The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced a new initiative aimed at making sure every student has the opportunity to attend a green school within this generation.
There are nearly 140,000 schools, colleges and universities in the United States; no one has ever counted the buildings, but thousands are barely built to code, USGBC says.
The Center for Green Schools will escalate USGBC’s work on green schools
caucuses in the U.S. Congress and on the state level. The
Center is creating new resources and advocacy tools to support USGBC
Student Groups on college campuses and a nationwide network of more than
1,000 Green School Committee professional volunteers and is focused on
providing trainings and resources to those who need it most–K-12 schools serving lower-income families, under-resourced institutions
and community colleges.
“At USGBC, we understand the profound impact green buildings have on our lives and the innovation they have poured into the marketplace, and we believe no other market speaks more powerfully to the benefits and potential of green buildings than our schools,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of USGBC. “The Center for Green Schools at USGBC is engaging educators in creating sustainable learning environments for their students and applying solid research to inform leadership–from school boards to college presidents–about the benefits of healthy, high-performing schools.”
USGBC also announces United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) as the first Founding Sponsor of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC. Through UTC’s multi-year, multimillion-dollar financial commitment, the Center will lead hundreds of schools across the nation to becoming green and more energy efficient and will help build hundreds of LEED registered education projects in the next few years.
Green schools provide fresh and clean air that improves health, additional daylight that boosts concentration, comfortable temperatures that increase focus and improved acoustics that enable better communication. Green schools also use less water and energy, making them less expensive to operate.
The Center is building upon the leadership, partnerships and programming USGBC started through its Green Schools and Green Campus campaigns, by convening conversations with key decision makers, collaborating with leading education and environmental associations and creating tools and resources that help make green schools possible.
Nature Conservancy’s High School Program
Earlier this month the Nature Conservancy, together with the Ecological Society of America, launched what they say is the first-ever national network for environmentally themed high schools.
This alliance aims to break down socioeconomic boundaries that exist in conservation by sharing proven best practices and cutting-edge scientific resources among member schools. The Conservancy’s Leaders in Environmental Action for The Future (LEAF) Program will also offer students and teachers the opportunity to address common interests through online forums and professional development workshops.
LEAF will provide access to the scientific resources of The Nature Conservancy and The Ecological Society of America; opportunities for peer mentoring and support networks amongst educators; and peer review of existing high school environmental curriculum by leading scientists in the field.
LEAF’s environmental high school partners work to ensure students are engaged in environmental lessons and activities throughout the school year. The program helps students apply The Nature Conservancy’s science-based approach and appreciation for natural areas to what they learn in the classroom. The experiential approach provides students with both a context for their environmental studies, as well as a web of mentors, alumni, and peers that is fundamental to successful youth development programs.
Partner high schools currently include The High School for Environmental Studies, The Academy for Environmental Leadership, The Academy of Urban Planning, The New York Harbor School, The Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment, The Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center, Common Ground, the Academy of Conservation and the Environment, and The Green School, with more slated to join throughout the academic year.
Aimed at improving environmental literacy and engaging urban youth with nature, LEAF provides paid summer internships for high school students coupled with enriched environmental curriculum in high school classrooms.
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