levels are 
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monitored daily through the computer control system that operates the buildings’ 

HVAC units. Air filters are changed twice a year throughout the building. The 

addition of the new HVAC system provides air conditioning in all classrooms and 

offices for the first time in the school’s history. The project also included new 

classroom lighting that can be programmed to adjust to the activity level or focus 

required of students.

Coinciding with Duchesne’s commitment to sustainability is an important initiative to 

improve the overall health and wellness of students and staff. By gathering data 

through student and parent surveys and consulting extensive educational research 

on the impact of sleep on brain development for teenagers, Duchesne made 

significant changes to its daily schedule beginning in August 2019. The start time for 

the school day was pushed from 7:55 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., and block scheduling was 

adopted four days a week. Preliminary data gathered from subsequent surveys 

indicate that student sleep has indeed increased. The school remains hopeful that 

this will improve student performance and lead to a reduction in stress and anxiety.

The school cafeteria offers farm-to-table lunches through a partnership with Lone 

Tree Foods, a local food hub that connects local farmers to wholesale buyers in the 

restaurant industry, to purchase fresh, seasonal produce from farmers in Nebraska 

and Iowa. A salad bar is offered each day that features local vegetables provided 

through Lone Tree. Duchesne also serves as a pick-up location for employees and 

school families who purchase produce boxes through Lone Tree. The cafeteria 

sources its eggs from an urban garden located in the neighborhood. 

In the fall of 2016, the school installed a small garden, which included two espaliered 

fruit trees and two raised beds on the southeast corner of campus. The following 

year, an in-ground garden expansion was made to the area and three raised beds 

were added in the courtyard to grow corn, squash, and beans. In the fall of 2019, the 

garden received a larger in-ground expansion along the east side of the building, 

nearly doubling the size of the school’s garden space. Additionally, eight fruit trees 

were planted on the northwest corner of campus. The gardens are planted and 

maintained by the gardening club and the Finding God in All Foods course. 

Students have 200 minutes of P.E. per week each semester. All sophomores are 

required to take a one-semester health class taught by the guidance counselor. 

Topics include sections on nutrition, mental health, social media use, drugs and 

alcohol, sleep, and healthy relationships.

In February 2017, all Duchesne faculty and staff participated in a day of retreat led 

by the Verdis Group at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center. The purpose of the day 

was to determine the direction of the future of sustainability at Duchesne. A survey 
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conducted by Verdis revealed that 94 percent of the school community agreed that 

Duchesne should adopt more sustainable practices. Through site visits, a waste 

audit, the establishment of a Sustainability Committee, and guidance at a 

faculty/staff retreat, Verdis helped the Duchesne community name four sustainability 

goals: 1) Net Positive Building Emissions by 2030; 2) Zero Waste by 2030; 3) A 

Sustainable Food System; and 4) Sustainability Curriculum Integration.

In response to Duchesne’s sustainability goal of “sustainability curriculum 

integration,” during the 2017–18 school year the principal worked closely with all

department chairs and faculty to develop and implement cross-curricular 

sustainability standards. The standards also include a scope and sequence that 

addresses how these topics will be included in courses across the curriculum. 

On April 1, 2019, in an effort to share the school’s passion for sustainability and to 

help encourage other schools to embrace sustainability, Duchesne created and 

hosted the “Caring for Creation in Catholic Schools Conference.” The conference 

was attended by nearly 60 students, faculty, and administrators from four Omaha 

area Catholic high schools and five Catholic elementary schools. 

Duchesne sponsors a schoolwide Earth Month to raise awareness for sustainability 

issues. Earth Month brings the student-led Sustainability Club and the adult-led 

Sustainability Committee together to plan events for the month. Each year the 

Sustainability Club also creates an all-school prayer service focusing on “Care for 

Creation.” 

Duchesne partners with Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo’s “Zoo Academy.” The mission 

of Zoo Academy is to provide students with knowledge and career explorations 

relating to life sciences through authentic STEM experiences at the zoo. Students 

study courses in research and science in the mornings at the zoo and return to their 

high schools in the afternoons to continue their studies. The Design Academy 

course based out of the school’s DREAM Lab annually provides hands-on 

opportunities for students to learn about STEM-related topics. DREAM students 

have overseen tower gardens, Trout in the Classroom participation, and 

spearheaded the request for solar panels.

The Duchesne preschool has successfully engaged its students and families in 

implementing sustainability into its curriculum in an age-appropriate fashion. 

Preschoolers are taught to reduce water and paper towel use and to turn off lights 

when leaving the classroom. Preschool teachers find creative ways to reuse a wide 

array of items for craft projects. Recycling and composting are taught and reinforced 

to all preschoolers, especially during snack and lunch times. The preschool hosts an 

indoor “tower garden” and harvests lettuce and tomatoes for lunches, and a number 
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of units are focused around nature lessons, such as the life cycle of plants, bees, 

and butterflies. The preschool also hosts a weeklong “Little Sprouts and Earth 

Tenders” summer camp in which participants receive first-hand gardening 

experience in the school garden, learn about bees and earthworms, and discover 

fun ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Bayard Public Schools; Bayard, Nebraska

A student-developed district arboretum

During the 2011–12 school year, Bayard Public Schools conducted an energy audit 

as part of the Nebraska Public School Energy Study. The results of the energy audit 

have helped target investments in energy conservation in the years since. In 

particular, Bayard Public Schools has been engaged in a multi-year process of 

replacing all lights with LED. Two of the school gymnasiums have been outfitted with 

occupancy sensors. The district has also updated the HVAC control systems at the 

high school and added blackout shades to the elementary school to conserve 

energy.

Throughout the school district, bathrooms have been upgraded to sensor-based 

water fixtures, and water bottle filling stations have replaced most of the traditional 

drinking fountains. Bayard Public Schools has limited areas designated for 

landscaping. However, where landscaping is present, the school utilizes droughtresistant plants and trees and mulches the areas to conserve the use of water. High 

school students are planning a re-development of the parking lot to mitigate storm 

water runoff and create a rain garden or bioswale planted with pollinator friendly 

vegetation.

In 2016, the school district completed a sustainable schoolyards project to conduct 

stormwater management through construction of a wheelchair-accessible viewing 

area and arboretum on a small hillside overlooking the track and football field. 

Through the sustainable schoolyards program and subsequent partnerships with the 

Nebraska State Arboretum, ReTree Nebraska, and the North Platte Natural 

Resources District, students have taken part in planting diverse species of trees in 

four locations on campus. They are working to label them into an arboretum system.

To reduce waste, the school district has partnered with the local sanitation company 

to provide an on-site recycling receptacle and has engaged in extensive recycling of 

obsolete computers and other electronic equipment. Students lead recycling efforts 

at the elementary and junior high levels. The district has reduced the use of 

workbooks and printing through the use of Google Classroom. In partnership with 
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the 21st Century Community Learning Center, the district manages worm and 

tumble composters and then uses the finished compost in its gardens.

The school district has participated in the Nebraska Diesel Emission Mitigation 

Program to decommission older school buses and replace them with more efficient 

buses. Bayard Public Schools has installed bike racks at each building and has 

partnered with the City of Bayard to provide safe routes to and from school, including 

several crossing guards.

Efforts to improve health and wellness of students and staff have been extensive 

thanks to a Coordinated School Health program. These have included implementing 

a Grab and Go/Breakfast in the 

Classroom program, developing an afterschool snack program, using a recess 

before lunch schedule, and installing 

Project Fit America fitness equipment. 

Staff members participate in a wellness 

program with opportunities for health 

monitoring, and the school district has 

twice been recognized with the 

Governor’s Award for Workplace 

Wellness. 

The school district has participated in the 

Nebraska school radon testing program.

During the 2018–19 school year, a mold 

abatement project was undertaken to 

remove and abate mold that was located 

on the exterior shaded walls of the high 

school. The district contracts with 

Johnson Controls for HVAC equipment 

maintenance and servicing.

The district’s curriculum, in alignment with the Nebraska College and Career Ready 

Standards, includes instruction on weather, climate, and human impacts. The 

district’s geography includes such topics as climate change, renewable versus

nonrenewable resources, alternative energy, overpopulation, deforestation, pollution, 

biodiversity, and land management. Most of this is incorporated in learning about the 

regions of the world and how they are connected. 

Students taking biology or participating in agricultural classes study ecology as it 

relates to the biosphere, ecosystems, populations, communities and global change,
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as well as sustainable agriculture methods. Students taking courses through the 

agricultural education program have access to hands-on learning that includes 

traditional farming, an aquaponics system, and a newly constructed greenhouse. 

At the elementary level, first grade tours the local landfill to learn about the 3 R's in 

conjunction with their science curriculum, and the fifth grade utilizes Trout in the 

Classroom curriculum in partnership with various environmental agencies. Fourthgrade students visit solar and wind energy farms and a solar energy farm during the 

spring of 2020. 

The district has partnered with the City of Bayard to conduct an annual “Community 

Clean-up Day.” Each grade level is responsible for an area of the school property or 

an area of town to clean. Last year the students cleaned up trees and branches from 

an empty lot, cleaned two properties owned by citizens of Bayard, swept the Main 

Street sidewalks, laid sod at the baseball diamonds, and cleaned debris and trash 

from the Bayard Museum property. City employees provided dump trucks, 

equipment, and manpower to assist in the cleanup. The school had over 400 staff 

and students participate in the four-hour event

During the most recent career day, students had the opportunity to learn from 

professionals sharing experience and insights regarding careers in agronomy, 

organic farming, zoology, agricultural service, and natural resources. 

Bayard Public Schools exemplifies the possibilities that exist in a rural school 

community for active improvement and achievement in the Three Pillars of ED-GRS. 

Bayard Public Schools is committed to continuing to be effective and efficient in the 

use of limited resources in pursuit of educational excellence for students, staff, and 

the broader community.

Nevada

Truckee Meadows Community College; Reno, Nevada

One-hundred percent renewable powered

Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) is a comprehensive community 

college and is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The College serves 

more than 25,000 students each year in credit and noncredit programs at four 

educational sites and more than 20 community locations. TMCC is committed to 

responsible stewardship of resources and to demonstrating leadership in 

sustainability, including current best practices in building design and maintenance, 
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transportation, and use of renewable and nonrenewable resources to provide a 

healthy environment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. 

TMCC is a member institution of Second Nature and joined the Resilience Climate 

Commitment in 2016. Its Sustainability Champions Committee is dedicated to 

promoting positive, sustainable change to improve the campus environmental 

impact. Each semester, the Committee reports to the president’s and planning 

council meetings.

One hundred percent of TMCC energy service is now from renewable energy, 

making it the first institution in the Nevada System of Higher Education to achieve 

this. With rebates from Nevada Energy, TMCC installed solar panels in 2012 and 

2013 at no cost to the College. The arrays can be tracked online and on campus 

dashboards, making them education tools to provide hands-on training in renewable 

energy. TMCC also engages in energy conservation practices, such as automatic 

computer shutdowns and building temperature standardization, energy use 

benchmarking, and efficient HVAC and appliance upgrades.

TMCC has two electric vehicle charging stations, a free bus pass program, a 

carpooling bulletin board, a bike-to-work week, and a bike repair station to 

encourage alternative transportation use. Fill It Forward/Cupanion is a mobile phone 

app that allows students to reuse, save, and compete in waste reduction/reuse 

efforts. TMCC recycles all office paper, magazines, newsprint, cardboard, aluminum 

cans, and plastic and glass bottles. Recycling bins are located in each building of all 

sites, and requests for pick-ups may also be made for these items.

TMCC has installed 13 hydration stations in multiple locations, improving drinking 

water quality and reducing the amount of water that is wasted down the drain. A 

grass-cycling and leaf collection practice converts grass clippings to mulch and 

compost from planters. An organic soil mulch is used for landscaping. Flowering 

ornamentals, which require more water than natives, are positioned just at the 

entries, and native plants are used to transition back to the existing undisturbed 

landscape, saving water while creating beautiful focal points. Terraced parking lots 

capture rainwater and rainwater runoff are directed toward landscape beds. All 

TMCC campuses are pesticide free. Over the past three years 120,000 ladybugs

were released to control aphids.

TMCC uses ECOLOGO-certified and Green Seal custodial products. TMCC is 

equipped with EPA-registered Clorox Total 360 Electrostatic Disinfectant system 

cleaners through which water is electrically converted into an innovative detergentfree solution for cleaning. The indoor air quality for classrooms and common areas 

are controlled by Merv10 filters. Staff and personnel are trained to identify mold 
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areas and procedures are in place 

to mitigate any situations. Dust 

mites are abated through daily 

vacuuming with units fitted with 

HEPA filters.

The community garden supplies an 

on-campus food pantry for underresourced students. A Wellness 

Committee is committed to a 

holistic approach to wellness, 

including physical, psychological, 

and spiritual wellness. An annual 

field day promotes fun, fitness, and 

interdependence between faculty, 

staff, and students. The TMCC Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability Office leads 

efforts to cultivate an inclusionary environment that honors diversity and integration. 

Prior to fall 2019 semester, TMCC completed construction on a brand-new soccer 

field. The 170,000 square foot recreational/soccer field includes a three-lane 

walking/running track and bleacher seating and is located just a short walk from the 

new 20,000-square-foot Sports and Fitness Center built to LEED Silver standards 

and opened in spring 2020. The facility features a full-size basketball/volleyball 

gymnasium, strength and conditioning room, and locker rooms. 

Some sustainability courses offered include Design with Nature, Design with 

Climate, Environmental Health, Ecosystems, and Zero Waste Initiative. TMCC offers 

associate degrees of applied science in construction and design and energy 

technologies. TMCC architecture students created several design alternatives for a 

new building for the local High Desert Montessori School. Chemistry 101 draws 

upon the daily student lives and their usage of cell phones, automobiles, and 

individual carbon footprints. The Sustainability Champions Committee has led over 

50 one-on-one meetings with teaching faculty focusing on embedding green 

concepts and best practices into classroom pedagogy.

TMCC excels in award winning service-learning projects that infuse environmental 

learning with compassion. Architecture, Environmental Health Science, and 

Environmental Science faculty work with both public and private community 

members. Students have used these opportunities to engage in real-world problemsolving through the lens of sustainability to address the challenges of the homeless, 

create interpretive nature trails, study diminishing Monarch butterfly populations, 
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conduct watershed studies, examine snow levels in the Sierra Nevada mountain 

ranges, and research bacteriophages along the Truckee River. 

New Jersey

Cape May City Elementary School; Cape May City, New Jersey

A Coast Guard community school learns care for the Atlantic

Cape May City Elementary School (CMCES) serves 150 students, 42 percent of 

whom qualify for free or reduced price lunch. The school is a Certified Wildlife 

Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. Earth Club students, who oversee 

the edible school gardens and the composting and recycling programs, are currently 

completing their Sustainable Food pathway through Eco-Schools USA. CMCES has 

participated in Sustainable Jersey for Schools, beginning in its inaugural year, 

earning a Bronze and two Silver certifications. This partnership has also resulted in 

three grants totaling $6,000 to support recycling, composting, and gardening 

programs.

In 2012, CMCES was awarded Silver for the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge, one 

of only two New Jersey schools to attain this distinction that year. Breakfast is 

served in classrooms to all students daily. Families are encouraged to take 

advantage of an in-school celebration ordering system from the school cafeteria, 

which offers healthy options. 

In addition to daily P.E., 

students participate in weekly 

swimming instruction in 

grades 3–6, an annual field 

day, a triathlon, fall Walk-aThon, and regular brain 

breaks, such as full school 

“Stop, Smile, and Move”

activities and classroomspecific Go Noodle 

programming.

Located on 36 acres of 

diverse habitat, including 

field, forest, and salt marsh 

wetlands, CMCES school is 

fortunate to have such a rich 

backyard to support student 
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learning, exploration, and appreciation of the natural world. In the library, fourththrough sixth-grade students are involved in a 10-month, county habitat study with a 

focus on the connections that are discovered during their explorations. In addition, 

all students learn about the Atlantic coast horseshoe crab/shorebird phenomenon 

and observing the baby horseshoe crabs as the school participates in the Green 

Eggs and Sand U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program.

In the fall of 2015, the school participated in a citywide energy audit, using ENERGY 

STAR Portfolio Manager. Following this audit, an Energy Savings Improvement Plan 

resulted in completing the switchover to LED lights in all areas. This change was 

estimated to save over $3,000 a year. The school also uses BERT smart plugs, 

which are programmed to automatically shut off connected electronics from 6:00 

p.m. to 7:00 a.m. schoolwide. The estimated savings is $5,000–$6,000 a year. The 

school campus wind turbine produces approximately $400 in savings. CMCES has 

become a PowerSave School with the Alliance to Save Energy. Third-graders 

conduct energy, heat, light, and water surveys and are overflowing with ideas on 

how the school can improve its conservation efforts. The school is home to a wind 

turbine and weather station.

While the renovation of the swimming pool, reopened in 2017, after having been 

closed and under construction for five years, skews year-to-year utility use and 

savings data, the pool renovation itself included many conservation measures. 

These measures included an energy-efficient dehumidifier, upgraded locker rooms 

with automatic-sensing sinks and toilets, and a water bottle filling station. Watersaving drip line irrigation and a rain barrel are used to irrigate vegetable gardens and 

native plant areas. 

One of the school’s top initiatives since 2017 has been led by students — the 

reduction of single-use plastics and Styrofoam. Started by a student studying ocean 

pollution, CMCES took the steps to make the switch from plastic utensils to metal, 

phased out plastic straws, replaced Styrofoam soup cups with reusable mugs, and 

switched Styrofoam coffee cups and plates for compostable paper products. The 

school is continuing to reduce its plastic waste stream through new reusable salad 

containers, recycling campaigns, three additional water bottle filling stations, and 

participation in the TREX Plastic Film Challenge. 

CMCES is dedicated to building strong alliances with families and community 

partners. This not only strengthens the school climate and culture but provides 

endless opportunities for civic engagement. The school participates in the Coast 

Guard Community annual festival, which includes sustainability activities. In addition, 

the school holds an annual, green STEAM festival open to the public with displays, 
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hands-on activities, and a free eco-friendly raffle. These events provide a chance to 

educate and encourage participation in environmentally sustainable choices. 

The local police sponsor a bike safety event and Coast Guard students arriving on a 

bus account for 36 percent of students. No-idling signage and a pledge is distributed 

to families. Nearly all of CMCES’ cleaning products are Green Seal certified. 

CMCES implements and indoor air quality plan and is certified an Asthma Friendly 

School through the Asthma Coalition of New Jersey.

To reduce paper use, the school incorporates family text messages, emails, and 

accessible social media/websites. Virtually all staff communications, lesson plans, 

and evaluation elements are online, as are report cards. The Green Team website 

features its monthly newsletter, The Leaf. This newsletter is designed to increase 

staff and community awareness/education about sustainability and related actions. 

Seasonal “Green Challenges” are posted on this website and encourage families to 

complete such actions as unplugging from screens or completing an outdoor activity 

bingo board. 

Prekindergarten students plant, study, care for, observe, and transplant sunflowers. 

Kindergarten students visit the milkweed and butterfly garden and learn about 

Monarch butterflies. First grade examines bees and pollinator gardens. Second

grade learns about habitats and uses the outdoor classroom. Third grade learns 

energy basics. Fourth grade learns about natural resources and state forests. Fifth

grade studies water and conducts a fundraiser for wells in South Sudan. Sixth grade 

engages in problem-based learning about the human effects on ecosystems.

Teachers are increasing their knowledge and understanding of education for 

sustainability. They have participated in on-site, professional development using the 

school’s natural surroundings as a catalyst for exploration and engagement. They

integrate key topics in sustainability, whether it is in a classroom, on the campus 

nature trail, in the school’s pollinator garden, or while leading an energy audit. 

Readington Middle School; Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

A community guided by the triple bottom line

Readington Middle School (RMS) serves over 500 sixth- to eighth-graders in central 

New Jersey. Located in the Garden State midway between New York and 

Philadelphia, the Delaware Water Gap National Park and the Atlantic Ocean, 

understanding how to balance the needs of people, planet, and profit is ingrained in 

the everyday lives of the RMS community. It begins with — and is lived and led by

— students and staff alike. 
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The school’s physical space — its building, solar installation, and native, rain, and 

courtyard gardens — provide tangible context for student learning. Teachers, facility 

staff, engineers, master gardeners, and local environmentalists work side-by-side 

with students to examine and understand energy usage patterns, the rise of invasive 

species, and rain gardens as a solution to keep the watershed clean. The school has 

Eco-Schools USA Silver recognition and Sustainable Jersey for Schools bronze 

certification.

Students rehabilitate a neglected native garden to examine changes that have 

occurred over the past decade. They developed a grant application and were

awarded funds to create test beds to investigate resource use, carbon footprint, and 

crop yield of traditional farming as 

compared with indoor food growth in 

vertical hydroponic gardens. Students 

are also designing a regenerative 

aquaponic food system for the school 

and are devising a smart solar-powered 

rain barrel irrigation that senses when 

watering is needed, based on real-time 

environmental conditions, to conserve 

water and optimize food growth. 

Though RMS was built more than 60 

years ago, the evolution of the physical 

space and surrounding natural 

environment is a visible representation 

of the value RMS places on green 

technologies and natural features that 

enhance well-being and environmental 

and economic health. Nearly 30 percent 

of the school’s energy is obtained from 

rooftop solar panels and ground arrays. 

Energy usage and savings data are

displayed outside of the cafeteria, and 

the 1:1 Chromebook initiative allows 

students and staff to download data and 

share and submit work electronically, drastically reducing the need for printing and 

copying. Water fountains have been replaced with water bottle refilling stations. 

Reusable bottles are actively promoted, and recycling is expected. RMS encourages 

and supports all to become active stewards of their environment. The school tracks 

resource use in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
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Due to the school’s rural location, all students ride the school bus. Consolidated bus 

routes put in place in the district in 2015 have resulted in improved efficiency and 

reduced fuel usage. 

Pest issues are handled promptly, in accordance with the school’s integrate pest 

management plan, using low- impact methods, such as proper cleaning techniques, 

and caulking and weather stripping to reduce pest entrance points. An Indoor Air 

Quality plan is in place to ensure that HVAC equipment is maintained and filters are 

cleaned to promote good air quality inside the building. Students from the Global 

Goals team are developing an environmental monitoring station for RMS that uses 

sensors to detect environmental data. The students’ goal is to research and track 

markers for climate change. Students are partnered with an MD/PhD from Rutgers 

University for RMS to become a data collection site for AccuPollen, so that they may 

likewise track hyperlocal data to gauge if changes in weather (or climate in the long 

term) can be correlated to a rise in asthma and allergies. 

The district green committee is actively led by a board member who is an 

environmental engineer. The superintendent initiated and supports infusion of social 

and emotional learning to help cultivate a caring, participatory, and equitable 

environment. Curriculum supervisors align courses with education for sustainability 

standards and bolster nonfiction reading. The business administrator, facilities 

manager, and energy efficiency coordinator all keep an eye on the triple bottom line. 

Sixth-grade students study natural laws and ecological principles and the dynamics 

of systems and changes therein. Seventh-grade students study plant reproduction, 

interdependent relationships in ecosystems, and biodiversity. Eighth-grade students 

study Earth’s materials and systems, human impact, history of the Earth, adaptation 

and resilience, weather and climate. Each of these areas reinforce respect for all 

living things, maintaining balance in ecosystems, interconnectedness, and the 

importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in and out of school.

The principal spearheads an annual Student Academy Day, where staff and 

community members join to host a day of health and well-being workshops, 

including archery, CrossFit, tai chi, and nature walks. The school health office and 

food services staff support a coordinated health and nutrition program where 

recommendations for healthier living have resulted in a salad bar, new menu items, 

and health education outreach to the school community, working in tandem with 

counselors and staff for a focus on mindfulness and restorative practices. 

In sixth grade, students practice responsible local and global citizenship as they 

analyze rate and percent math problems relating to pollution, endangered species, 

and population growth. At the same time in science, they are reading, analyzing, and 
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creating graphs related to global warming. Through enrichment, they design 

sustainable cities of the future, envisioning and writing about dystopian, utopian, 

possible, probable, or desirable futures related to climate change, adaptation, and 

resilience. They create virtual city simulations and physical models to identify and

make visible the interrelationships between social, economic, and environmental 

systems. In financial literacy, students examine how ethics influence consumer 

behavior and define what civic financial responsibility means to them. In language 

arts and social studies, they explore cross-cultural similarities and difference, 

adopting multiple perspectives to better understand what it means to be a 

community. 

In seventh grade, all students and staff take a Walk in the Woods together led by 

local guides, focusing on ecosystems, as they use all of their senses to identify flora, 

fauna, and geological rock formations within their own bioregion. They look for signs 

of human impact and make connections to such concepts as deforestation and 

unsustainable farming practices and their consequences for early civilizations they 

are studying. Students relate their own observations to the present as guest 

speakers ranging from environmental lawyer to university expert, to New Jersey

student climate advocates to watershed conservationist, describe conditions and 

system change in play today. 

In eighth grade, students explore current events through the lens of journalist and 

reader as they practice establishing objectivity, identifying bias, and evaluating 

sources in order to prepare students to be educated citizens and to make informed 

decisions. In math, students take on exponential-growth-and-decay math problems 

as they relate to environmental factors. While in science, they explore the impact of 

human activities and the short- and long-term consequences for the health of people 

and the natural environment.

Students across grade levels work to develop innovative ways to reduce waste, 

support responsible consumption and production, promote good health and wellbeing, and build internal and external school partnerships to make it happen. Most 

recently, the students conducted a waste audit, beginning with the cafeteria, and 

reported results and proposed actions to the RMS Green Committee. Their 

suggestions included a student lunch survey, share table, food bank partners, food 

composting, a la carte menu choices, and enhanced data collection. 
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New Mexico

Coyote Willow Family School; Albuquerque, New Mexico

Beavers in the bosque

Coyote Willow Family School (CWFS) is an alternative K–8 program offered by 

Albuquerque Public Schools. Students attend a program that combines a half-day or 

80 percent of classroom instruction with a half-day or 20 percent of home-based 

instruction. The magnet school, opened in 2017, places a strong emphasis on 

problem-based learning, and parent collaboration is an integral part of the learning 

process. In this structure, not only are students led to discuss issues, such as 

conservation, but they are encouraged to develop their own lines of inquiry, and end 

up asking questions, such as “Is the environment for polar bears changing?” Under 

this framework, exploration of issues relating to energy, the environment, and health 

are inevitable. These problem-based or inquiry-based explorations are practical and 

often hands-on. 

An ongoing seventh-grade, student-initiated project that involves an inquiry of 

conservation practices along the Albuquerque riverside “bosque” (forest) alongside 

professional researchers. Students first learn about the ecology of the area near the 

river, then study the importance of cottonwood trees in the riverside ecology on site. 

They learned that beavers chewing on cottonwood trees were causing an ecosystem 

problem. The students developed a process for protecting trees by wrapping them in 

chicken wire, solicited donations, then worked to cover the trees and monitor their 

growth.

In every grade level, students study environmental science from a problem-based or 

inquiry-based perspective. These studies cover such topics as waste management, 

energy conservation measures, and nature preservation and are supported by the 

district focus on Next Generation Science Standards. Phase two of construction is 

yet another opportunity for sustainability education: The district architect will offer 

lessons with students about how the photovoltaic panels affect the school, including 

looking at quantifying the impact on school overall energy use. Parents who work in 

alternative energy have also made presentations to classes about different types of 

energy sources and the basic science involved.

The same learning approaches undergird the school’s health achievements. Eighthgraders worked to establish a peer mediation to address communication and other 

social issues. Learning about health issues is a continuing focus. A health fair last 

year addressed learning as diverse as dental health to hands-on CPR training. The 

school environment is designed (and continues to be designed, in the second phase 
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of construction) as a healthy learning environment: there are safe, outdoor 

classroom environments for use in the New Mexico environment, which features 

sunshine typically for over 350 days of the year. 

CWFS has instituted a “no junk food policy” and a “water-only” policy that help direct 

students to snacks and lunches that are nutritious and avoid empty calories. The 

school has started a gardening program that will expand in phase two of 

construction in box gardens to include a pollinator garden and an herb garden to 

provide natural flavorings for drinking water for students and staff.

In particular, Coyote Willow is an example of responsible school design. The school 

first phase has achieved LEED Silver certification, with a building that is energy 

efficient, safe, comfortable, and promotes alternative transportation. Building design 

and construction incorporated low-emitting materials in all paints, adhesives, and 

sealants. The flooring system is low-emitting, consisting of polished concrete flooring 

and hypo-allergenic carpet floor tiles. Air circulation is continuous when spaces are 

occupied, ensuring appropriate class ventilation. HEPA air filters are used, which 

remove at least 99.7 percent of airborne particles. The school is taking part in a 

district and state CO2 survey to sample air quality in classrooms and other areas.

The building envelope design includes consideration of thermal insulation above 

code minimums and sun control, admitting winter sun as useful while providing 

needed shade in the summer. LEED documents indicate a resulting energy cost 

savings of 34 percent. The HVAC system is based on a ground source heat pump. 

Even in this already efficient building, the school community has worked through 

behavioral change to 

improve energy efficiency, 

reducing electric use by 13 

percent from the first to 

second year of operation. 

Lighting systems are all 

LED, including overhead 

classroom and 

administration lighting, high 

bay lights, exterior lights, 

and exit lights. Additionally, 

each classroom has 

daylighting from either 

clerestories or skylights, 

optimized by appropriate 

building orientation. This 
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eliminates the need for artificial lighting nearly every day. Dual technology 

occupancy sensors (integrating both passive infrared and ultrasonic technologies) 

are used to optimize energy savings and meet occupant needs more precisely.

Effective landscaping results in a 50 percent reduction in water as compared with 

typical landscapes in the region. The building, through use of low-flow fixtures, 

achieves a 30 percent reduction in water use. The design is geared toward collecting 

as much storm water runoff as possible and diverting it to the landscape to augment 

irrigation. All plants are native or adapted to the local high desert climate.

The second phase of the school construction, now underway and due to be 

completed this year, will incorporate a substantial solar photovoltaic array, and is 

expected to generate 75 percent of the school’s energy needs and to reduce heat 

island effect by covering 80 parking spaces. CWFS has no natural gas service. 

Heating is provided by a geothermal heat pump, which is electricity-based. 

Students work to reduce the use of paper and recycle or upcycle everything that 

they are able. Twenty-four percent of building materials are manufactured of 

recycled content and an effort is being made to separate construction waste in order 

to recycle it.

North Carolina

Lincoln Heights Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary School; 

Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina

Sustainability, expeditionary learning style

In 2018, Lincoln Heights Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary School 

(LHECMES) completed a building renovation and initiated a new environmental 

magnet theme. In the newly renovated spaces, Wake County Public School System 

(WCPSS) integrated best practices for reducing energy costs and increasing water 

efficiency and for reducing stormwater runoff. The school has reduced domestic 

water use by 61 percent and energy use by 29 percent over 10 years. All lights in 

the building have motion sensors. Thermostats in every room allow for centrally 

managed climate control, differentiated conditions, and savings. 

Most faucets are on timers and have aerators to reduce water use. The renovation 

brought a new two-story wing to reduce the footprint and impermeable surfaces. The 

campus has stormwater runoff measures, including a large cistern and rain gardens, 
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to slow down and spread out runoff before it goes into the storm drains to reduce 

sediment in waterways. Native plants eliminate the need for an irrigation system. 

Recycling encompasses comingled materials, Crayola Colorcycle, Terracycle, and 

batteries. Art classes use recycled materials. “These Come From Trees” stickers are 

placed on all paper towel dispensers to remind students and staff not to waste paper 

towels. LHECMES maintains Bridge Street through parent and community 

volunteers for the Adopt-A-Highway program. One Environmental Investigations 

teacher is involved in a marine debris study through which fourth- and fifth-graders 

analyze the types of litter collected from cleanups. 

By changing school carpool procedures, LHECMES has reduced wait time and 

idling. It added safety patrol student helpers in the morning and uses an online 

spreadsheet to queue up students more efficiently from the cafeteria to their carpool 

color cone in the afternoon. LHECMES partnered with Safe Routes of Wake County 

and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center along with the 

town of Fuquay-Varina to implement a variety of improvements for students who 

walk and bike to school. The nearly $1 million project included new curb ramps, 

crosswalk markings, and signs, which improve the accessibility and visibility of the 

crossings for neighboring students and families to more safely walk and bike to 

school. LHECMES also celebrates walk/bike to school days biannually with the 

support of Poe Health Center.

A dedicated team of four custodians monitors and manages environmental 

conditions in the building. A set schedule is followed for dusting, mopping, 

vacuuming, and cleaning surfaces to reduce allergens that could impact the health 

of students. A head custodian performs daily checks and is the “first responder” for 

any potential environmental or health hazards within and around the building. 

WCPSS has multiple staff in all areas of facilities to ensure any environmental or 

health issues are addressed and remediated promptly with professional staff. 

WCPSS prioritized the use of integrated pest management practices and, thus, 

strictly limits the use of pesticides. 

The LHECMES P.E. teacher facilitates a Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser and 

manages student qualification and participation in the First in Fitness competition. 

He organizes a February family engagement night with the theme of Family Fitness. 

Jump rope, yoga, running, golf, and bike clubs are offered. In April, LHECMES 

participates in Every Kid Healthy Week, sponsored by Poe Health Center, which 

showcases different topics each year. 

Poe Health Center is also working with the LHECMES cafeteria to encourage 

healthier eating choices and to discourage food waste. Free breakfast is available 
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for all students every day. Three tower gardens in the building and raised gardens 

allow students to grow produce. Students take walking field trips to the 

neighborhood food pantry to donate produce to benefit those in need. A backpack 

program provides 33 students healthy and nutritious foods on the weekends.

Restorative practices help create bonds and sense of community within the school. 

A full-time school counselor visits each classroom at least once a month to teach 

social emotional lessons. She also holds different groups to help students improve 

on certain skills. Classroom teachers can submit positive behavior referrals and give 

character trait awards. An Equity Team is working to address diversity matters. 

All classroom teachers and specialists work to improve environmental and 

sustainability literacy across all curriculum. The entire staff has completed Project 

Learning Tree and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) training and are participating in 

yearlong Using the Outdoors to Teach Experiential Science (UTOTES) activities in 

partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences this year. The 

Environmental Connections Integration Specialist (ECIS) position focuses on 

curricular integration, grants, scheduling professional development, guest speakers, 

and field trips. Environmental Inquiry (EI) teaching positions were created and 

students have two consecutive days of EI to facilitate PBL. Expeditions are 30-

minute clubs at the end of each day to allow students to further investigate 

environmental theme-related topics of their choice, with offerings changing each 

quarter. 

Teachers use the outdoors for all subjects, not just in science. Many of these 

connections are due to the cross curricular nature of the Expeditionary Learning 

modules in Language Arts that focus on environmental topics, such as birds in first 

grade, pollinators in second, water scarcity in third, animal behaviors in fourth, and 

the rain forests in fifth grade. In addition, there are many social studies standards 

across grade level that have connections about human impacts, as well as systems 

in place to develop better stewards of the environment. Science proficiency has 

jumped from 52 percent to 76 percent, as measured by standardized test scores.

Kindergarteners find shapes in nature and when practicing counting series of 

objects. First grade uses natural objects to create math equations. Second-graders 

research, build, and test a variety of weather instruments and observed weather 

conditions. Third-grade students use found materials to create a “school” that would 

last through a rainy weekend, based on a book. When studying geometry, fourthgrade students find parallel and perpendicular lines, rays, points, and angles in 

nature. Fifth-grade students count how many pine scales are on one pinecone and 
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then calculate an average of how 

many pine seeds are dispersed by 

the 12 pine trees on campus. 

Guest speakers have included the 

President of Wake Audubon, 

professors and students from North 

Carolina State University, and local 

and state park rangers. LHECMES 

facilitates live video conferences 

with the State Climate Office and 

the North Carolina Museum of 

Natural Sciences and field trips to 

local environmental education 

centers, the local landfill, and the 

North Carolina Aquarium. 

LHECMES participates in citizen 

science using trail cameras to track 

and identify wildlife and by monitoring and recording precipitation in the CoCoRaHS 

network. It cultivates “Shad in the Classroom,” receiving eggs to nurture and then 

releasing them into the local watershed. 

Partners, such as the South Wake Conservationists, tilled and planted native 

wildflowers in an area for LHECMES’ No Mow Zone. Thanks to UTOTES partnership 

with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the school will soon have a 

mini-pond and butterfly garden. LHECMES is working with Wake Soil and Water 

Conservation District to become a Wake Watershed Stewardship School through 

participation in a Wetlands Poster Contest and by initiating an Envirothon. 

Monthly family engagement nights spotlight sustainability. During “Outdoors in 

October,” environmental-themed activities, nature bingo cards, and bird seed balls 

motivated participants. The North Carolina Partners in Amphibians & Reptile 

Conservation coordinated with the LHECMES after-school program to educate 

students about reptiles, amphibians, and their habitats by bringing live animals for 

students to study. 
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Millbrook Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary School; 

Raleigh, North Carolina

Expeditionary learning for all

The mission of Millbrook Environmental Connections Magnet Elementary (MECME) 

is to develop sustainability literate citizens who will change the world. MECME 

students, 76 percent of whom are eligible for free and reduced price lunch, are 

immersed in nature-based learning, with daily instruction delivered through the lens 

of environmental science. Millbrook's program offers authentic, hands-on 

opportunities to investigate and connect with local and global issues outside the 

school's walls. 

MECME became an environmental connections school in the 2017–18 school year. 

This magnet theme has given the school the ability to connect students daily and 

authentically to environmental issues and to become proactive agents in reducing 

the school community’s 

environmental impact. In 2019, 

gardens (rain, pollinator, and 

edible) were installed on campus 

as part of an outdoor learning lab. 

Students use this engaging space 

to learn about irrigation, food 

cultivation, stormwater runoff, 

impermeable surfaces, and other 

horticulture, sustainability, and 

ecology topics. 

Over 95 percent of MECME’s 

landscaping features native plants 

and other vegetation adapted to 

the local climate and annual 

rainfall, minimizing the need for an 

external irrigation system. A rain garden was installed to help reduce the stormwater 

runoff that was flooding areas of the campus and curb erosion. School grounds have 

been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat. To be 

recognized, MECME demonstrated that the campus offers food and water 

availability, cover, places to raise young, as well as exhibiting other sustainable 

practices. 

MECME’s waste and consumption reduction efforts are led by a student team, the 

Green Bees, which conducted a waste audit. Students weighed the categories of 
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glass, metal, plastics, paper, cardboard, food, and other types of waste. These data 

were then compiled and shared with the student body and staff as a means to incite 

change within the building. The Bees now facilitate a weekly schoolwide recycling

program and educate all students about recycling and composting. In addition, their 

“Every Sheet Counts” initiative has reduced white paper waste by 31 pounds per 

month. MECME is a 1:1 technology school and uses virtual documents whenever 

possible.

This year, Green Bees and faculty Eco-Action Team members are working to reduce 

the school’s carbon footprint through energy conservation. Students conducted a 

schoolwide energy audit in February and designed an action plan to reduce 

MECME’s energy consumption. By implementing energy conservation measures 

and installing energy efficient technologies, MECME aims to yield financial savings 

and reduced environmental impact. 

The school has a full-time custodian, a night cleaning crew, and a schedule that is 

followed for the cleaning of all surfaces, which reduces allergens that could impact 

the health of students. The district requires integrated pest management methods 

before the use of pesticides around campus. Ecolab and Ecologo cleaning and 

paper products are used. All HVAC filters are changed every three months. 

Inspections and preventative maintenance are performed annually on all HVAC 

equipment, and coils are cleaned at least every two years.

MECME has separate bus, carpool, and walker locations. Online technology helps to 

queue up students when their carpool number is called, and at least four cars are 

loaded at one time. “No Idling” signs are hung in the carpool lanes. Each year, fifth

grade completes a problem-based learning unit focused on air quality at school. Air 

quality monitors are placed at various locations around the school campus, including 

at the carpool lane. Students monitor the air quality throughout the day. North 

Carolina Department of Environmental Quality representatives talk with the fifthgraders about air quality. Then, students use their research to create public service 

announcements, brochures, and posters to present to parents to educate them on 

the air quality at school. The school participates in the EPA’s air quality flag program 

by which a color flag, corresponding to the quality of air that day, is hung on the 

school’s flagpole to alert students, staff, and community members of the air quality 

each day. 

MECME partners with the Raleigh InterFaith Food Shuttle to use the food garden 

space in the most efficient and integrative way possible. The InterFaith Food Shuttle 

has placed a Food Corps volunteer at the school two full days per week, co-teaching 

garden curriculum, maintaining garden space with student help, and monitoring the 

cafeteria and composting. Furthermore, MECME currently harvests three indoor 
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tower gardens. Two Environmental Inquiry classes have the tower gardens and 

integrate growing and nutrition into their curriculum. The third tower garden is 

maintained in a hallway space for all students to observe. Additionally, students 

have the opportunity to participate in several elective courses about gardening, 

beginning with basic plant anatomy through planting and caring for their own garden.

The school’s theme invites all teachers to engage in nature-based learning. In 

particular, the two Environmental Inquiry classes use the school pond for ecosystem 

studies, the pollinator garden for connections to literacy, bluebird nest boxes for indepth study, and campus grounds for hikes. The P.E. teacher designs and 

implements outdoor field opportunities for all students. Fourth- and fifth-grade 

students are assessed in a variety of physical challenges in preparation to compete 

at the county level First in Fitness competition. 

The School Health Program supports MECME through case management, health 

education, and consultation in order to remove health-related barriers to learning. 

The school nurse promotes health, safety, and education success using evidencebased practice and professional standards of care. 

MECME partners with numerous outside organizations in order to support students 

and families. Counseling services at MECME include individual counseling, group 

counseling, classroom guidance lessons, and crisis assessments. Students 

participate daily in “Morning meetings” to foster strong connections to each other. 

MECME has also adopted the practice of Responsive Classroom, a studentcentered, social and emotional learning approach. Students participate in 

yoga/meditation classes to promote student mental and physical health.

MECME has implemented Expeditionary Learning (EL) curriculum. EL is a 

comprehensive, standards-based core literacy program that engages teachers and 

students through compelling, real-world content. Environmental and sustainability 

concepts are integrated seamlessly through the delivery of core, elective, and 

special courses (environmental inquiry, art, music, and P.E.) content. Fifth-grade 

students have a module that focuses on natural disasters. First-graders spend two 

quarters learning about birds. These modules connect literacy standards with reallife environmental issues, where students and teachers are engaged in work that is 

challenging and meaningful, and students are encouraged to become active 

participants in bettering their world. 

In addition to core classes, MECME offers environmental and sustainability elective 

courses. Electives are a way for MECME students to connect to Environmental 

Science with choice in mind. Through electives, students are encouraged to think, 
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work, and communicate like botanists, geologists, chemists, physicists, marine 

biologists, and engineers. 

Students attend Environmental Inquiry classes two times per week throughout the 

school year, where learning is centered on PBL units directly related to 

environmental and sustainability concepts. First-graders in E-Inquiry complete a PBL 

unit about waste management where they create videos to teach incoming 

kindergarteners. Third-graders explore making healthy food choices, by growing 

their own food, learning ways to prepare it, and sharing it with families. 

Environmental Inquiry students participate in citizen science. Students use trail 

cameras to monitor wildlife on campus. They record their observations in iNaturalist 

and design creative habitat for the wildlife. Students in first grade collect citizen 

science data for the Lost Ladybug Project on various ladybug species.

The Environmental Connections Integration Specialist (ECIS) meets regularly with

different grade levels to assist with planning using an environmental lens. The ECIS 

helped a fifth-grade teacher develop a math unit using the garden beds to compute 

area, perimeter, and volume, as well as planned with fourth-grade teachers to have 

their students write poems about nature. All licensed staff received training from 

Project Learning Tree, Project Outdoors Wonder and Learning, Growing Gardens, 

and Critical Friends. Teams of teachers have attended trainings from Project WET, 

the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences UTOTES, and PBLWorks. 

MECME implements the Eco-Schools USA pathways and is currently recognized as 

a bronze-level school. All elective courses are designed around 12 Eco-Schools 

Pathways. Students travel to local nature/science museums, nature parks, bird 

sanctuaries, the mountains of Western North Carolina, and the North Carolina coast 

throughout their time at MECME. When travel is not a viable option, MECME brings 

the experience to students with guest speakers from all over the state. 

Walker-Spivey Elementary School; Fayetteville, North Carolina

Sustainability education in an urban environment

Walker-Spivey Elementary School serves approximately 268 inner city students, in 

grades prekindergarten through fifth grade. Walker-Spivey is a Title I school with 97 

percent of students living below or at the poverty level. Walker-Spivey began its 

sustainability efforts working closely with the county green school program to reduce 

environmental impact and cost, improve student and staff health, and provide 

sustainability education. 
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Beginning in 2014, a green team executed a plan to conserve resources. First, the 

school evaluated ways to reduce energy and water use and reduce waste going to 

landfill. At the beginning of each school year, staff and faculty review ways to reduce 

waste and annual data on resource use. 

Green team members post reminders to power down technology, shut off all lights, 

and turn off faucets. The school has documented a 22 percent reduction in water 

use and a 28 percent reduction in energy use over 10 years. Two recycling buckets 

are placed in each classroom and office. Students oversee weekly pick-up of 

recyclable materials and promote recycling through contests.

The North Carolina State University Extension Family Health Services provides 

health and nutrition classes, tastings, and recipes to the school community. WalkerSpivey received a grant, Fresh Health Kids, which introduces fresh vegetables and 

fruits biweekly to all students. A food backpack program helps with food insecurity. 

Mental health training and Positive Behavior Intervention Systems promote student 

well-being, climate, and achievement. The school has seen a drastic reduction in 

suspension and aggressive behavior. Second-graders attend soccer camp from a 

nonprofit agency weekly. Teachers use movement at the beginning and end of the 

day and during breaks throughout the day.

Monitoring of indoor air quality, chemical management, and pest control are district 

requirements for school custodial staff. The school uses all Green Seal certified 

cleaning products.

Walker-Spivey features a greenhouse and a school garden that uses rain barrels for 

irrigation. These serve as spaces for partnering with various community 

organizations, including PTA, the Old Wilmington Road Group, and Community in 

Schools, that provide materials and support services. These hands-on gardening 

activities promote environmental education. The greenhouse also provides 

opportunities for crossover training with both science and math curriculums, all in a 

collaborative learning environment.

Students have visited local state parks and gardens focusing on insect and animal 

life, habits and environments, and changes in these environments. Second-graders 

are invited to the district’s Earth Day celebration. The entire school visited Marbles 

Museum for hands-on learning, including sustainability, gardening, and active 

lifestyles. The school took a field trip to the North Carolina Zoo in support of the 

science curriculum. Other activities include a visit with the Bee Lady, an Animal 

Extravaganza campus visit, and a local recycling company visit.
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Sustainability is integrated into 

daily learning through the English 

language arts Wit and Wisdom 

curriculum. Students are 

introduced to sustainability 

concepts through authentic 

literature such as The Boy Who 

Harnessed the Wind. In second 

grade, students read about how the 

land was changed in the prairie in 

The Buffalo Are Back. Fifth-graders 

use their science lab to understand 

concepts such as the 

interconnectedness of plants and 

animals with their ecosystem.

On the district’s digital day, students in second grade Skyped with a fifth-grade class 

located in a rural community. Students discussed and exchanged ideas focusing on 

global and sustainability. Classes discussed environmental and global literature. 

Second- and fifth-graders explored environmental issues affecting people locally, 

nationally, and globally. Students noted that even children can effect change in their 

environment. 

Pennsylvania

Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary School; Spring House, 

Pennsylvania

Showing the planet mercy

Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary (GMAE) is a private, Catholic, co-educational 

academy committed to providing a high-quality education integrated with Gospel 

values. Education and service to others are the two building blocks upon which the 

Sisters of Mercy were built. Their commitment to others is centered around five 

critical concerns, focused on caring for the earth, immigration, nonviolence, equity, 

and women. The school’s greatest accomplishments are not just in the tangible 

changes but in changed mindsets and habits of all who enter the school building. 

GMAE has taken great strides to reduce environmental impact and costs. Each 

classroom is equipped with motion-sensor, energy-saving LED lighting, and valves 

have been installed on steam radiators to control the temperature more efficiently in 

each room. The HVAC system is inspected biannually, and the filters are changed 
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quarterly. Students are not allowed to place books or papers near the vents to 

ensure there is proper ventilation. Carbon monoxide detectors are used to monitor 

the gas-fired boilers and gas-fired water heaters. Carpooling is encouraged.

All water fountains have been retrofitted with water bottle filling stations. The school 

eliminated plastic utensils and dishware in the cafeteria by investing in reusable 

plates, bowls, silverware, and commercial dishwashers. Plastic water bottles are no 

longer sold, and cafeteria waste is composted. Weekly communications and student 

information systems are now all digital. Announcements are displayed on a large 

screen instead of on paper and the school has 1:1 technology. Classroom printers 

have been removed, and teachers have codes to print on commercial printers. 

GMAE donates used textbooks, novels, supplies, uniforms, and furniture to schools 

in need and partners with local organizations several times throughout the year to 

hold donation drives for used clothing and household items. When the school 

upgraded its hardwood floors this past year, the school’s development office 

repurposed the existing floorboards by creating small square wooden keepsakes 

imprinted with the school shield. 

GMAE has made a dedicated effort to 

improve the health and wellness of the 

entire school community. In the spring 

of 2019, the school celebrated the 

installation of a greenhouse. Students 

actively participate in the planting of 

tomatoes, basil, dill weed, kale, 

Buttercrunch lettuce, Bibb lettuce, 

carrots, microgreens, and sunflowers. 

Led by the middle school science 

teacher, students have held salad 

parties to share in the bounty of the 

crops that have matured and to 

support healthier eating habits. The 

director of the greenhouse is 

responsible for overseeing, managing, 

and supervising the environmental 

education and sustainability initiatives 

related to the greenhouse. Healthy 

habits are also taught in our 

kindergarten- through eighth- grade 

P.E. and health classes, encouraged 
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by teachers in the cafeteria, and carried over into the athletics program and 

extracurricular activities. 

All cleaning and sanitizing supplies are eco-friendly. No hazardous chemicals are 

kept or used on campus. The entire school is cleaned and sanitized every night. 

GMAE implements an integrated pest management plan and contracts with a local 

pest control company that assesses building and grounds both for culture conditions 

that may support pest or fungal populations, such as moisture/water infiltration and 

issues with food debris. GMAE recently conducted a mold and asbestos 

assessment.

As part of the school’s strategic plan, a guidance center supports a full-time, certified 

school guidance counselor who teaches weekly character education lessons to all 

primary students and provides opportunities for middle school students to participate 

in mindfulness practices. In addition, the school guidance counselor sees students 

on a consultative basis, works with teachers and families to best meet the social and 

emotional needs of students, and assists in the process for students diagnosed with 

learning differences. Aligned with these efforts, new flexible seating was purchased 

for several classrooms to best meet the diverse needs of students. The guidance 

counselor is also a resource for parents by providing speakers and education 

workshops for parents to learn more about teenage trends in social media, vaping, 

and other ways to best support their child.

GMAE is home to an exploratorium for inquiry-based learning in kindergarten 

through fourth grade, two middle school science labs, a STEM Center, and an 

outdoor learning area next to the greenhouse. In addition to science lessons 

supported by Life Lab, a garden-based curriculum, as well as Pearson’s Interactive 

Science series, students develop 21st-century skills in a specialty class called 

Creative Thinking Skills. Many of these opportunities would not be possible without 

the support of the GMAE parents’ organization, which provides hands-on, projectbased learning initiatives. Various grade levels take field trips to the Morris 

Arboretum, Perkiomen Valley Water Shed, Longwood Gardens, Camp America, and 

the Science Center in Harrisburg to support experiential learning. Windmill projects, 

hatching chicks, sustainable living projects, dissecting owl pellets, plantings in the 

greenhouse, taking care of class pets, and hatching Monarch butterflies are only a 

few of the ways students actualize their potential to make a difference.
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Rhode Island

The Grace School at Meeting Street; Providence, Rhode Island

All-inclusive conservation learning

Since opening in 2007, the vision of The Grace School has been to become a leader 

in inclusive education for students in kindergarten through grade 8. Serving a 

population that includes 32 percent of students enrolled in special education, the 

school’s curriculum was designed “to develop students’ understanding, compassion, 

and care for people, the material world and the natural environment.” The building 

was built on 10 acres of brownfields that were remediated to residential standards in 

2006. Working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Rhode Island 

Department of Environmental Management, this space is now home to The Grace 

School at Meeting Street where the campus is comprised of more than 40 percent 

green space. 

Students of all abilities learn in a building that was designed with conservation and 

education in mind. In 2014, 338 solar panels were installed. They produce about 86 

kW which accounts for 12 percent of The Grace School’s power usage and saves

the school approximately $12,000 annually. Construction of a new wing has brought 

many energy-saving features. The increased number of windows and skylights in 

hallways and classrooms allow natural light to permeate the space. The LED cloud 

lighting responds to the natural light making it often unnecessary for overhead 

lighting to be used. Zoned lighting areas in the classrooms also allow teachers to 

have more control over the amount of light needed at any given time. Water bottle

filling stations have saved over 27,000 water bottles from use since 2019 when first 

installed. 

Middle school students kicked off The Grace School bottle recycling program in 

2018 with students sorting plastics at lunch. Students visit classrooms and offices to 

collect paper to be shredded and batteries to be recycled. In the cafeteria, Styrofoam 

trays and plastic utensils were replaced with reusable trays and silverware. The staff 

room is stocked with donated plates and mugs. Beginning in 2018, a “Uniform Swap” 

was designed to allow families to donate gently worn uniform shirts, pants, shorts, 

and skirts to be given to others who may need extra sets. In 2019, an area was set 

aside for students to borrow coats, hats, mittens, boots, and snow pants in order to 

go outside to recess if they did not have the appropriate gear. 

The green space includes an accessible playground, walking paths, and outdoor 

classroom space. Students use the campus both for learning and play. Classes 

meet outside to conduct observations of the plants and wildlife for science, use the 
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outdoor classroom space for writing inspiration, and for after-school programs such 

as the Seedlings Club. This club, for students in grades K–2, meets in the spring to 

plant seedlings for the school’s raised bed garden. Students care for the plants until 

the end of the school year. Over the summer and into the fall, students attending the 

extended school year program tend the gardens and have a chance to experience 

tastes of different herbs and vegetables. 

Students in grades 3–5 are invited to participate in the bike club during the spring 

after-school program, where they travel to different bike paths and trails across the 

state to ride. Other opportunities for students include cross-country, wrestling, and 

basketball teams. The school offers vision and hearing screenings, flu vaccinations, 

a mindfulness program, and a wellness fair.

The Grace School has adopted the Responsive Classroom approach to social and 

academic learning. All teachers are trained in Responsive Classroom and 

Restorative Justice. A school social worker meets with students in grades K-4 once 

a week based on student need. In grades 5–8, she meets with students once a week 

for social skills class as well as collaborating with teachers for advisory. School 

expectations are set around the Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports 

structure.

During the extended school year program, students with special needs care for the 

garden. They have an opportunity to learn about a variety of vegetables and either 

eat or taste 

samples depending 

on their ability to 

eat. Some students 

may have an 

opportunity to 

simply touch the 

food to their tongue 

while others may 

take bites. Many 

students have aqua 

therapy in their 

therapy plan, which 

allows the 

therapists to work 

with students 

individually to 

stretch muscles and 

provide students 
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with limited mobility to move. In addition, most of The Grace physical education 

equipment, including a set of adaptive bikes, is adapted for all students to participate 

in all P.E. curriculum units. 

Environmental studies thread through the curriculum, kindergarten through grade 8. 

In addition, environmental topics are addressed in The Grace literacy program as 

students study the craft of writing opinion and persuasive pieces. Topics of inquiry 

and readings are environmentally based in grades 4–8, culminating in middle school 

students reading of An Inconvenient Truth. Third grade participates in a yearlong 

education program provided by the Narragansett Bay Commission. Students 

regularly do fieldwork at Roger Williams Park Zoo and Planetarium. The second 

grade visits the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation as part of their 

learning. Every year the Narragansett Bay Commission visits for several weeks to 

teach the students to keep waterways clean for plants, animals, and humans and to 

instill in them a curiosity, understanding, and respect for how all these aquatic 

ecosystems work together. Students learn how to take water samples to complete 

water quality testing. 

In order to expand the use of the outdoor campus and community resources, The 

Grace School teachers have participated in professional development experiences 

that enhance their knowledge of the natural world. Bringing this knowledge back to 

students has brought opportunities for field work in coordination with Roger Williams 

Park Zoo and the Narragansett Bay Commission. Students visit local waterways to 

conduct water testing. Middle school science teachers attend the Rhode Island 

Environmental Education Association’s “Building Climate Literacy for All Students.” 

South Carolina

Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School; McClellanville, 

South Carolina

Coastal kids engage in shoreline restoration 

Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School (CREECS) is located in the 

rural, coastal town of McClellanville, South Carolina, halfway between Charleston 

and Georgetown. The school offers a unique outdoor learning environment that 

fosters stewardship in students. The CREECS campus is located on a tidal creek 

that connects to the intracoastal waterway and provides students the opportunity to 

get their hands dirty in real-life scientific explorations. 

CREECS is home to an organic garden and a myriad of animals, including chickens, 

goats, pigs, and sheep. Students are excited to come to school and help feed and 
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care for the animals. Along with all the traditional subjects, CREECS teaches 

agricultural education, animal husbandry, responsibility, and compassion for all 

creatures.

CREECS installed LED lighting in its new buildings and is working to retrofit the 

older ones as well. The school has a solar-powered weather station and fan in the 

outdoor classroom and is researching additional on-site solar production. Students, 

teachers, and staff are encouraged to bike or walk to school. The student council 

created a bike path from one of the local neighborhoods to make biking safer for 

students. CREECS also facilitates carpools for students coming from nearby areas 

and helps to subsidize a bus to minimize the number of cars making the 50-mile 

round trip drive from Mt. Pleasant each day. 

CREECS installed a drip irrigation system in its garden to help reduce water usage 

and uses rain barrels to water gardens in the front of the school. The school is home 

to a registered Monarch butterfly waystation, pollinator garden, and rain garden. 

CREECS manages an active honeybee hive to help with pollination in the school 

garden and surrounding area. Students plant and care for milkweed along with other 

plants that attract butterflies. Students installed the rain garden with the help of

Clemson Extension’s Carolina Clear Program in an area on campus prone to 

flooding and uses native 

plants and a natural drainage 

system to control stormwater 

run-off.

CREECS has an active, 

student-driven recycling 

program. Students collect and 

sort recycling every Friday 

before putting it into the school 

bin. CREECS composts to 

help reduce food waste. 

CREECS strives to be a 

plastic-free campus. The 

school has ceased to offer 

single-use plastic bottles at 

concession stands and 

events. CREECS has 

switched over to entirely 

compostable silverware, 

plates, and bowls at all events. 
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All students are encouraged to bring a waste-free lunch and use bamboo cutlery in 

their lunch boxes. 

CREECS participated in the South Carolina Department of Health and 

Environmental Control’s (SCDHEC) Breathe Better (B2) program to reduce vehicle 

idling on campus and make sure the air quality is good. CREECS’ hallway aeroponic 

garden and terrariums help filter the indoor air. Two water bottle refilling stations in 

the school ensure that students stay hydrated and have access to healthy, safe 

drinking water. CREECS is also a chemical-free campus. It does not use pesticides 

or fertilizers anywhere on campus and is working to get the school garden USDA 

certified organic. 

Students are outdoors and active at least one hour each day. Along with at least 30 

minutes of recess each day, students participate in either P.E. or environmental 

education for 55 minutes. Students also spend time working with the animals outside 

during environmental education and playing sports during physical education. In the 

mornings, CREECS encourages students to walk before the bell rings to jump-start 

their metabolism and promote a healthy lifestyle. 

Through the school vegetable garden and farm, CREECS provides fresh, organic 

produce and eggs for students and their families to take home. CREECS has 

received the Whole Foods Whole Kids garden grant twice and teaches the 

accompanying curriculum, which focuses on gardening, biology, and nutrition in 

conjunction with the school garden. To promote mental health, CREECS has an 

electronic-free recess for all grades through middle school to allow students time to 

move around and interact with each other. 

All CREECS students attend environmental education class at least twice per week. 

Each grade has their own standards-based curriculum designed to be hands-on and 

inquiry-driven. In addition, each year the school selects one schoolwide project. 

Along with general lessons on the local flora and fauna, each grade level has a 

specialized issue or job that they focus on for the year. Third-grade students focus 

on animals. They learn about basic husbandry and animal life cycles. Fourth-grade 

students tend to the organic garden, planning what they want to grow and learning 

when to plant, transplant, and harvest. Fifth-grade students study the community 

structure of fouling communities in the nearby “clean” marsh and compares it to the 

more polluted marsh of Charleston Harbor. 

The sixth-grade students run the CREECS recycling and waste-free lunch programs. 

Seventh-grade students focus on climate change and sustainability with a final 

project that requires them to create a sustainable product and sell it in a “Shark 
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Tank”-style symposium. Eighth-grade students focus on marine biology. They 

conduct a marine-debris project in the community focused on eliminating plastic 

pollution from McClellanville. 

Examples of student-devised projects that CREECS has undertaken include 

developing covers to protect local honeybee hives from mosquito spraying,

designing signs to educate beachgoers about strategies to protect threatened 

shorebird populations on their local beaches, and printing door hangers to educate 

the local community about the air pollution created from burning trash. 

Furman University; Greenville, South Carolina

Taking the long view

Furman University is firmly committed to reducing environmental impacts, promoting 

and improving health and wellness, and providing effective environmental and 

sustainability education. More than two decades ago, Furman recognized that 

fulfilling its educational mission required its students to attain environmental and 

sustainability literacy, and that it must operate more efficiently and take greater 

responsibility for its impact on the environment. 

Furman has received national recognition and won numerous national awards for its 

sustainability efforts, including the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability 

in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating 

System gold rating for campus sustainability, a top 10 national ranking among 

baccalaureate institutions (the highest ranked institution in the southern U.S.), the 

2016 National AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award, and AASHE 

selection as one of 14 national sustainability academic centers for “Teaching 

Sustainability Across the Curriculum.”

The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities serves as the University’s 

interdisciplinary academic sustainability hub, promoting the integration of 

sustainability across the curriculum and the study and practice of sustainability on 

campus and in the greater community. Originally established as a center in 2008, 

the Institute analyzes and addresses campus and community sustainability 

challenges from an evidence-based, solutions-oriented, systems approach that 

involves interdisciplinary collaboration among campus and community stakeholders. 

This approach provides unprecedented learning opportunities for Furman faculty, 

staff, students, and community partners and contributes to the greater campus and 

community good. Other colleges and organizations regularly visit the Institute to 

learn about its programs and benefit from its innovative approaches. 
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The Institute offers a wide array of faculty, staff, student, and community 

development programs including: 1) an Affiliate Faculty Program, designed to 

stimulate interdisciplinary conversation, collaboration, and course development 

around campus and community sustainability, with more than 65 faculty 

participating; 2) a Student Fellows Program, which has supported over 230 fellows in 

their sustainability research and action around campus and in partnership with 30 

different community partner organizations; and 3) the Community Conservation 

Corps (CCC), a free home weatherization program for low-income homeowners in 

the greater Greenville area designed to reduce energy consumption, promote 

financial stability, and increase environmental awareness. The program has 

weatherized 138 homes in the Greenville community with the assistance of student 

volunteers. 

In addition to offering programs, the Institute is also responsible for implementing, 

coordinating, and tracking sustainability for the entire campus. With the guidance of 

Sustainable Furman, the campus 

sustainability plan, the Shi 

Institute has garnered support for 

sustainability among students, 

faculty, and staff. Some recent 

accomplishments include 

working with the facilities division 

to implement sustainable 

landscaping and construction 

practices, providing opportunities 

for students to solve 

sustainability problems on 

campus, creating a framework for 

a zero-waste campus, and 

hosting an AASHE Hub 

workshop on integrating 

sustainability into curriculum through campus living/learning laboratories. 

Regarding curriculum, Furman believes all students should be environmentally and 

sustainability literate and requires that all students take a Humans and the Natural 

Environment (NE) course to graduate as part of their General Education 

Requirements (GER). NE courses emphasize some aspect of the interactive 

relationships between humans and the natural environment. Furman is also the first, 

and still only, liberal arts institution in the country to offer a Bachelor of Science 

degree in Sustainability Science (SUS). The degree program, now eight years old, 

has been one of the fastest growing majors in Furman’s almost 200-year history, 

with more than 70 declared SUS majors currently enrolled. 
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In addition to requiring the GER and offering multiple degree programs in 

sustainability and environmental science, the University also supports multiple, one 

year engaged living programs, including 1) the Greenbelt Community, an intentional 

living, learning community intended to foster sustainable living and lifestyle choices 

among 22 sophomore students living in four eco-cabins on campus, and 2) the 

Environmental Community of Students, a first-year program focused on global 

environmental and sustainability issues. 

There are many student organizations focused on sustainability and the 

environment: 1) Heller Service Corps offers students the opportunity to give back to 

the community and engage in service, and each year the Corps connects more than 

1,800 students to over 50 agencies across Upstate South Carolina; 2) 

Environmental Action Group aims to educate the campus about how to live an ecofriendly life while completing service projects and activities that support this 

philosophy through the governance of students; 3) Bartram Society brings together 

students who share an interest in earth and environmental sciences and 

sustainability science; 4) Millennium Fellows, a student program administered in 

partnership with the United Nations that empowers students to become agents of 

change at their schools and to work to address sustainable development goals 

through applied research projects on campus and in the community; and 5) Furman 

University Outdoor Club creates and supports a community of students aimed at 

experiencing the natural world.

A replica of Thoreau’s cabin from Walden was built by a 2009 May Experience class. 

The cabin stands as a testament to desires to better connect with nature and to 

aspire to simple living. Visits are organized by the English Department, and activities 

range from literature readings to writing retreats to discussions on simple living. 

In the residence halls, Furman’s EcoReps program has become the main catalyst for 

sustainable behavior change. The EcoReps’ mission is to instill a sense of 

sustainability on Furman’s campus by promoting sustainable behaviors through 

education, awareness, and connections with residence life. They host events in and 

outside of their residence halls that are fun and accessible and encourage the 

average student to incorporate sustainable behaviors into their daily life.

Operationally, Furman is reducing environmental impacts through energy and water 

conservation, sustainable buildings, waste reduction, and alternative transportation. 

As an inaugural signatory of the American College and University Presidents 

Climate Commitment, Furman declared that it will strive to reach climate neutrality 

with zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2026. The University has been diligently 

working toward this goal by increasing operations efficiency, creating a campus-wide 

culture of conservation to decrease energy use, creating a more sustainable 
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transportation system through changes in behaviors and policies, investing in 

renewable energy projects, and developing offset projects and sustainability-oriented 

service projects in the greater Greenville community. 

Furman tracks its greenhouse gas emissions annually and developed a climate 

action plan that lays out a path to reduce its carbon footprint. Furman has reduced 

its overall carbon footprint by nearly 30 percent from its 2007 baseline, even as it 

has increased building square footage. The Furman facilities team has been working 

to improve building efficiency and optimize energy use. Furman has installed several 

renewable energy installations around campus including an extensive geothermal 

system for its upper-class residences and a 743-kW solar farm on a 6-acre site at 

the campus’s main entrance. This solar array is the largest solar project on a South 

Carolina college campus and, together with numerous other smaller solar arrays on 

campus, brings Furman’s total solar generating power close to the 1-MW cap set by 

the state. A locally owned flock of sheep were also added to the solar farm to 

manage and “mow” the grass. 

Furman boasts eight LEED-certified buildings on campus, including the first LEEDcertified building in the state of South Carolina. Other innovative campus operations 

that incorporate sustainable design technologies and provide student learning 

opportunities include: 1) the Living Machine, a tidal wetland wastewater treatment 

system that treats campus wastewater and uses the treated water for toilet flushing 

in the science center; and 2) the organic practice Furman Farm and hydroponic 

system that provides the dining hall with fresh produce and composts all dining hall 

pre- and post-consumer food waste for use on the farm. 

Now in its third year, the Green Office Certification program aids departments in 

adopting more sustainable practices. The program outlines 39 sustainable practices, 

each worth various points for achieving a green office certification level. All 24 

academic departments participate in the program.

Furman promotes campus health and wellness through a variety of programs, 

practices, and educational efforts. All students are required to take a Mind and Body 

(MB) course to graduate. MB courses support Furman’s mission to develop the 

whole person — intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Some 

new programs include: 1) a student Eco-Reps program that promotes sustainable 

lifestyle choices within the residence halls and a recently launched residential 

composting program; 2) FitRx, a student-led program that creates individualized 

exercise training programs for faculty and staff participants; and (3) a free 

mindfulness and meditation course that explores mindfulness techniques, personal 

practice experiences, and strategies to enjoying a mindful presence. 
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Overall, living sustainably entails taking the long view of an institution’s actions and 

their consequences. Furman University has made institutional sustainability a 

primary priority, and its efforts have produced very tangible benefits on campus and 

in the community. 

Utah

Bonneville Elementary School; Salt Lake City, Utah

Air quality champions

Bonneville Elementary is located along the East Bench of Salt Lake City, with the 

Wasatch Mountains to the East and the Great Salt Lake to the West. In 2014, the 

Utah Society for Environmental Education launched its Utah Green Schools 

program. Bonneville Elementary was one of the first schools to be awarded this 

recognition and has maintained this participation every year since then. Bonneville 

school is committed to advancing sustainability and student health, going above and 

beyond to engage students with real-world, meaningful experiences. 

Bonneville Elementary has earned an ENERGY STAR certification, and the school’s 

energy usage is the lowest in Salt Lake City School District. Bonneville tracks water 

usage through monthly water bills. The district’s building and grounds departments 

regularly audit the irrigation system for leaks. The irrigation schedule is adapted 

seasonally. All student restrooms utilize motion sensors on toilets and sinks. All 

student sinks have aerators. The school has installed a water bottle filling station to 

encourage the use of refillable water bottles.

Bonneville has two areas dedicated to ecological purposes. The front area of the 

school has been planted with local, water-wise plants that attract pollinators. The 

school has partnered with Wasatch Community Gardens to maintain a produce 

garden. All grades work with the science teacher and PTA to plant and maintain the 

garden year-round. Produce is collected by the community and some produce is 

sold at an annual, community STEAM night.

Bonneville partners with Green Fiber for paper and cardboard recycling. All 

classrooms and common spaces have recycling bins, and the community is 

encouraged to bring their paper/cardboard recycling to Bonneville, which hosts an 

annual recycling drive to encourage paper recycling. In 2019, the community 

gathered 2,200 pounds of paper recycling, while parents from the PTA volunteer to 

teach and reinforce recycling in the cafeteria. On the first week of school, a parent 

from the PTA went to every classroom to teach about what lunch materials were 

recyclable. Parent volunteers also encourage students to donate unwanted, 
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untouched food to a communal table. Extra food can be picked up by other students 

in the lunchroom. Extra produce is donated to the faculty. Other leftover food is kept 

in the PTA room where teachers can grab snacks for kids who are hungry during the 

day. 

Bonneville participates in Crayola ColorCycle to recycle markers and highlighters. A 

first-grade teacher at Bonneville has started a First-Year Teacher Store to 

redistribute surplus school materials from teachers throughout the district to firstyear teachers during New Teacher Orientation.

Bike racks are regularly full of bikes and scooters, indicating a high number of 

students are rolling to school on their own muscle power and not burning fossil fuels. 

Safe pathways have been designated for biking and walking to school. Crossing 

guards are at nearby intersections to ensure safety.

Bonneville improves the health and wellness of students and staff in multiple ways. 

One main focus area is air quality. The PTA has created a Clean Air Committee, led 

by engaged parents. This committee has spearheaded an anti-idling campaign 

based on the EPA’s Idle-Free Schools Toolkit for a Healthy School Environment. 

The school has anti-idling signs installed and regularly reminds the community of noidling policies in the school’s monthly newsletter. Students have made posters to 

remind drivers to turn off 

their engines if they remain 

in the drop-off zone. The 

Clean Air Committee has 

also established 

relationships with 

community organizations 

and local colleges to learn 

more about the impact of 

these efforts.

Chemicals at the school are 

tracked according to state 

regulations by the head 

custodian. The custodial 

staff uses water-based 

cleaning products that are 

VOC-free. All drinking water 

is sourced from the local 

utility, meeting all federal, 

state, and local water 
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standards. Bonneville’s drinking water was recently tested for contaminants by Salt 

Lake City and was found to be safe. Bonneville has carbon monoxide detectors 

installed throughout the building to ensure student and staff safety. Bonneville’s 

indoor air quality was recently tested by the Salt Lake County Health Department 

and found to be safe. Bonneville participates in the AirNow Air Quality Flag Program. 

Each morning, the air quality is checked by school staff, and fifth-grade students 

hang the corresponding flags where they are clearly visible to families in both major 

drop-off areas. Students are kept inside for indoor recess when the air quality is 

hazardous to student health.

Other health and wellness programs include students engaging in 40–45 minutes of 

supervised recess daily, participating in 45 minutes of P.E. a week, and having 

access to lessons on health and healthy eating. Annually, Bonneville hosts a health 

fair, which established over 70 partners and allows students to not only learn about 

their health but also to contribute to the well-being of others. Every month, students 

receive the Project Cornerstone program, a book study curriculum that reflects on 

literature to achieve lesson objectives in social-emotional learning and bully 

prevention. 

Each teacher in the school teaches at least 12 integrated nutrition lessons per 

academic year. The school cafeteria offers a salad bar with a variety of produce 

options for students purchasing school breakfasts and/or lunches. All meals meet 

federal nutritional standards for National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. In 

accordance with district policy, teachers do not use food as rewards or motivators. 

Teachers are encouraged to provide healthy snacks at any class parties.

Salt Lake City School District encourages wellness among faculty and staff through 

monthly goals. Goals and trackers are sent to every faculty and staff member and 

tracked by a coordinator in each school. Previous goals have included water intake, 

exercise, and healthy eating choices. The school district has also partnered with a 

local counseling center to provide mental health services to all employees. The 

school district also provides several flu shot clinics for employees and their families. 

Although sustainability instruction is not mandated in the state or district, Bonneville 

has a hands-on curriculum in all grades. Sixth-graders complete labs with the school 

science teacher on invasive species in ecosystems. At the end of the unit, they 

discuss how humans have successfully invaded all ecosystems and that we need to 

think of ourselves as part of the ecosystem and not above it. Sixth grade also 

researches plastic pollution and creating a citizen initiative to address the issues. 

Fourth grade learns about the water cycle and discusses Utah's water dilemma. This 

content was also reinforced in the art classroom. Third-grade students study 

ecosystems and how living and nonliving things interact. Some classes do animal 
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research projects to learn about the needs of those animals and how their 

environment affects them. One class does an in-depth research project about the 

interactions between all living and nonliving things in an ecosystem of their choice. 

This learning is then represented in a Lego diorama. Third grade also partners with 

Thanksgiving Point to participate in the Tulips Journey North program.

Bonneville has a weather station and air quality monitor that can be accessed by all 

students and community members. The weather station, air quality monitor, and 

school gardens are regularly used by all students as tools for scientific research. 

First-grade classes visit the local arboretum and botanical gardens, Red Butte 

Gardens. Third and fourth grade visit the Jordan Conservation Garden Park to learn 

about waterwise landscaping and design. Ogden Nature Center sends presenters to 

Bonneville first-grade students every year for their “Creature Features” program. It is 

a hands-on experience where the students “become the scientists” and learn to 

observe what's in front of them, then classify animals into groups. Students get to 

touch skulls, feathers, pelts, and even a live animal.

Teachers at Bonneville have completed a variety of professional development 

training related to environmental studies and sustainability. One first-grade teacher 

completed a Learning Outdoors training. All three of the first-grade teachers 

completed the Red Butte Garden’s Grow Lab training. Two teachers, one in second 

grade and another in sixth grade, are working on the National Geographic Educator 

Certification. One third-grade teacher has completed a Project Learning Tree 

seminar.

Wasatch Academy; Mount Pleasant, Utah

Driving questions in the desert

Since 1875, the picturesque 30-acre campus of Wasatch Academy, located in Mount 

Pleasant, Utah, has been home to a diverse international student body with students 

from over 35 countries and 30 states. Wasatch Academy has prized its status as a 

diverse, dynamic, and global community dedicated to sustainability, both in theory 

and practice, within the school community and the greater world. 

In 1994, the Wasatch Academy community expressed its commitment to work 

toward a sustainable future. At the core of this commitment was a net-zero energy 

action plan and related project-based learning opportunities for students and 

teachers. This initiative is a multi-year plan for reducing Wasatch’s carbon footprint 

though energy and water conservation, a shift to renewable energy sources, and 

community-based projects in waste management, permaculture-based landscaping, 
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and sustainability education. In 2012, Wasatch designed and installed a state-of-theart geothermal system that heats and cools seven campus buildings. 

Wasatch Academy was the first secondary school in Utah. While the 15 historic 

buildings on the campus are an important legacy of the school’s history, they also 

present a challenge with energy efficiency. Five of the historic buildings on campus 

have undergone major improvements. These buildings have been repurposed and 

redesigned for new uses and go beyond simply reducing energy use. 

The remaining campus buildings are systematically being upgraded to net-zero 

status, as they are remodeled and mechanical systems replaced, as prioritized on 

the “Campus Buildings Deferred Maintenance Schedule.” New campus buildings are 

being designed to LEED standards and constructed as net-zero-ready buildings. 

As the second driest state with one of the fastest-growing populations, Utah 

communities are faced with managing increased demands on water supplies. A 

progressive xeriscaping plan for the campus includes local native plants that assist 

with keeping invasive weeds down, provide native ecosystems to the wildlife that 

surround the campus, and are hardy in minimal water conditions. 

Wasatch’s Sustainability Council is one of the driving forces that promotes 

sustainability education on campus through student-driven projects and events. 

Made up of four faculty members and eight student members, the Council meets 

weekly throughout the academic year to discuss matters related to sustainability 

education and to plan for upcoming projects, events, and fundraising efforts. In 2017 

a new position was created, Director of Sustainability and Experiential Education. 

Together, the Council, with oversight from the director, have put into place several 

projects at Wasatch Academy. 

In 2017, a campus-wide recycling cooperative was created, and since then students, 

faculty, and staff have stepped up to work together in cultivating a culture in which 

everyone is mindful of their consumption and waste management habits. A Ban the 

Bottle Campaign drastically reduced consumption of bottled water and served as a 

springboard for the Susty Council to raise money for the purchase and installation of 

water bottle filling stations for student dorms and other campus buildings. 

Funds raised by students have also been used to support a community garden, 

which was recently expanded and upgraded, allowing the school to integrate the 

garden into courses through project-based learning. The Susty Council funds have 

largely been raised from silent auction events where handmade artisan quilts, upcycled cloth shopping bags, and baked goods are sold. A sustainable events sub-
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committee evaluates school events to see how they can reduce their carbon 

footprint.

Wasatch Academy is home to a 35,000-square-foot Recreation Activity Center, and 

Wellness Center staffed by certified health professionals. Outdoor recreation 

offerings include rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, camping, paddle boarding, 

rafting, snowshoeing, sledding, skiing, and snowboarding. Wasatch has its own ski 

cabin and ski hill/terrain park on nearby U.S. Forest Service lands.

Housekeeping uses eco-friendly paper towels in the remaining restrooms that will 

soon get air dryers. Aerosol spray cleaners are not used. When possible, vinegar is 

used for disinfecting and cleaning. 

The school also has an equine 

indoor riding arena, a spacious 

20-stall barn and turn out pens, 

outdoor riding pad, and a 

galloping track. Each student 

can choose between three 

riding program options. 

Students of all skill and 

experience levels can have fun, 

learn, and thoroughly enjoy the 

equine experience with several 

trail rides in the foothills and 

mountains. Students also 

acquire skills and knowledge in 

such areas as horse health and 

nutrition, stable management, 

equine reproduction, and horse 

training techniques.

The Sustainability Council 

works with “Chef Joe” in the 

school kitchen to offer healthy 

meals to students and staff and to adopt sustainable practices in the kitchen. Food 

scraps from meal preparation are collected and donated to local goat and pig 

farmers, and compostable food scraps from faculty households and student dorms 

are used in the community garden. Kitchen staff has drastically reduced its use of 

plastics and Styrofoam in meal preparation and serving. 
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Wasatch Academy also has a strong residential life program and student advisory 

program that weave together seven themes — empathy, community, responsibility, 

accountability, diversity, respect, and safety. 

Wasatch Academy partners with several environmental education organizations that 

offer support for K–12 schools to embrace sustainability education. By pursuing 

designations as a Utah Green School with the Utah Society of Environmental 

Education and as an Eco School with the National Wildlife Federation, Wasatch 

uses the guidance and structure provided by these programs to strengthen 

sustainability education throughout its curriculum and across campus. 

Wasatch Academy provides a 21st-century learning environment where students 

simultaneously gain knowledge and the capacity to critically and creatively apply 

knowledge to problem-solving. This is accomplished through project-based learning 

applied across disciplines. Students learn content by addressing a real problem 

called a driving question. Lifelong skills, such as collaboration, communication, 

critical thinking, and creativity, are learned in the process.

Statistics students grapple with, “Can we use data to predict how much food will be 

consumed during a given meal to save money and limit food waste?” Discrete Math 

students try to answer the question, “How can Wasatch Academy most effectively 

move toward a net-zero campus?” Driving questions inspire students with an 

immediately engaging prompt and provide them the opportunity to dive deeply into 

investigation, to be creative in their solutions, and to pursue the knowledge that is 

most relevant to the problem. Recent projects have had students working to reduce 

food waste and evaluating new energy sources for campus.

Experiential Immersions (EIs) are five-day minicourses offered to all Wasatch 

Academy students each fall. They are taught by faculty teams from different 

departments and are designed to create small learning communities made up of 

students with diverse academic interests and personal backgrounds. They 

emphasize interdisciplinary, experiential learning focused on real-world topics and 

projects, and valuable life skills. The EIs comprise five full days of fun, immersive, 

experiential learning and culminate in a community-wide Exhibition of Learning. For 

example, students design and build two water catchment tanks to supply rainwater 

irrigation to the new gardens and constructed wetland area near the engineering 

building. They repurpose steel culverts set in concrete with plumbing run through the 

ground. Skills developed in this EI will include plumbing, metal fabrication, concrete 

work, and landscape design.

All Wasatch Academy students are required to complete 20 hours of community 

service each year, and many students complete more. Nearly every weekend when 
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school is in session, community service projects and activities are offered. Also, 

twice each year Wasatch offers a Community Service Day event that coincides with 

standardized testing. After a morning of testing, all students engage in an afternoon 

of community service projects with their advisory group, supervised by their WA 

Advisor. There are local, regional, national, and global projects that empower 

students to make personal contributions to ecological and social issues. A few 

examples are making sleeping mats for the homeless from repurposed plastic 

shopping bags, picking up trash along local highways, removing invasive plant 

species from forest service lands, doing yardwork for the elderly, and planting trees 

on campus.

During the 2018–19 academic year, all students, faculty, and staff at Wasatch 

Academy worked together to develop a set of “Ethics for a Sustainable Future.” 

Once finalized, the entire Wasatch Academy community committed themselves to 

incorporating them into their daily lives, and this commitment is renewed at the start 

of each year. This set of ethics is posted around campus and serves to inspire the 

community to adopt habits that support ecological health, social justice, and 

economic stability for all life, for the long run.

Virginia

Ocean View Elementary School; Norfolk, Virginia

Oyster gardeners of the bay

Ocean View Elementary School (OVES) is a Title I school with 68 percent of 

students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch. Ocean View Elementary School 

is a designated Maritime School due to the rigorous environmental programming 

included in the school curriculum. Within walking distance to the Chesapeake Bay, 

OVES has engaged students in the natural world around them by providing 

opportunities for students to consider the environment and conservation as a 

participatory adventure and inspiring them to action priorities. 

More than 20 years ago, OVES began oyster gardening with various community 

partners that include the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, the Chesapeake Bay 

Foundation, Oyster Reefkeepers of Virginia, and Nauticus. The entire school 

participates in citizen science by monitoring, collecting data, and releasing oysters 

onto the Lynnhaven River Sanctuary. OVES is responsible for introducing over a 

million oysters onto the Lynnhaven Oyster Reef Sanctuary. Maritime Forest 

exploration and field studies have played a pivotal role in the rich scientific history of 

OVES. The OVES Maritime Rangers presented at the Elizabeth River Project’s First 

Annual Resilience Expo in 2019. 
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In effort to foster career-oriented and 21st-century skills, OVES has established a 

Maritime Ranger program for fifth-grade students who are interested in STEM. 

Maritime Rangers apply for the position, become mentors to other students, and 

facilitate many of the engaging educational projects OVES offers throughout the 

school year. 

OVES is the recipient of a Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association grant that will 

enable aquaculture in the maritime lab for 2020. Fish and plants will be raised in the 

maritime lab where innovative, project-based curriculum will provide meaningful and 

relevant applications of the Virginia Standards of Learning. 

A state-of-the-art ENERGY STAR certified school building opened its doors to 

students in September 2017. Some of its features include day-lighting windows 

sized and positioned to create the perfect balance between natural lighting and 

maximum energy efficiency for the school, light-colored roofing materials, occupancy 

sensors, highly-insulated building envelope, and low VOC and non-toxic materials 

that improve indoor air quality. 

The school building roof drains and parking areas are designed to treat, prevent, and 

reduce water pollution and water runoff. Two new trees were planted for every tree 

that was removed, so that approximately 90 trees were planted as part of this 

project. Native plants and bushes were planted to ensure habitat and food for local 

species that include pollinators, seed dispersers, and unique maritime species.
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OVES has been partnering with TREX for many years to collect plastic film to reduce 

the harmful single-use plastics. Since working with TREX, OVES has collected 

thousands of pounds of plastics that TREX repurposes into materials for 

construction. In addition, when the old building was demolished, the crews 

minimized the volume of debris sent to the landfill by implementing a carefully 

structured and strictly managed program of separation and recycling. 

Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) is among 16 school divisions throughout Virginia 

selected to receive electric school buses through a Dominion Energy program. NPS 

will receive four buses, with the first one being delivered in August in time to 

transport students back to school in September. The remaining three will be 

delivered in the fall. In addition to lower operation and maintenance costs, the 

electric school buses will have a positive environmental impact by reducing the 

carbon footprint. The school has sidewalks, safety patrols, and bike racks to 

encourage safe routes to school. Currently 120 of the OVES community, or 22 

percent, walk to school.

The last remaining sand dune in the city of Norfolk is adjacent to Ocean View 

Elementary School in a heavily vegetated maritime forest that locals call Monkey 

Bottom. Deep within this forest lies a giant, 400-year-old live oak tree that, thanks to 

the interest of OVES students, was placed on the Virginia Tree Registry as the sixth 

largest of its kind in the state. The maritime forest is also home to a National 

Champion buckthorn bumelia tree that is registered on the Virginia Big Trees 

database as one of the largest trees of its species in the entire country. This tree 

was identified thanks to the efforts of the staff, students, and volunteer master 

gardeners who visit the maritime forest several times a year during ongoing forest 

clean-ups. 

Health and wellness offerings include partnering with the food bank for the last three 

years to provide 54 families with nutritious meals once a week through backpack 

program. Another new PTA-supported program provides free, locally grown fruits 

and vegetables to families who attend PTA nights. OVES has been proud to be part 

of the Girls on the Run (GOTR) program for three years. Since OVES has 

participated in GOTR, 60 female students and six volunteer coaches have been 

inspired to be confident, courageous, and connected to the community. 

NPS nutrition specialists and cafeteria staff not only provide healthy and nutritious 

meals to OVES students for breakfast, lunch, and after-school meals, they are also 

committed to partnering with OVES teachers to enable students to learn about 

making healthy food choices. Nutrition education specialists have developed a 

“Blender Bike” program in which OVES students discover the nutritional value of 

their favorite fruits and vegetables. They learn appropriate serving sizes, daily 
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allowances, and healthy benefits of the chosen produce. They mix kale, 

strawberries, bananas, oranges, and yogurt into a healthy smoothie to be enjoyed.

Similar partnerships with cafeteria staff include “Plant Parts” and “Nuts About 

Science” lessons in which students learn about edible plant parts and tasty “nuts” by 

identifying edible plant parts (like carrots as roots, celery as stems, tomatoes as 

fruits and seeds) and then enjoying them with delicious dipping sauces, including 

“nutty” dipping sauces like hummus. 

After students participated in various interactive programs and labs focusing on plant 

parts, such as “Blender Bike,” “Edible Plant Parts,” and “Nuts About Science,” postassessments showed that students were able to accurately identify more plant parts

per category. In addition, many students tried nutritious foods that were new to them, 

said they would ask to eat them at home, and continued volunteering to name edible 

plant parts.

The school is cleaned using products that are biodegradable, nontoxic, and cold 

water activated. All cleaning supplies are either Green Seal Certified, EPA Safer 

Choice, or Ecologo. OVES is fortunate to have a full-time school counselor and a 

part-time counselor to help students employ successful strategies to advance their 

social and emotional well-being.

Rappahannock County Public Schools; Washington, Virginia

Small community, big student impact

Rappahannock County Public Schools (RCPS) is a small, rural school division, 

nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains and at the headwaters of the 

Rappahannock River. There are two schools in the district: Rappahannock County 

Elementary School and Rappahannock County High School, with a total district 

enrollment of 801 students. 

Rappahannock County’s population of 7,456 residents embraces its scenic 

environment and strives to preserve the serene nature of the county. RCPS is 

accurately an extension of the county’s values. RCPS strives to limit the use of 

natural resources by making school facilities as efficient as possible. Both schools 

have had the windows replaced with thermal insulated ones. HVAC control systems 

have been installed at both schools allowing for lower temperatures to be set at the 

time classrooms and offices are not occupied. All exterior lighting has been replaced 

with energy-efficient lighting, which also reduces the amount of light pollution the 

school district produces. Electricity use is tracked on the Rappahannock Electric 

Cooperative website.
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Both schools participate in student-led multi-stream recycling. RCPS technology 

department recycles all discarded technology equipment. Schools have composting 

bins and a food-sharing table to reduce food waste. Weekly classroom newsletters, 

folders, and other communications have gone digital. Cafeterias have reusable

plates, and paper towel dispensers have been replaced with hand dryers. 

Rappahannock County High School uses rain-harvesting cisterns to collect and then 

water plants in the greenhouse and school gardens. RCPS operates its sewer 

treatment plants at each site. Self-operation of the treatment plants enables the 

school district the assurance that the effluent discharged meets all federal and state 

requirements. 

Pest management includes monthly inspections and treatments to discourage pests 

in RCPS buildings. Staff are encouraged to keep food out of classrooms, close all 

doors, and report any issues of pests through RCPS’ online ticket system. A list of all 

chemicals and cleaners are kept in both schools as well as the School Board office. 

Each nurse and each custodian is given Safety Data Sheets. RCPS works closely 

with the county landfill to ensure all chemicals and materials are disposed of while 

meeting all federal and state requirements. Dehumidification systems have been 

installed on all HVAC equipment. All exhaust fans and fresh air intake have been 

replaced or serviced. All air filters are changed quarterly, and all external air 

fresheners have been banned from the district to improve air quality. 

All staff are trained in mental health first aid. RCPS employs guidance counselors, a 

school psychologist, and a licensed social work, who all work cooperatively on the 

Mental Health Innovators Team. The anti-bullying program OLWEUS is implemented 

by RCPS to ensure each child has the opportunity to develop his or her social skills 

and empathy. Teachers are taught mindfulness and mediation so they can 

implement this with their students. 

Commit to Be Fit is a grant-funded program in RCPS, focusing specifically on 

creating a culture of health and wellness within cafeterias, classrooms, and 

community. The nutrition strand of the program focuses on promoting accessibility, 

education, and experiences. Salad bars have been implemented in both schools 

with 14 percent of the produce coming from local growers. All students are provided 

Power of Produce bucks to purchase foods from the local farmer’s market. 

The classroom component of Commit to Be Fit, located at the elementary school, is 

based on brain research that shows that moving enhances learning for all ages. The 

Action Based Learning Lab is a series of 10 stations of movement designed to assist 

in filling developmental movement gaps while enhancing learning. The lab is also 

used to integrate classroom curriculum to enhance kinesthetic learning. A sensory 
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pathway has been installed in the primary wing of the elementary school. At the high 

school, Commit to Be Fit has installed a Neuronasium, with pedal desks, standing 

desks, glider desks, balance desks, swivel desks, and wobble stools that promote 

balance and core strength. Teachers bring their students to this classroom for 

instruction. 

Commit to Be Fit offers weekly fitness classes and workshops to all staff, parents, 

and community members. During the 2018–19 school year, a total of 439 

workshops, classes, and events were held at no charge to the participants. 

In RCPS, effective environmental and sustainability education begins in kindergarten 

and continues until the 12th grade. Kindergarten students learn the importance of 

recycling, conservation, and reusing products. Third-grade students create solar 

ovens. Culpeper Soil and Water helped sixth-graders build watershed models to 

explore runoff. RappFLOW and the RCPS STEAM coordinator co-teach a unit to 

explore ground cover and the impact of erosion and soil conservation. Master 

naturalists and master gardeners work with students on the importance of pollinators 

and ways to ensure their survival. 

The Trout in the Classroom program is implemented in both schools. Classrooms 

raise brook trout while researching, monitoring water samples, and working to 

maintain a healthy environment for the fish to grow. They then release these trout 

into local rivers. Students monitor two local rivers to compare and analyze how 

environmental impacts, such as farming, development, and riparian areas, affect the 

quality of the water. 

A new courtyard at 

Rappahannock County 

Elementary School includes 

raised beds for classrooms to 

grow herbs and vegetables, an 

outdoor classroom with an 

interactive monitor, a pond 

with a waterfall, composting 

bins, a kiln, a greenhouse, and 

a labyrinth. A new entrance 

was installed from the STEAM 

lab to promote the integration 

of instruction to allow teachers 

to bring their students to an 

outside learning environment. 

School gardens are located at 
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both schools. Teachers can use the space to integrate into their curriculum, use the 

outdoor learning area for their lessons, or a healthy break for students. 

Designees from the school division participate in multiple professional development 

opportunities funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Culpeper Soil and Water

that focus on topics such as watersheds, water pollution, and ecosystems. Teachers 

also have the opportunity to participate in Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and 

Project WILD. These curricula are correlated with national and Virginia science 

standards of learning, which allows teachers to bring these experiences and 

knowledge back to the division to benefit students. 

Each year, fourth-grade students visit Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, Virginia, 

to participate in various hands-on lessons, including games and writing activities that 

center around Virginia resources. Fifth- graders take a yearly trip to Shenandoah 

National Park.

Students participate in an ongoing trash cleanup project on the county roads. 

Students are actively involved in “neighbors helping neighbors” sponsored by 

Habitat for Humanity, engaging in cleanups and planting flowers and shrubs. RCPS 

students recognize they are part of the Rappahannock community and that their 

participation is visible and valuable to this community.

Washington

Carl Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School; Kirkland, 

Wash.

A world of endless possibilities

The Carl Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School (Sandburg/DCS)

community cares about protecting the planet. As one student said, “We have to be 

kind to the earth because we live here.” These values drive the missions at 

Sandburg/DCS. Sandburg/DCS identifies and takes pride in being a green school 

community. Sandburg and Discovery are officially two schools, but they share one 

building and work together. The main school is Carl Sandburg Elementary School, 

but it also houses a small choice school called Discovery Community School (DCS), 

and together they are one community where environmental stewardship has become 

a valued cultural norm for teachers, students, and the community. Sandburg/DCS 

has strong parental support for these programs as well. Having programs and 

policies that are informed by parent interest and community values helps build 

community and structural systems that ensure the continuation of school programs 

beyond the efforts of a single teacher, parent, or principal. 
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Sandburg/DCS has been recognized by the local program King County Green 

Schools with Level One (waste reduction), Level Two (energy conservation), and 

Level Three (water conservation and pollution prevention) designations, and a 

Sustaining Green School designation for maintaining and building on all of these 

practices. They are the only school so far in their district to achieve the Sustaining 

Green School designation, and they have received that recognition four times since 

spring 2015. This school community received National Wildlife Federation 

certification as a wildlife habitat in 2015 as well. 

Green school efforts all started with some students’ and parents’ desire to eliminate 

Styrofoam from the lunchroom. By reducing waste, recycling, and collecting 

compostable materials in the lunchroom, classroom areas, and offices, the school 

has achieved a recycling rate of 58 percent as of November 2019. This year, 

Sandburg/DCS added a food share and donation program in the lunchroom after 

successfully piloting one last 

spring. Students may put 

packaged, unopened food 

items from the school lunch 

program that they don’t open 

or eat into a share bin for 

other students who might be 

hungry to take and eat. 

Leftover foods from the 

share bin are collected and 

donated weekly to a local 

food bank. Sandburg/DCS 

also switched from 

disposable plastic to 

reusable utensils in their hot 

lunch service. For years, 

they have been using 

reusable dish sets when they 

have holiday parties in 

classrooms. 

To benefit the Kirkland Community, students complete annual service projects, such 

as a hygiene products drive, making lunches for the homeless, and food-sorting 

programs for the district's Pantry Packs program and Hopelink food bank. All 

students are involved every day by sorting their own recycling and compost in the 

lunchroom and classrooms. The student green team helps with collecting the 

recycling every day. It also takes responsibility for recording quantities of foods in 

the share bin and storing them. They speak to visitors and educate others about the 
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importance of sustainability. They stand out at dismissal reminding parents that the 

school is a no-idle zone to protect air quality in the parking lots. 

The PTSA brings in a dance program annually for all students K–5 to learn dance, 

and the school’s annual fundraiser is connected to a dance-a-thon. Third-grade 

students participate in an annual swimming lesson program every spring. 

Sandburg/DCS has a schoolwide positive behavior system with a motto of “Be Kind, 

Be Safe, Be Responsible,” which they connect to social-emotional well-being, good 

citizenship, and being responsible stewards of the environment. Students have 

unlimited access to fresh fruit and vegetables every day at salad bars. 

Sandburg/DCS implements a program to teach about the dangers of skin cancer 

and the importance of sun protection. They also have a natural playground on 

campus where teachers can take their classes to explore and learn outside.

Sandburg/DCS building and grounds are designed with sustainability in mind. The 

sustainable campus inspires the school to do more to protect the environment. 

Thanks to native, drought resistant landscaping, they do not use any irrigation. Rain 

gardens help filter water. In order to reduce their environmental impact, students and 

parents handle weeding through an herbicide-free landscaping program.

Energy-conservation features include solar panels and a heat pump. In 2013–14, 

Sandburg/DCS took recordings of their energy usage (electricity and gas combined) 

and works to reduce usage from that baseline. Sandburg/DCS’s current energy 

usage is 4,190 kBTU per student per year, or 28 kBTUs per square foot per year. 

This represents a 13 percent reduction per student and a 12 percent reduction per 

square foot over their baseline data. The baseline water usage measure was 

374,748 gallons, and current water usage is 332,852 gallons, which represents an 

11 percent reduction and a 32 percent per capita reduction. The total energy savings 

from 2014 to September 2019 has resulted in cost savings of $57,510 dollars for the 

building and a carbon reduction of 116 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

Sandburg/DCS also works to bring environmental science learning to students 

through classroom instruction, with a strong district-supported science curriculum 

and additional expert presentations brought in by teachers and the school 

community to enhance this learning. Furthermore, the school’s responsiveness to 

parental interest in environmental and sustainability education, practices, and 

programs also directly supports implementation of the Next Generation Science 

Standards, which call for culturally relevant instruction for students. 

Sandburg/DCS integrates environmental education into all grade-level science 

instruction. The school implemented a curriculum called Amplify Science that is 

aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and includes robust instruction and 
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assessment in such areas as needs of plants and animals, changing landforms, 

environments and survival, energy conversions, earth systems, and ecosystem 

restoration. In its first year, Sandburg/DCS students scored 76 percent proficient on 

the WCAS, which is 22 percentage points higher than the state average. 

In addition, first-grade classrooms have King County Going Green Workshops in 

February to teach students about healthy environments and preserving habitats. 

Third-grade students visit Environmental-Adventure-School on a field trip to learn 

about food chains, animal survival, and healthy habitats. Nature Vision visits first and 

second grades to talk about watershed and water conservation. Second-graders put 

on a music performance with the theme "Assignment: EARTH" that promoted care 

for the environment. Fourth-graders take an annual field trip to Tiger Mountain and 

engage in learning about healthy forests and maintaining biodiversity in forests 

bordering urban areas. Fifth-grade students attend a four-day, three-night residential 

Outdoor Environmental Education program annually to learn about natural resource 

conservation, waste reduction, and environmental stewardship. Furthermore, annual 

assemblies enhance learning about environmental stewardship. 

Sandburg/DCS wants their students to understand social responsibility and the ways 

that their choices can help preserve and sustain the many wonders of nature. This 

work has become embedded into the identity of the school community. Each year, 

as a new group of students and families join the community, they learn that this is 

one of the values, and they help take on the role of sustaining the work. 

Montessori Children’s House; Redmond, Washington

Nurture and nature

Montessori Children's House (MCH) provides a holistic educational experience. The 

school’s mission is, “Nurture AND Nature: developing your child's individual passions 

and strengths. Because today's child is tomorrow's future.” MCH is a pre-K–5 private 

school serving 225 students. The student green team was founded ten years ago 

and has worked to help the school community think about how seemingly small 

everyday choices have a broader impact. 

The green team has worked with King County Green Schools and received 

recognition for completing Level 1, waste management; Level 2, water conservation; 

Level 3, energy conservation; and in 2020 will apply for Level 4, sustaining green 

school. With King County's help, the green team set clear yearly goals and has 

made real change in school practices and policies. Now the school has a system in 

place for tracking energy, water, and natural gas usage. This gives students a tool to 

reflect on utility consumption as well as brainstorm new ideas about how to reduce 
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the natural resources used. Elementary students 

discuss their own carbon footprint, and the green 

team is gathering information to find out the 

carbon footprint of each classroom. 

MCH is also using the Eco-Schools USA 

program to work on specific pathways in their 

sustainability journey, including energy, water, 

and transportation. Other improvements that 

have been implemented in these areas include 

an appliance purchasing policy, an appliance 

cleaning schedule, checking for drafts indoors, 

and monitoring light and heat usage. The school 

replaced all overhead fluorescent lights with LED 

bulbs and added motion sensor switches to the 

lights outside each classroom. MCH posted 

energy conservation signs on light switches and 

electronics to remind staff and students to turn 

them off when not in use. MCH enforces a noidling policy at drop-off and works to facilitate 

carpooling.

Campus is home to a wetland, which provides 

not only beautiful scenery and homes to diverse wildlife, but also a unique 

opportunity for students to learn about the water cycle. Some measures taken to 

improve water conservation and keep students and staff healthy include cleaning 

fixtures, testing well water, posting signs to turn off water, using native plants in 

landscaping, watering the garden in the morning, and collecting rainwater. 

Every classroom has a compost, recycle, and garbage bin. Teachers provide 

lessons about which items go where and why. There is also a worm bin and a larger 

onsite composting system. The school collects markers to send to Crayola 

Colorcycle. This year, the green team entered the Trex plastic film challenge. MCH 

turned parent newsletters paperless, encourages staff to print double-sided copies, 

makes “good on one side” paper bins available in classrooms, and provides children 

with reusable glass mason jars for water and durable metal utensils at meals. Waste 

Free Wednesdays encourage waste reduction; leftover food is fed to the campus 

goats and chickens or provided to the worm bins, and all used paper towels are 

added to the yard waste bin, which is collected and transported to a composting 

facility. Garden and animal wastes are composted on site.
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Having a healthy indoor and outdoor environment is of the utmost importance to the 

Montessori Children’s House. The school has an integrated pest management plan. 

In addition, the school uses certified safe playground equipment and has a natural 

outdoor play area. MCH uses certified safe building materials and green cleaning 

products and has a detailed cleaning schedule that includes dusting often. The 

school has tested for radon with passing results. In the school gardens, students use 

all organic materials, including potting soil, seeds, amendments, and fertilizer. The 

elementary playground was built using all-natural wood, logs, and boulders.

The school has a campus where students can explore, grow food, and play games. 

The children grow veggies from seed to harvest and can taste the fresh produce 

daily in the growing season. All the P.E. classes are held outside. Students have 

access to two playgrounds, a nature trail, and various sport choices, such as 

basketball, hockey, soccer, jump ropes, hula hoops, balls, bean bags, and tag 

games. 

For over 10 years the school has been pursuing a farm-to-table experience. The 

school has an extensive organic-based garden program where students discuss 

nutritional information, such as where food comes from, fruits and vegetables, 

cooking ideas, and samplings of the garden’s produce. The garden program 

provides outdoor time to students. Early childhood classrooms go to the garden in 

small groups once a week. Elementary and middle school students go to the garden 

once a week as well and have daily access to the garden for lessons with teachers 

or a calming walk in the garden if needed. During the bounty of the season, the 

garden supplements the snack program with many vegetables, such as green 

beans, carrots, cucumbers, kale, and lettuce. 

Along with keeping the physical environment healthy, the school focuses on 

teaching children to have a healthy mental space. Students are encouraged to 

communicate with each other to resolve problems, and all teachers are certified in 

positive discipline to assist when needed. Each classroom has a Peace Table where 

children can come together to respectfully discuss any feelings or issues they might 

be experiencing. 

The integrated curriculum covers social studies, history, science, math, and art, 

connecting these subjects to sustainability concepts. From biomes to ecosystems, 

our job as citizens of this earth is to understand how human communities can meet 

their needs in the best possible way. Lessons on waste management, waste 

reduction, recycling, composting, food and water supply, energy usage, spiritual 

needs, physical needs, and microclimates around the world provide perspective 

about how we are all connected. At the elementary and middle school, students 
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regularly study environmental science. They study climate change, weather patterns, 

and more to understand the impact of human actions on nature. 

The kindergarteners participate in Nature Club for 45 minutes each week. They 

study the natural environment, covering topics from trees to mountains, flowers to 

leaves, insects to birds, and moss to mushrooms. Students dissect plants and other 

non-animal objects, use magnifying glasses, take leaf rubbings, and spend time 

observing and recording what they find. This opportunity creates a deep love of 

nature. 

Upper elementary grades spend four days at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island 

annually, where they are immersed in a sustainably focused 280-acre park and 

learning center. The experience covers lessons and discussions on predators versus

prey, identifying species of trees and mushrooms in the forest, garden exploration 

and compost evaluation, diving deeper into microorganism through microscopes, 

and an extensive daily discussion of waste management at all meals.

Students and staff carry this message of sustainable thinking into the larger 

community as well. During school events all are expected to sort trash into compost, 

recycling, and landfill waste, with signage to educate parents, staff, and students. 

The school gives back to the larger community by hosting a yearly Hope Link Food 

Drive. This year, students grew pumpkins for the Harvest Fest event, then donated 

220 pounds of pumpkins to the Food Bank.

Pullman Public Schools; Pullman, Washington

Five days of outdoor ed for fifth

Pullman Public Schools (PPS) established a sustainability committee to support 

overall district operations and individual building goals to reduce environmental 

impacts, improve health and wellness, and enhance environmental and sustainability 

education. The foundation of this work involves partnering with community 

organizations with like-minded sustainability missions, to increase the breadth and 

depth of sustainability education for all 2,815 students in PPS. The committee 

consists of teachers from each of the district’s six schools, several administrators, 

and a high school student that is passionate about environmental conservation. 

In the fall of 2019, the committee approved the expenditure of approximately 

$11,000 of district funds toward the important task of an energy audit. The 

committee worked with experts at McKinstry to complete a baseline energy audit 

and develop a baseline of energy usage for each school and the district office. With 

these baseline energy consumption numbers, PPS is carefully looking at 
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opportunities to reduce energy consumption, improve performance, and develop an 

informed comprehensive plan for sustainability efforts in the district. More than 50 

percent of their energy is from renewable resources such as wind and solar.

The Jefferson Elementary School Green Team conducted a water audit in 2017, and 

the student team found 44 aerators in the building that were inefficient. The students 

then teamed up with the City of Pullman to conserve water by replacing the old 

aerators with newer, water-conserving models. Jefferson students were able to save 

1.2 gallons of water for every minute of use at every faucet. The students also 

marked 10 storm drains around campus to remind students that water ends up in 

nearby waterways. Finally, the students on the team engaged with their peers and 

shared what they learned about conservation at a school science fair. In fall of 2018, 

PPS partnered with the Washington State Department of Health to test and 

remediate the water from all water fixtures in each school that might provide drinking 

or food preparation water to students or staff.

PPS students and staff use a company called Recycle Boise to collect outdated or 

unused electronics. Rather than sending these items to the landfill, Recycle Boise 

refurbishes many of the district’s unused electronics for donations to students and 

schools that can benefit from them. This initiative is inspiring staff and students to 

consider both the environment and the needs of other students outside of the 

Pullman community. As a result of the district’s participation in this program, over 

1,000 devices were saved from the landfill in 2019. A green team has already been 

established at Pullman’s newest school, Kamiak Elementary. The Kamiak green 

team partnered with a local grocery store to recycle unused plastic bags into Trex 

decking.

The district has installed electric car charging at two schools. An annual bike or walk 

to school day campaign encourages active transportation. All secondary students 

living within Pullman city limits have access to city bus passes to ride public transit to 

and from school. Approximately 36 percent of the district’s secondary students 

(grades 6–12) have a bus pass that they use. The district received a grant to fund 

the purchase of an electric bus.

PPS has been reducing the use of chemicals. In February 2020 the district 

introduced a green cleaning initiative — all classrooms were offered reusable spray 

bottles with a soap and water cleaning solution and microfiber cleaning cloths for 

general classroom cleaning. 

PPS has a highly engaged wellness committee that consists of staff members, 

parents, community partners, and administrators. The committee meets quarterly 

and revised the district’s wellness goals in 2017, encouraging the district to move 
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toward offering more scratch cooked meals to students. PPS is now in the second 

year of a scratch cooking program, and the menu is increasingly made up of scratch 

cooked foods, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. Another 

accomplishment of the Wellness Committee is the creation and enforcement of a 

snack policy for schools. To better protect students with allergies and diabetes, 

Pullman Public Schools now has a specific list of snacks that are approved for 

classrooms and schools for celebrations. 

Another exciting initiative in 

Pullman schools that benefits the 

wellness of students is the 

implementation of gardens and 

gardening clubs at several 

schools. Students learn about 

gardening and the source of their 

food and are able to grow 

vegetables that district kitchens 

can then use as ingredients for 

student meals. The gardening 

programs have been so 

successful that an additional 

school, Franklin Elementary, is in 

the process of developing a 

garden program. 

Elementary students attend 80+ 

minutes of P.E. classes each 

week. Much of that time is spent 

outdoors. In addition, elementary 

students have recess outdoors 

two or three times a day 

depending on the grade level. It is 

not unusual for teachers to take a 

class outdoors for instruction 

when the weather is pleasant. 

Sometimes the instruction is 

related to the environment 

surrounding the school, and 

sometimes the instruction is 

outdoors simply to enjoy the fresh 

air and change of scenery. 

Lincoln Middle School recently 
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received a grant that allowed the district to purchase bicycles, helmets, and bike 

trailers. This new unit will provide students with the opportunity to practice bicycle 

safety and gain an appreciation for bicycle riding.

PPS has put considerable time and resources toward the mental health and 

wellness of students. Additional counselors have been hired at the secondary and 

elementary levels, so that now each school has a least one counselor. Counselors 

focus on three essential components — academic, career, and social emotional 

development. In addition, a school-based mental health therapist was recently hired 

to provide screening and direct services to students. PPS works with several 

community partners to facilitate students’ access to mental health resources and has 

increased the number and depth of professional development course offerings and 

presentations available to staff related to mental wellness. The Second Step Social 

Emotional Curriculum was recently adopted; it is in the implementation stage at all 

elementary schools and the middle school. 

Across the district’s six schools, there are a wide variety of unique activities and 

experiences related to environmental and sustainability education. All secondgraders in the district take a field trip to explore a local aquifer site and learn about 

how it impacts the Pullman community, and how they can care for these resources 

and reduce consumption. They learn the science behind hives, pollinating, and 

honey and calculate the hives’ carbon footprint.

Jefferson Elementary School partnered with the Washington State University 

Landscape Architecture program in 2018–19 to design an outdoor learning lab for 

their campus. The project provided Washington State University (WSU) students 

with a service-learning opportunity by participating in the architectural design and 

preliminary construction of the outdoor learning lab. In addition, students from the 

WSU Center for Civic Engagement assisted with the ongoing construction of the 

Jefferson Elementary project. 

PPS has partnered with Pacific Education Institute (PEI) since 2018 to provide 

teachers with high-quality professional learning to advance science literacy and 

deepen student engagement by empowering educators to teach real-world science 

outdoors. The training started with fifth-grade teachers and then expanded to grades 

K–12. The FieldSTEM training and commitment provided by PEI staff helped 

teachers understand the components that make systemic and sustainable 

FieldSTEM implementation in Pullman Public Schools a reality. Pullman staff and 

students understand the value of natural resources and the ecosystem and that the 

economic opportunity they provide are the foundation of the Pullman community. 
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The Palouse Conservation District partners with PPS to provide high-quality training 

and workshops for district staff and students throughout the school year. This 

partnership is ongoing. For example, on Nov. 12, 2019, fifth-grade students learned 

about the Palouse watershed and the effects of storm water pollution in rivers and 

oceans. Students from Kamiak, Sunnyside, Franklin, and Jefferson elementary 

schools participated in a field day at Pullman City Playfields, looking for macroinvertebrates and testing the water quality of the South Fork of the Palouse River.

While PPS proudly weaves environmental and sustainability literacy into 

components of many courses, units, and lessons. The most exciting example of this 

is the robust fifth-grade outdoor environmental education camp, a memorable week 

at Camp Wooten, in Dayton, Washington, where they participate in five days of 

science lessons and activities, based on the Next Generation Science Standards. In 

addition, many of the lessons involve and promote energy conservation and 

sustainability practices. 

Seattle Public Schools; Seattle, Washington

Equity in environment

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) serves over 51,000 students across 104 schools. More 

than 30 percent of students qualify for free and reduced price lunch, and over 5,000 

students experienced homelessness during the 2019–20 academic year. 

All schools at SPS are encouraged to create green teams and become certified with 

Washington Green Schools. SPS has certified five schools per year on average for 

the last 10 years. Currently, 64 schools are certified (25 bronze, nine silver, four 

gold, one platinum) in the categories of Energy, Healthy School Buildings, School 

Grounds and Gardens, Transportation, Waste and Recycling, and Water. Funding is 

available through a dedicated shared savings account, which is established by 

meeting goals in resource conservation, as well as through waste diversion metrics. 

Underpinning its work are the district’s resource conservation policies and 

guidelines, which are both aspirational and providing specific guidance in shaping 

resource conservation at SPS. 

SPS has three resource conservation specialists tasked with managing a wide range 

of utility accounts on behalf of SPS, including electricity, natural gas, water, solid 

waste, recycling, and compost. This team works alongside school leaders and 

reviews critical work and initiatives focused on the reduction of environmental 

impacts and costs across district operations. They also look for and support projects 

and programs that help reduce energy and water consumption, waste, and promote 

the reduction of carbon output and GHG emissions. 
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SPS Facilities Management manages over 8 million square feet. The buildings range 

from one to 108 years old, creating a unique set of challenges and opportunities. 

Between 2008, when baseline measures were set, and the 2016–17 school year, the 

district saved approximately $1.4 million in waste, water, and energy costs. All 

facilities are benchmarked using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and 75 percent 

of schools have received ENERGY STAR certification at some point. Six schools 

recently added 100kW+ photovoltaic systems with a state Department of Commerce 

grant, bringing the number of solar schools to 10.

SPS conducted a waste reduction pilot in 2012 to determine how to improve 

recycling rates without adversely impacting custodial hours. After two five-month 

trials, containers, custodial equipment and container locations were standardized. 

Over the summer months in 2013 and 2014, garbage and recycling containers in 

most schools, including all new schools, were updated to follow the new container 

standard. Support from Seattle Public Utilities includes recycling posters available in 

18 different languages and desktop compost containers for classrooms. In the 2018–

19 school year, over 75 percent of the schools either met the waste reduction goal of 

four cubic feet/student/month or improved from the previous year. Most schools 

have food share tables located in cafeterias, sharing whole and packaged food with 

fellow students and after-school programs. Four schools have pilot programs for 

food recovery with local food banks. 

SPS grounds and maintenance staff are critically important for ensuring water 

conservation through tightly controlled irrigation practices at community playfields. 

Stormwater features that go beyond code include bioswales, detention ponds, rain 

gardens, vaults, and other best management practices.

SPS employs a Risk Management team, which includes a risk management 

manager, a manager of environmental health and safety, and a health and safety 

coordinator. The team also includes a certified playground safety inspector. SPS 

employs a team of four recommissioning coordinators, who fine tune all school 

HVAC systems, regardless of age, for optimum performance. SPS provides a robust 

water quality program, with extensive water quality testing performed on a three-year 

cycle for all fixtures that provide drinking water.

Transportation equips buses with tablets for route management, reducing the need 

for paper and improving accuracy and accommodating changes in schedules. An 

app called First View allows parents, students, and schools to see bus locations in 

real time. District policy and procedures prohibit idling to reduce fuel use and air 

pollution. Bus drivers receive regular training, signs are posted, and parents 

educated.
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The Nutritional Services team serves over 14,000 lunches and nearly 6,000 

breakfasts every day and has made a concerted effort to increase healthy 

ingredients with a focus on availability of fruits and vegetables, whole-grain rich 

items, and reduced sodium content. A newly implemented soup bar pilot in six 

secondary schools allows students to choose their vegetables and then add a broth

— pho, tortilla, coconut curry, or chicken. Salad bars have been added to all 

schools, allowing students to choose their favorite vegetables or try something new. 

SPS offers additional programs for schools with vulnerable populations, including a 

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program at seven targeted elementary schools, with a 

coming expansion to an additional 18 schools. The after-school snack program 

allows student clubs to sign up and receive fresh fruits, vegetables, and a grain for 

participating students. Breakfast After the Bell, Grab & Go, and Second Chance 

Breakfast programs are offered in over a dozen schools. Nutrition educators are 

placed in four elementary schools. A Community Eligibility Provision Program offers 

breakfast at no cost to all students at five schools. 

Eighty percent of schools have one or more forms of on-site learning gardens, or 

regularly visited off-site environmental learning opportunities to support the school’s 

curriculum. The school gardens include edible, permaculture, native plants, 

ornamentals, rainwater-management, wetlands, and forests. Off-site opportunities 

adjacent or near a schoolyard include community gardens, urban farms, and forests. 

Learning is organized in a variety of models, being teacher-led and/or managed by a 

volunteer or paid garden-coordinator. Depending on the school, students may 

participate in hands-on “work” on a weekly basis, monthly, and/or during after-school 

clubs. SPS manages a School Learning Garden Network for the community to 

support the learning gardens in providing routine information, meeting biannually 

and offering an all-day 

winter workshop every 

year. 

Cascade Bicycle Club 

provides bike and 

pedestrian safety for 

every student in 

grades 3–8. The 

district works with local 

rowing clubs on skill 

and water safety 

education. Erg Ed 

brings equipment 

(indoor rowing 

machines), technology, 
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curriculum, and water safety training to middle and high school P.E. students, staff, 

and community.

SPS has a total of 78 certificated nurses and 10 classified nurses. SPS has 28 

school-based health centers. There are five PBIS trained coaches on the behavioral 

health team.

Student curriculum at SPS aligns science curriculum at K–12 to the 2013 

Washington State Science and Learning Standards, also known as the Next 

Generation Science Standards. The department completed a K–12 curriculum 

adoption in May 2019 to align core science instructional materials at all schools and 

grade bands with these science standards and to include environmental and 

sustainability literacy topics. In partnership with the UW Institute for Science & Math 

Education, the Learning in Places Grant, implemented in nine classrooms at 

elementary schools, explores the question: What is our impact on the places we see 

every day? Approximately 30 of the 74 SPS elementary school grade 5 classes 

participate in outdoor learning experience through the IslandWood program. 

Approximately 18 elementary schools participate in the Salmon in the Schools 

program funded by the city of Seattle.

At the elementary level, the foundations of climate science are taught, beginning 

with solar energy, weather patterns, and severe weather. Middle school students 

continue this work in grade 6 with units covering thermal energy; ocean, 

atmosphere, and climate; and weather patterns to develop an understanding of 

scientific principles necessary to answer scientific questions and address design 

solutions related to climate change in the culminating units, Earth's Changing 

Climate and Earth's Changing Climate Engineering Internship. In high school, 

semester one biology’s final unit is Human Energy Systems. The four preceding 

units build evidence that students apply to the Human Energy Systems phenomenon 

of global climate change. 

Advanced Placement Environmental Science is offered at seven high schools. 

Students from several SPS high schools participate in Project Feed 1010, Institute 

for Systems Biology, catalyzing a new agricultural economy. Cleveland HS has 

started an aquaponic system, combining fish farming with growing plants in water. 

Nathan Hale HS offers a Horticulture class with an active greenhouse and an annual 

plant sale in the spring.

SPS has a strong partnership with the YMCA Earth Service Corps and supports 

clubs in all high schools. At Ballard HS, the Youth Climate Action team has gone to 

the state capital to learn more about the legislative process, testify about climate 

action, and bring those lessons back to students and staff. In 2019, the Earth 
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Service Corps club at Ingraham High School won the Washington State Envirothon 

and competed against 52 other schools at the National Envirothon competition held 

in North Carolina. Throughout the weeklong competition, students demonstrated 

their knowledge on soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, and wildlife 

management through written tests and interactive stations featuring North Carolina’s 

natural resources. Since 2011, Chief Sealth High School has hosted the 

International World Water Week Conference, promoting understanding of the 

relationship between members of the local community with water in the region and 

around the world, emphasizing conservation and local action addressing equal 

access for all global citizens. Several high school clubs have hosted student clothing 

swaps and donated leftover items. 

SPS is committed to eliminating opportunity gaps to ensure access and provide 

excellence in education for every student. 

Wahluke School District; Mattawa, Washington

Rural sustainability leader

The Wahluke School District (WSD) is a rural school district in Grant County, an 

agricultural region of Eastern Washington located near the Hanford Reach National 

Monument. The district serves 2,563 students, 98 percent of whom are minority and 

92 percent of whom qualify for free and reduced price lunch. The district green team 

is comprised of 20 people, including gardens and sustainability specialists, five 

department heads (Teaching and Learning, Grounds and Maintenance, Food 

Service, Custodial, and Transportation), four school administrators, four K–12 

classroom teachers (two elementary, one junior high, one high school), elementary 

specialists, a counselor, a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support Specialist, 

and a migrant student advocate. 

The WSD maintenance department is successfully applying automation to 

coordinate HVAC systems around the district. This ongoing project has reduced 

heating costs by half in the high school. Energy audits by WSD’s maintenance 

director in select elementary portable classrooms provide valuable data to help the 

district identify inefficiencies and make energy-wise changes as building systems 

come up for replacement. LED bulbs are being phased in as old bulbs die out. All 

district electricity comes from renewable hydropower provided by the Grant County 

Public Utility District. The district has a tree planting plan to further reduce its carbon 

footprint. 

All district irrigation uses non-potable water from the irrigation canal system serving 

Grant County. The district is designing and converting several irrigated sections of 
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grass to xeriscape native plantings, which conserve water and provide habitat for 

native pollinators. All student bathrooms have sinks that turn off after a designated 

time to help conserve water. Six drinking fountains have been replaced with water 

bottle filling station fountains.

WSD partnered with the Grant County Transit Authority and Ben Franklin Transit to 

provide staff with access to carpools to their jobs in Grant County from communities 

more than 50 miles away. More than 50 staff and substitute teachers participate. 

This alone helps keep several dozen cars off the road each day. 

WSD has established on-site composting at two elementary schools. This process 

provides educational opportunities for students and supplies valuable soil 

amendments for garden 

projects around the 

campus. As a result, WSD 

has achieved a 50 percent 

reduction in food waste for 

both schools. A districtwide 

print management system, 

PaperCut, is installed on all 

building photocopy 

machines to track use and 

reduce the amount of 

paper and ink used.

One elementary school 

garden is established, and 

another is under 

development. School 

gardens allow students 

access to healthy food and 

opportunities to learn about the food system. Produce from local farms is served in 

school cafeterias. This helps provide students with nutritious food, supports a local 

farmer, and reduces the carbon footprint associated with food service. 

WSD has implemented the PBIS Student Management Model for school discipline. 

This model is designed to be more equitable than a “zero tolerance” behavior policy 

and focuses on positive, safe school environments for all. School gardens are a 

place that school counselors or PBIS specialists can take students to talk, 

decompress, and provide the self-reflection time that the PBIS model recommends. 

Elementary school students have three outdoor recesses per day. Junior high 
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students have the option of going outside for half (20 minutes) of their lunch each 

day. High school students have access to an outdoor courtyard during their lunch.

WSD’s three elementary schools partnered with the Mattawa Community Medical 

Clinic to provide nutrition classes to the after-school garden clubs. The two clubs 

serve all students in the district’s three elementary schools; one club serves students 

in kindergarten through second grade, and the other club serves grades 3–5. Two 

high school students currently serve as mentors for K–5 students in the after-school 

garden club. Students across all grades have been involved in the pumpkin patch 

located on district grounds. The pumpkin patch was planted to eliminate the need for 

elementary students to travel more than 40 miles to pumpkin patches each fall. A 

local nonprofit organization, The Wahluke Enrichment Organization, donated the 

plants, junior and high school students help to maintain the patch, and elementary 

after-school clubs weeded it. In the end, there were enough pumpkins to share with 

the community.

All Wahluke elementary schools are part of the K–5 Science Education Cooperative 

through Educational Service District 105, which includes Smithsonian: Science for 

the Classroom (STC) curriculum and ClimeTime teacher training linking climate 

science and Next Generation Science Standards. Curriculum includes “How Can We 

Stop Soil from Washing Away,” “How Can We Provide Freshwater to Those In 

Need,” and “Protecting Animals When Habitat Changes.” Each unit includes a 

sustainability-based design challenge as the final project. Elementary schools are 

currently in the first phase of a four-year implementation plan. Wahluke Junior High 

recently adopted the Smithsonian: STC curriculum for middle school, which includes 

the same theme of environmental awareness as the elementary curriculum. 

Wahluke High School is currently in the curriculum adoption process.

Wahluke Junior High participates in the Salmon in the Classroom program in 

partnership with the Mid-Columbia Fisheries and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Students observe salmon eggs hatching in their classroom and learn about the 

salmon life cycle, watersheds, and water quality. Students then take a field trip to 

release the salmon under the supervision of Fish and Wildlife biologists. The high 

school offers environmental science, animal science, and natural resources courses.

This year 100 percent (51) of Wahluke K–5 teachers responsible for teaching 

science received six hours of ClimeTime training from ESD 105 related to their 

Smithsonian: STC Engineering & Design curriculum.
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Wisconsin

Lincoln Avenue Elementary School; Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A community school spawns bilingual river explorers

Lincoln Avenue Elementary School is a bilingual (English and Spanish) community 

school in the Milwaukee Public School District serving 510 students in kindergarten 

through fifth grade. Ninety-nine percent of students in this urban school are eligible 

for free and reduced price lunch and more than 30 percent are English language 

learners. Lincoln Avenue Elementary School strives to offer an equitable, healthy 

learning environment where students, families, staff, and community members feel 

engaged, safe, and successful. 

After over 100 years of functioning as an elementary school on the South Side of 

Milwaukee, Lincoln Avenue underwent a transformation by prioritizing sustainability 

and linking environmental health to academic achievement in science, math, social 

studies, language, and the arts. The priority of sustainability was born out of 

becoming a community school within the Milwaukee Community Schools 

Partnership in 2015. The school is partnered with Sixteenth Street Community 

Health Centers (SSCHC) in their Department of Environmental Health. In just five 

years, the school and partner agency have worked hard to transform the outdoor 

spaces to include green infrastructure and interactive green spaces. Over the last 

four years, the curriculum for every grade level has been aligned to these outdoor 

spaces and with the momentum of a close-by river restoration project. 

Lincoln Avenue participated in the Milwaukee Better Buildings Challenge and has 

photovoltaic/solar electric and uses daylighting. The school used Portfolio Manager 

in 2018 to calculate its energy score of 87.

In 2017, students conducted a study over the course of three weeks to monitor the 

amount of garbage generated daily in the lunchroom. The results were astounding 

— students found that Lincoln created over 6,000 pounds of garbage in a school 

year. As a result, Lincoln began composting with Compost Crusaders and recycling 

in lunchrooms, reducing the amount of trash from five to six bags to only half of a 

bag each day. Since 2017, Lincoln has diverted about 12,000 pounds of waste from 

the landfill thanks in part to green team separation monitoring during lunchtime. 

Lincoln Avenue won the MPS Recycles 2018–19 challenge, and its recycle team 

continued into the 2019–20 school year. 

The staff at Lincoln Avenue have gone to great lengths to create safe routes to 

school by working with the city and the neighbors to re-route traffic, install additional 
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signage, and successfully petition for speed bump installation. In November 2018, 

SSCHC helped to organize a neighborhood safety/block watch group, and meetings 

have been hosted monthly at the school since. In winter of 2019, Lincoln received a 

$75,000 grant from the City to implement Safe Routes to School and install even 

more pedestrian safety infrastructure by 2021. The school also has a nationally 

recognized Walking School Bus program that promotes exercise, reduces traffic and 

pollution around the school, and improves attendance and punctuality for students. 

Two routes that run simultaneously on Mondays and Fridays are supervised by 

teachers, parents, and community members that volunteer their time. Now more 

than 50 percent of students can walk or bike to school safely. 

Lincoln removed impermeable pavement (asphalt) from the school's front and back 

playgrounds to install a student-designed 2,400-square-foot native prairie plants 

area, a pergola outdoor classroom, and rain catchment system with two 275-gallon 

cisterns, a bioswale, a 200-square-foot rain garden, and 10 8-feet x 4-feet raised 

garden beds, which are open to the community in the summer. The school also 

removed asphalt from the front of the school and replaced it with permeable pavers 

and green space. These changes result in water conservation and reduced 

stormwater run-off to the Kinnickinnic River.

The school's partner agency is the Department of Environmental Health within 

SSCHC, and their mission is to focus on the environmental determinants of health, 

and where their patients work, live, learn, and play. Since Lincoln Avenue School is 

located in the heart of where the patients of the clinic are located, Lincoln Avenue 

families receive many extra supports, from child lead testing, to learning how to 

canoe and hike, to activating the limited local green spaces in the neighborhood. 

The Women, Infants and Children Department conducts outreach to families to 

enroll them during events such as Open House and the School Carnival. The school 

also partners with SSCHC's Healthy Choices Program, and a Farm to School 

Americorps works with lower elementary students every year to teach them about 

healthy foods and gardening. 

At Lincoln Avenue, staff and students are provided with regular opportunities to 

enhance their own well-being. Staff have participated in a series of trauma and 

mindfulness trainings supported by the school district, which not only brings 

awareness to what trauma is and how it manifests in the students, but it also 

promotes staff self-care. Strategies to improve well-being through the lenses of 

restorative practice, culturally responsive practice, and the social-emotional learning 

framework include all-school practices like threshold greetings, a morning meeting, 

mindfulness exercises, and more individualized support through the school 

psychologist and social worker. Since the fall of 2018, Lincoln has benefited from a 

mental health clinic on-site, with a behavioral health specialist seeing a caseload of 
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high-need students once a week at school. 

These services are provided through the 

behavioral health department within 

SSCHC. 

The entire Lincoln community has become 

proficient in composting and recycling, 

gardening, water quality, and other green 

initiatives. In 2014, SSCHC implemented 

Kinnickinnic River Explorers, biweekly 

after-school environmental education 

workshops for students, headed by the 

SSCHC Education Coordinator. The 

workshops are held for 2.5 hours a week 

for 12 weeks, totaling 24 sessions per 

semester. An average of 20 kids are 

enrolled every semester. In 2017, this 

partnership expanded. Sixteenth Street 

began providing environmental education 

for second to fifth-graders. Participants 

canoe, bike, hike, and fish. They also offer 

bilingual family education workshops on 

water quality, stormwater management, 

green infrastructure, habitat, and other sustainability topics. Little by little, the 

exposure to these activities is resulting in behavioral change and a more sustainable

mindset in both Lincoln students and their families. 

Lincoln students take field trips often to different sites in Milwaukee to learn about 

the environment, geography, weather, and history. The school uses a 26-acre 

community park for learning and water bodies within walking and driving distances to 

fish or conduct aquatic habitat explorations. All grades participated in a school 

scavenger hunt within the native planting area. Second-graders use this area to 

study the migration of butterflies and their role as pollinators. All grade levels use the 

pergola and outdoor classroom for meditation, journaling, and math lessons.

Classrooms in various grade levels tour the surrounding neighborhood and witness 

first-hand green infrastructure that is meant to keep the watershed clean and is 

directly connected to the green infrastructure on Lincoln’s playground. Fifth grade 

explores the KK River restoration and has applied their knowledge of how Earth’s 

spheres interact to support life for multiple native organisms at Pulaski Park. They 

created a map of the park that included multiple spheres and discussed how the KK 

River project addressed flood management and was an example of the positive and 
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negative effects human decisions can have on their local environment. The City of 

Milwaukee and Milwaukee Harbor are used for learning as well. Fourth grade 

studied the human impact on natural spaces; waterways, such as the KK River and 

the inner harbor of Lake Michigan in particular; pollution; erosion; and infrastructure 

that impacted wildlife. Students were able to draw conclusions regarding humans’

positive and negative impact on natural spaces. Since 2017, Lincoln students in 

grades 3–5 have visited the Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center two to three 

times each year. This partnership enhances the Lincoln science curriculum by 

providing hands-on, place-based instruction in an outdoor setting.

Staff have voluntarily participated in Latino Earth Partnership Workshops, Green 

Schools Consortium Conferences, No Teacher Left Inside sessions, Green and 

Healthy Schools Workshops, Green Schools Network, KEEP (WI K-12 Energy 

Education Program) courses, and other sustainability professional development.

McDill Elementary School; Stevens Point, Wisconsin

A tradition of candlelit hikes, owl prowls, and story walks

McDill Elementary School is a K–6 school serving 413 students in the Stevens Point 

Area Public School District in central Wisconsin. The school’s accomplishments in 

reducing environmental impacts and costs, improving health and wellness, and 

increasing environmental literacy serve as a testimony to how parent and community 

engagement contributes to success. 

McDill has upgraded lighting, installed water-saving equipment, and reduced its 

transportation footprint. In every classroom, there is a student who is responsible for 

turning the lights off when the class leaves the room. This job changes weekly. Staff 

shut down computers and monitors at the end of each day. 

The campus integrates natural features, such as bioswales, and directs runoff into a 

groundwater drain. All grade levels visit the Boston School Forest pond and learn 

about aquatic ecosystems. In second grade, students learn about the water cycle 

and how water moves on Earth. Fourth grade teaches water-related topics in both 

social studies and science units, including the water cycle, polar caps/glaciers, lakes 

and rivers, pollution, logging history, lumberjacks, waterways, and groundwater. 

Fifth-graders learn about water and our world. They invite a guest speaker in to talk 

about experiences abroad by engineering ways to provide water to people far away 

from cities, for example, in Iraq. 

The McDill community has reduced waste by implementing milk carton and marker 

recycling programs and has increased recycling in all classrooms and offices by 
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using well-labeled bins and instituting recycling education. Students are deeply 

involved with these efforts and have diverted more than 4,551 markers, 300 pounds. 

of plastic bottle caps, and more than 185,165 milk cartons from the landfill. Student 

ambassadors and an adult composting team continue to find ways and refine 

processes to reduce waste in the school cafeteria and kitchen. McDill holds 

lunchtime after the noon recess and, for many years, has offered a share table 

where students put unwanted fruit and unopened milk for others to take.

McDill organizes walk and bike to school days and a Walk Across Wisconsin noon 

recess program. In the spring of 2015, students walked 2,513.75 miles during their 

Walk Across Wisconsin day, which is the distance from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to 

San Diego, California, to Phoenix, Arizona, plus some! Staff meetings often begin 

with yoga poses and breathing techniques. The school installed two gaga pits for 

students and families to use. 

Every class gets at least a 20-minute recess time during the day, but most days they 

have two recesses plus before-school playtime. Students attending McDill engage in 

physical activity at least three times weekly under the direction of a licensed P.E. 

teacher through diverse activities, including 45-minute P.E. classes, McDill forest 

outdoor activities, classroom BrainBreaks, coordinated all-school physical fitness, 

and family activities. Staff coordinate a student running club and lead students on 

walking field trips.

Fourteen McDill teachers have received their Green Classroom Professional 

Certificate to help facilitate healthy learning environments. McDill also purchases 

Green Seal certified products and uses Norwex cloths for classroom cleaning 

instead of Clorox wipes. 

McDill custodians use a 

GreenSeal cleaner for 

floors and vinegar on 

entrance mats to extract 

salt, instead of using 

harsh chemicals. 

Currently, the school is 

removing all terrazo and 

fritz tile, which requires a 

lot of maintenance, such 

as stripping and waxing 

with harsh chemicals and 

replacing them with 

ceramic tile floors, which 

do not.
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Ample opportunities for teacher professional development, coupled with partnerships 

with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and parents, support implementation 

of environmental education at every grade level. Teachers are provided with outdoor 

classroom packs to make it easy to take learning into one of the two outdoor 

classrooms. 

The McDill campus is home to a community garden, in which plots are rented to 

community members. An organization called Farmshed in town provides grants to 

learn about local food sources. A local resident rented a plot on behalf of the McDill 

school community so that kindergarten and first-grade students can plant and 

harvest crops as a part of coursework. 

McDill property is also comprised of a 5-acre school forest with trails and two 

outdoor classrooms, which are used by many classes. The school forest includes a 

story walk with 20 story panels to increase environmental literacy. The McDill 

courtyard provides a quick and safe way to get students outside to read and write or 

study aquatic life — such as dragonfly nymphs — in the pond. McDill continues to 

add features to enhance the schoolyard, such as a pollinator garden that was 

completed in the fall of 2018. A group of staff and family members comprise the 

McDill Elementary School Outdoor Planning Team and work on new designs for 

outdoor spaces.

To celebrate Earth Day each year, the librarian actively communicates 

environmental literacy through various ways, including a selection of environmental 

books showcased during the month of April. In 2016, the librarian received a grant 

from the Bill Cook Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America to purchase 

books with a conservation/environmental theme. In addition, K–5 students are 

invited to design a bookmark on an environmental topic that can be entered into a 

bookmark contest between K–1, 2–3, and 4–5. Every student gets one of the 

winning bookmarks. 

Students at McDill engage in citizen science. The school has been hosting a 

SnapShot Wisconsin camera from the state Department of Natural Resources for 

four years. Photos from the camera are shared with students and families. In 2019, 

six bluebird nesting boxes were installed on the school grounds. First-grade students 

had weekly lessons about nesting birds and monitored the boxes to collect data as 

part of the annual Audubon Bluebird monitoring project. 

Each year, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Environmental 

Education/Interpretation students visit classes at McDill and teach lessons ranging 

from wildlife to water to insects. Many of the classes visit the two outdoor 
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classrooms in the school forest for their lessons. One lesson includes making 

outdoor shelters in the woods as part of their survival lesson.

McDill is recognized as a “Sugar Maple School” from Green & Healthy Schools 

Wisconsin as well as by the National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools USA and 

Project Learning Tree’s GreenSchools! Parents from other elementary schools open 

enroll students to McDill because of its commitment to environmental education, 

outdoor education assets, and strong sustainability programming. 

Indian Community School; Franklin, Wisconsin 

Caretakers of place and Native culture

The Indian Community School, Inc. (ICS) cultivates an enduring cultural identity and 

critical thinking by weaving indigenous teachings with a distinguished learning 

environment. ICS is a private faith-based intertribal school serving 362 American 

Indian children, representing more than 200 families, from 4-year-old kindergarten 

through eighth grade. Approximately 64 percent of students qualify for free and 

reduced price lunch. ICS has been serving the Indian community of metro 

Milwaukee for over 49 years. The tribal affiliation of students consists of all 

Wisconsin tribes as well as other federally recognized tribes — over 30 tribal Nations 

in total. 

ICS’ building, constructed from 2004–07, is located on 178 acres of woodland, 

prairie, wetland environments. The ICS building was intentionally designed by a 

team, including an Oneida Nation architect, to enable native teaching and culturally 

based experiences. Sprawling windows, vaulted ceilings, and all-natural building 

materials important to the tribes of Wisconsin bring the natural world in and afford all 

inside ongoing opportunities to be mindful of and make connections with Mother 

Earth. 

The school itself was built into the topography of the land, the ground and space 

were not just flattened to create the school; it was built in harmony with the 

environment to the degree possible. It prominently features three materials deeply 

connected to American Indian culture — wood from the Menominee forest, copper, 

and stone. 

ICS is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact and costs by implementing 

sustainable technologies, such as motion sensors, building automation, and 

renewable energy. The school is installing solar panels to provide approximately 10 

percent of electricity needs. Daylighting abounds in every classroom. ICS works with 

Compost Crusaders for composting and waste reduction and has partnered with 
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Imperfect Produce to utilize produce that cannot be sold in stores but is perfectly 

safe for consumption. 

The schoolyard and parking lots are adorned with native plantings to reduce runoff. 

ICS is home to an electric vehicle charging station. The school reduces use of salt 

through a heated sidewalk system for walkways. Students are engaged in protecting 

the water at home, at school, and in the community. Students create advocacy plans 

for water rights and protections, such as mining impact on water sources, oil 

pipelines, water studies around the school grounds, and ways to conserve water in 

daily use. Students in grades 5 and 8 conduct an audit of water use at home and 

school and propose solutions on ways that they can conserve and protect the water.

ICS demonstrates its commitment to the health and wellness of students and staff 

through participation in the fresh fruits and vegetable program, composting, reusing 

of resources, improving air and water quality, mindfulness, more physical activity, 

and understanding of self for students or staff. At the center of ICS is the “Our Ways” 

room — featuring diverse natural resources, providing space for cultural meetings, 

events, teachings, and meals. When a person walks into the Our Ways room, he or 

she immediately realizes its purpose is to build resilience, to heal, and to provide an 

alternative to the colonization often sensed within a contemporary school setting. 

ICS focuses on suicide 

prevention, healthy 

eating, and mental 

health to support 

students, removing 

barriers to students 

receiving needed 

services during the 

school day. ICS 

partners with local 

farmers to use 

unprocessed food and 

other nutritionally sound 

options. ICS offers 

salad bar to staff for 

$1.50 when a personal 

reusable dish is used.

ICS has integrated 

environmental literacy 

through cultural 
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teachings for many years. Students have traveled to Menominee (one of the tribal 

communities ICS serves) and planted wild rice in their community along the banks of 

a local river to learn biology, ecology, and civics. ICS also has a partnership with the 

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission that provides natural resource 

management expertise, conservation enforcement, services supporting exercising 

treaty rights, and culturally responsive and appropriate teachings with students. 

In addition to getting out into communities, ICS grounds are home to a 30-acre 

habitat garden, a 30-feet x 30-feet food garden, a 5-acre adjacent wooded site, and 

a wetland with boardwalk access to take learning outside. Students can observe, 

write, and protect the environment around the school. Lesson plans, facility plans, 

and guest speakers all integrate human connectedness with the environment. 

Fourth-grade students have been keeping a school garden for more than 10 years, 

growing the “three sisters” of corn, bean, and squash. They grow ode’iminan 

(strawberries) and many other plants, including traditional asema (tobacco). They 

learn the traditional way to offer asema before planting and harvesting. ICS has also 

planted 50 sugar maple trees so that, when the time is right, students will be able to 

learn about tapping the trees and harvesting sap to make maple syrup and maple

sugar. 

The three Pillars of ED-GRS are woven through the school’s strategic plan: “Goal 

#1: Maximize the cultural identity of every ICS student ... Objective C: Guarantee 

American Indian Culture is embedded in all elements of the school community and 

campus. Goal #2: Maximize the academic achievement of each ICS student ... 

Objective B: Align support services to meet the social, emotional, and behavioral 

needs of our students and families; Objective D: Ensure that the natural resources of 

ICS are embedded in the taught curriculum; Objective F: Regularly infuse American 

Indian culture, history, and traditions in the taught curriculum. Goal #3: Ensure the 

financial sustainability and resource management of ICS for future generations ... 

Objective B: Preserve and restore natural habitats on the ICS campus; Objective C: 

Ensure that all members of the ICS community are responsible stewards of the 

environment.” 

In every grade, ICS addresses “seven generations” thinking and the sustainable 

Menominee Reservation forestry operations. The ICS “Our Ways” curriculum 

framework has the following strands: Native Language, Living in a Good Way, 

Stories, Tribal Connections, Connections to Mother Earth, Tribal Government, 

Treaties, Indian Law and Policy, and Sovereignty. While all strands connect to the 

environment, the objectives in the Connections to Mother Earth strand of the Our 

Ways curriculum include: 1) Articulate what it means to be connected to Mother 

Earth and why that is important to cultural identity, living in a good way, and tribal 

sovereignty; 2) Identify animals and plants and describe the role they play in the 
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interconnected web of life; 3) Be involved in habitat restoration and care for the land 

and water; 4) Participate in and describe the process of raising traditional foods and 

medicines; 5) Help to research, plan, and implement a project related to protecting 

Mother Earth and/or the water; 6) Identify culturally significant landmarks and natural 

resources on their reservations or traditional homelands; and 7) Explain the 

processes, traditional protocols, and ceremonies that are important to remember in 

traditional harvest of animals, plants, medicines, and construction materials. 

As caretakers of native culture and this place, ICS’ sustainability practices are a nod 

to past ancestors, as well as those yet to come.

School District of Bayfield; Bayfield, Wisconsin

A strong connection to nature on Lake Superior

The School District of Bayfield is situated on the south shore of Lake Superior in 

northern Wisconsin. This small district is comprised of two buildings serving 365 

students from kindergarten through 12th grade, more than 70 percent of whom are 

economically disadvantaged. Approximately 75 percent of the student body identifies 

as American Indian. The district has developed a strong partnership with the Red 

Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The district prioritizes culturally sustaining 

pedagogy, and teacher Rick Erickson and his wife Lorie were awarded the 2019 

Human and Civil Rights Leo Reano Award from the National Education Association 

for impacting education and equal opportunities for Native American students. 

The School District of 

Bayfield has two buildings 

— one serving grades K–12 

in the city of Bayfield and 

one serving grades K–6 on 

Madeline Island. The 

central portion of the K–12 

school is still the original 

1896 building. There have 

been several major 

additions/renovations since 

the original construction 

and, with each renovation, 

the district makes an effort 

to update the HVAC system 

to increase its efficiency. 

The school has installed 
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LED lighting and water bottle filling stations. Lighting for the student and staff parking 

lot operate on solar energy. The school-owned community recreation center and 

swimming facility has solar panels on the roof to supplement the energy system. The 

district works with Cooperative Educational Services Agency 10’s Environmental 

Quality Control program, which includes custodial trainings and all-staff trainings. 

The district contracts with Johnson Controls and uses the expertise of their staff for 

HVAC systems, including facility renovations. 

Each year, Bayfield High School students operate a maple sugar bush project on 

school grounds and within the surrounding neighborhoods. The project currently 

utilizes a wood-burning stove to provide the heat necessary to boil the maple sap 

into syrup. Three years ago, the students and instructors applied for and received a 

grant to purchase a reverse osmosis (RO) machine. The RO machine is now used to 

eliminate half of the water from the sap. As a result, the overall energy consumption 

and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

A rain barrel catches runoff from the garden shed. The garden manager, school 

staff, and students designed and developed swales and berms to collect and retain 

rainwater. Annually, students learn about alternative transportation and build an 

electric vehicle to participate in the Wisconsin Electrathon competition. In 2015, they 

competed in two races, one at Road America and the other at Wisconsin 

International Raceway and had top 10 finishes in endurance and maneuverability. 

The school partners with the Madeline Island Ferry Line and the Town of Lapointe 

regarding transportation of Madeline Island students to the mainland school.

Students and staff are actively engaged in minimizing landfill refuse. LaPointe 

School staff and students compost all lunch waste. The middle school science 

teacher is leading an effort to collect food waste during lunch and breakfast that can 

be donated to community members who could use the waste for livestock feed and 

garden composting. One of the mottos at LaPointe School on Madeline Island is 

“reuse, reuse, reuse.” Teachers regularly instruct students on the importance of 

reusing items and help teach students how to practice reuse. LaPointe School K–6 

students upcycle art with plastic to create representations of animals that are

affected by climate change.

The School District of Bayfield has a full-time school nurse, a full-time school 

psychologist, and two full-time school counselors on staff. The district also cultivates 

partnerships with Red Cliff Community Health Center to provide on-site mental 

health services for students and Red Cliff Mishomis House to provide alcohol and 

other drug abuse services and education to high school students. Red Cliff Police 

Department and Bayfield County Sheriff Department provide coordinated services 

related to student exposure to potential traumatic experiences. 
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Middle school students built a gaga ball pit in the Middle School playground. Gaga is 

a game that is a cross between foursquare and dodgeball; first developed in Israel, it 

is now sweeping the public school playground system. Bayfield students like it so 

much that the school district built two more, one for elementary and another for 

middle school. During the engineering process, students studied geometric shapes 

and angles, then applied these shapes to building more gaga ball pits in the shapes 

of an octagon, hexagon, square, and triangle. 

The district has an active Farm-to-School program. The district also owns the 

community recreation facility and offers staff discounts on membership and related 

incentives for insurance discounts. The Bayfield School and Community Garden 

(“gitigaan” in Ojibwemowin) includes a high tunnel to extend the growing season for 

colder northern climate and garden plots for each elementary classroom to tend. 

Perennial and pollinator garden space acts as a demonstration space for K–12 

students to observe and learn about pollinators, the importance of diversity in the 

environment, and medicinal plants, both native and non-native. Classes that come to 

the garden in the fall participate in the harvest and go home with fresh tomatoes and 

other vegetables. Students of all age levels help with harvesting tomatoes, basil, and 

peppers to make healthy pizzas using a student-constructed wood-fired clay oven. 

With the help of an Americorps Farm-to-School Specialist and UW-Extension 

FoodWise Program, Bayfield Elementary K–5 classes receive consistent nutrition 

and gardening lessons throughout the school year. These lessons cover an array of 

topics, from the Iroquois story of Three Sisters Gardening to healthy foods to the 

groupings outlined by MyPlate and My Native Plate. The District has also created 

small plots within the school garden area that are open to local residents. At the La 

Pointe School, students grow their greens to eat with lunch and much of the school’s 

produce comes from the plants started in the community garden. 

In addition to gardening, the middle school students have assembled and run a 

small-scale aquaponics system in the design lab. They have raised a variety of 

plants, such as lettuce, basil, spinach, and peppers. They have also raised perch, 

walleye, and saugeye. They also learn the Ojibwemoin words for these fish, so it 

reinforces their Ojibwe culture and language. Not only do they have hands-on 

experience in running a small-scale aquaponics system, but they have also grown 

many crops of lettuce and enjoy salad in class. 

Approximately 75 percent of the Bayfield students are Anishinaabe, and the district 

works to incorporate culturally relevant material into curriculum at every grade level. 

Every teacher is encouraged to incorporate Anishinaabe language and culture into 

the curriculum and classroom setting. Additionally, the District employs a full-time 
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Anishinaabe language and culture teacher, an academic resource coordinator who 

teaches culture and supports students, and a tribal community and school liaison 

who supports and advocates for Anishinaabe students and their families.

Environmental education is integrated throughout the K–12 curriculum. Each year, 

middle school and high school teachers develop weeklong courses focused on local 

environmental topics and environmental literacy. Elementary staff have developed a 

parallel program called “Week of the Young Child” during which they conduct ageappropriate related activities.

On any given day, it would be typical to find Bayfield students in the school forest, on 

tribal forested land, within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, or in some other 

local natural green space. Bayfield’s focus on place, especially Lake Superior, has 

led the district to a connection with people literally on the other side of the world. 

Students are greatly influenced by the surroundings in which they grow up. In 2013, 

Bayfield began efforts to connect students with students around the world who have 

a similar strong relationship with their environment. 

One of Bayfield’s most unique partnerships is with Gymnasium 44, a school in 

Irkutsk, Russia. This partnership connects students and teachers from Lake 

Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area, with students and 

teachers from Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume. Together, 

Lake Baikal and Lake Superior hold over 30 percent of the world’s surface 

freshwater. In 2014 and 2018, a group of Bayfield teachers and students traveled to 

Lake Baikal, lived with the Siberian partners on Lake Baikal, and explored the 

shores of the “Great Lake.” In 2015, teachers and students from Irkutsk traveled to 

Wisconsin and stayed with the Bayfield community while the district helped them get 

to know Lake Superior. Another group of Siberian teachers and students will be 

visiting in the summer of 2020. 

Bayfield High School students participate in an underwater photography project 

called Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (Lake Wolves). In this program, an aquatic biologist 

partners with the school to teach water ecology and to use photography to address 

youth mental health issues. Bayfield students have learned to snorkel through this 

program and have taken underwater photographs in area rivers, along the shore of 

Lake Superior, and at a shipwreck site in Lake Superior. Students write about their 

experience, and their photographs and descriptions are displayed in local exhibits. In 

fact, several students’ photos were included last year in an exhibit at the Great 

Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota.

Through partnerships with the National Park Service Great Lakes Inventory and 

Monitoring Network, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Northland College, 
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Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, and Red Cliff Treaty Natural 

Resources, Bayfield has provided high school students with opportunities to conduct 

authentic independent science research projects. Studies have included Lake 

Superior ice cover related to climate change, Lake Superior food web studies that 

involved stable isotope analysis in eaglet blood samples and burbot tissue samples, 

analysis of birch tree growth related to bark harvesting, and the sustainable 

harvesting and use of chaga fungus. Research scientists and Northland college 

professors help students design the studies and statistically analyze the research 

data. 

The Bayfield High School Alternative Education was initiated by teaching staff. The 

goal of the program is to provide experiential, outdoor learning. The District has 

provided a minibus dedicated to this program and they supported teachers’ effort to 

obtain a bus license. As a result, students in this program are learning in an outside, 

natural, and authentic “classroom” almost every day. The middle school alternative 

education program also engages in a substantial amount of outdoor learning.

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; Whitewater, Wisconsin

Native species and a campus nature preserve 

UW-Whitewater is a signatory of the Second Nature Carbon Commitment and a 

signatory of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. 

Starting with the Chancellor’s commitment to address greenhouse gases in 2008, 

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has responded with a number of projects and 

programs that make the university a leader in campus sustainability. The 

Sustainability Office helps administer the program and direct new initiatives across 

all three Pillars. 

As the campus has grown, energy efficiency projects in lighting, building envelope, 

and HVAC have lowered the overall energy use per gross square foot of space by 

seven percent. There are two LEED certified constructions on campus. A 32.4 kW 

solar array provides Hyland Hall with approximately 45,000 kWh of electricity each 

year.

The campus is a member of Zimride, an online ride-sharing user database. Campus 

users can create profiles using secure campus log-in information and be 

automatically matched with other commuters who enter the same schedule. The 

Sustainability Office maintains an alternative transportation page on the university’s 

website that offers direct links or more information to all the transportation service 

options available in the campus communities.
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Efficiency gains were achieved through water conservation practices, particularly in 

dining halls and the chilled water plant. A stormwater outreach and education 

campaign allowed the campus and surrounding municipalities to meet permit 

requirements at low cost and high impact. 

Solid waste reduction practices include efforts to engage the campus community 

through programs like RecycleMania and operational changes to streamline bin 

placement and labeling practices. Many other types of waste have alternative 

methods to landfills established and programs, such as student residence hall moveout waste diversion help reduce this impact further. 

Food waste diversion experiments have begun in dining areas to start scaling up a 

composting program, focusing first on pre-consumer food waste mixed with extra 

issues of the student newspaper. Food waste in dining halls is recovered on the preand post-consumer side and put into industrial grinders for processing at the 

wastewater treatment plant. Used cooking oil is recycled for use as a biofuel.

University Housing has partnered with Goodwill Industries to coordinate a collection 

event as part of the move-out activities. The value to Goodwill prompted them to 

place two permanent on-site collection bins near each residence hall area to 

facilitate year-round collection. The collection program was expanded by the 

Sustainability Office in 2019 to include nonperishable food, toiletries, and school 

supply donations for the Warhawk Pantry, an on-campus food pantry available to all 

students. 

A centerpiece of the UW-Whitewater sustainable landscape plan is the use of native 

species in landscaping beds. Many native species are harvested as seeds from the 

reconstructed prairie in the UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve. There are several 

areas on campus with reduced or eliminated mowing schedules, which helps 

improve outdoor air quality as well as reducing the carbon emissions and labor costs 

where more intensive management practices would be needed to maintain turf. 

Chemicals and other hazardous waste are properly managed through an inventory 

for maximum accountability from purchase to disposal. Grounds staff minimizes use 

of pesticides through integrated pest management eliminating the need for more 

concerning herbicide products. 

The university has adopted a green cleaning policy for several different units on 

campus and is working to consolidate cleaning chemical purchasing under a vendor 

with a wider variety of Green Seal certified products in a mixing station distribution 

system that will reduce the impact of shipping diluted product and plastic waste. 
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Nearly 69 percent of all janitorial cleaning and paper products were third-party 

certified to meet recognized sustainability standards.

The university adopted a building standard to implement filtered bottle filling stations 

in every new construction or renovation project on campus. Additionally, filling 

stations were retrofitted in buildings with known water quality issues and eventually 

every building on campus had at least one filling station available for occupants.

University Health and Counseling Services provides a wide range of health offerings 

that also promote wellness in addition to responding to health needs. On-site 

therapeutic massage therapy is available to faculty, staff, and students. The 

Relaxation Room is a private, quiet space to develop and practice relaxation skills to 

enhance overall well-being using a wide variety of mindfulness resources. 

Mindfulness group sessions are offered on a weekly basis during the semester.

The Outdoor Adventure Club is a student organization that engages students in a 

wide variety of outdoor activities, including camping, kayaking/canoeing, rock 

climbing, and field trips to various locations around the country for these activities. 

Since 2013, the UW-Whitewater Campus Garden has served as a hub for 

community education for gardening techniques and support of public gardening 

efforts. This includes support for a garden at the UW-Whitewater Children’s Center, 

Lincoln Elementary School in Whitewater, and the Whitewater Community Garden. 

Additionally, the Department of Continuing Education provides an ongoing Garden 

Workshop series with local master gardener volunteers and partners with the 

Sustainability Office and Grounds Crew to provide Garden Landscape Tours each 

summer to highlight the sustainable practices of campus grounds and highlight 

garden techniques and answer horticulture questions. 

The Sustainability Office helps manage the UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve, a 100-

acre tract of land on the north end of campus that features a 40-acre woodland and 

55-acre prairie reconstruction project. The trail system in the nature preserve is 

particularly well utilized among members of the community. A special designation as 

an Ice Age Trail Campus connects people to a vast resource with the Kettle Moraine 

State Forest-Southern Unit boasting the oldest and one of the best maintained trail 

sections throughout the National Scenic Trail. 

The most recent revision of the UW-Whitewater general education learning 

outcomes includes a commitment to personal and civic responsibility. The 

environmental science major prepares students to face the challenges of a changing 

world. Courses offer a strong and diverse foundation for a rewarding career in a 

green future. Three track emphases include Nature Science, Geosciences, or 
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188 

Environmental Resource Management. The major includes a capstone project to 

work with a team to solve a real environmental problem in the region. 

Interdisciplinary learning continues to be a key feature for UW-Whitewater as well, 

from the Integrated Science-Business major to intentional efforts to include 

interdisciplinary connections in community-based research. The Sustainability 

Council keeps a representative group of people engaged across the campus and 

community in the spirit of collaborative solutions to problems. 

For several students, their sustainability education culminates in engagement with 

the Sustainability Office directly, either through one of the many project-based 

internships, independent 

study, or capstone 

courses that use the 

campus as a living 

laboratory. 

The Sustainability Office 

engages volunteers to 

collect seeds from native 

prairie plants in the UWWhitewater Nature 

Preserve. Seed 

collection yields an 

average of 20 pounds of 

material that is 

traditionally used to reseed new areas of prairie 

in the Nature Preserve or propagate native plants for use in the landscape 

throughout the rest of campus.

The Sustainability Office hosts annual stream cleanup events in the local waterway 

and participates in the Water Action Volunteers citizen science program. Data are

collected for three local streams and reported to a statewide platform for ongoing 

water quality monitoring. Students from across campus are recruited to participate 

as volunteers in the program. Additional citizen science programs to monitor nutrient 

contamination, salt contamination, and freshwater mussels have been added to the 

stream monitoring program.

The Eco-Reps program strives to engage students in peer-to-peer sustainable living 

tips and techniques through engaging programming and marketing efforts. The Eco-
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189 

Reps are student volunteers living in the residence halls and serve as 

representatives for the Leadership Involvement Team from which they are selected.
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190 

Acknowledgments

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

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 

27 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 

the schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions in states across the nation.

Finally, thanks to Adam Honeysett, ED’s director of state and local engagement, for 

his unfailing support of ED-GRS and its director.
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