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Recognizing ExcellenceGreen & Healthy / Green Ribbon Schools
WASBO Convention – May 15, 2015
Converging Stories for Today
Greendale School District
Green Ribbon Schools
Green & Healthy
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Why Green & Healthy?
Do more with less. An increased sense of ownership by teachers, students and staff in the school
Economic savings associated with reduced consumption and operating costs
Increased protection of natural resources
Increase student and staff health and wellness
Increased connections with the community
Use of the school site as a teaching tool
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An American town.. Greendale!
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The 1937 “Original” homes
Mission
Support and encourage schools to create safe and healthy learning environments and prepare students to understand, analyze, and address the major environmental and sustainability challenges now and in the future.
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9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
What does
a GHS look like?
Sprout • Register
Seedling • 1 Area
Sapling • 5 Areas*
Sugar Maple • 9 Areas
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Who can lead the GHS work?
Administrators
Facility Managers
Teachers
Student Groups
Parent Groups
Mentor
Local EE Provider
Business PartnerIdeally, a green team will represent many groups
Transportation
Water
School Sites/Forest
Energy
Health & Wellness
Indoor Environmental
Quality
Recycling & Solid Waste
Management
Community Connections
Classroom Integration
Green & Healthy/Green Ribbon Recognition
GSD: Sustainability Team Focus…
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GOAL: Reduce District’s Environmental Impact
9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
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Energy
Reducing energy use in school saves the school money.
$75 per student on gas bills and $130 per student on electricity each year
K‐12 schools have been able to reduce energy costs by as much as 30% in existing facilities
Energy
Improve student performance.
Daylighting can reduce lifetime utility costs 30‐70% and improve student performance
Students with the most daylighting in their classrooms progressed 20 percent faster on math tests and 26 percent on reading tests in one year than those with the least.
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Energy Projects & Renovations
New T‐8 low‐watt lighting, occupancy sensors, ceilings ‐2004
$14 million referendum passed‐2007
new heating plants, digital controls, pool equipment , coils and operational upgrades
GHS became an Energy Star Partner and saved $200,000/year on energy
Outdoor lights on timers
Renewable Energy
Solar thermal panels at GHS and GMS heat water using solar electric energy
15 glazed panels to supplement the schools hot water for kitchen and bathrooms
pool water heating system is made up of 32 HC‐50 solar collectors
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9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
Recycling & Waste Management
Recycling – It’s the law!
Reducing waste, reusing materials, recycling, and buying recycled products lessens a school or district's impact on the environment by:
Saving energy
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions
Diminishing the need for raw products to make new materials
Decreasing the amount of materials put into landfills
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refresh and Precycling
Repurposing paper
(notebooks, books)
Aluminum Can‐ clean up and Boy Scout donation
Art project reuse: smocks, tee‐shirts, plastic bags
Kindergarten Juice containers recycled for art
Trash Clean‐ups in woods
Annual garlic/mustard pulls
9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
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Environmental Health
Create a safer learning environment. When the school environment is unhealthy, students may be exposed to harmful pollutants and chemicals that may cause their health, attendance, and academic performance to suffer.
Reduced exposure to toxins. Growing children eat, drink, and breathe more, relative to their body weight, than adults. Therefore, a typical child’s exposure to pollutants is higher than that of a typical adult, resulting in an increased susceptibility to pollution.
Children’s developing organ systems can also be much more susceptible to the effects of environmental contaminants.
EPA’s K‐12 School Environmental Health Program Guidelines
Polished Concrete & Terrazzo Floors
Benefits
Increased energy efficient material
Reduced maintenance
Increased efficiency in cleaning time
Lower scuffing
Longer lifetime & durability (40+ years)
No chemical treatment
no hazardous inhalants emitted in maintenance
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Green Purchasing, Green Cleaning
Working on reduced copying costs, paper use with a goal of $20,000 cost savings per year
Switched to green cleaning chemicals and procedures at no extra cost
De‐Cluttering for IEQ
Improved culture to maintain healthy indoor environments
Removed air fresheners
Removed hanging material from ceilings
Removed paper from bulletin boards and painted for color
Reduced use of plants and stuffed furniture
An “end of school” staff checkout insures the de‐cluttering continues
Educated staff on HVAC & IEQ
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9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
Transportation
Almost 1/3 of the total U.S. air pollution
~146 million people in the US live in counties where air was unhealthy
Adults breathe about 20,000 times each day
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GSD Students survey staff and student miles driven to school
9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
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Water
Less than 1% of the water on the planet sustains the ever‐growing human population.
Water Conservation & Turf Grass
Installed new restrooms, plumbing and fixtures throughout GHS that are more water and energy efficient
Replaced all drinking fountains in the district with energy saving models and one water bottle filler at every school.
Added in‐ ground irrigation system to baseball field, bioswale and turf to save water
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9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
School Site
Outdoor Education Leads to Improved Academic Success
Longer attention spans.
More creativity.
Higher levels of self‐confidence.
Higher standardized test scores.
Significant improvements in cognitive development, self‐discipline, imaginative and creative expression, language skills, and social interactions.
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School Garden
2011
2015
Pumpkin Patch used for 4K
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School Forest/Hoop house
School Gardens
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GHS school garden
9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
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Health & Wellness
Obesity/overweight is considered a national epidemic
Costs due to the obesity epidemic Obligation to identify and provide outreach
Opportunity and revenue lost due to missed school days
Nutrition and physical activity is linked to achievement, attendance, & behavior
Food & Nutrition
Classroom celebrations reformatted
Breakfast & lunch reworked in 2012 to be healthy
Healthy classroom snack options distributed
ProStart Culinary track at GHS
Processed foods decreased
School garden produce used in program & local sourcing
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Fitness & Health
Student and Family Assistance Program (SFAP and EAP)
Community Run/Walk (600 people)
Fitness nights out at Elementary Schools
Fitness Grams
Free on site health clinic with Nurse Practitioner
On‐site staff fitness center
9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
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Environmental & Sustainability Ed.
Time spent learning and playing outdoors can:
reduce incidence of obesity
reduce symptoms of ADHD
reduce stress in general
State mandate
School Forest Wetlands
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9 Focus Areas
Energy Recycling & Waste
Environmental Health
Transportation Water School Site
Health & Wellness
Environmental & Sustainability
Education
Community Involvement
Community Involvement
“effective family and community engagement… can help produce a range of positive outcomes including improved student achievement, increased attendance, greater community‐wide support for school improvement, and innovative methods to address challenges.”
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GSD:
Community involvement?
Nourish Events 2011, 2012, 2013
Attended by over 200 community members and district families
50+ Exhibitors, live demonstrations, student presentations
Information on health, wellness, nutrition, local healthy food, sustainable living, environmental & water conservation tips
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Greendale Schools continues to be a top performing district in metro Milwaukee
Energy costs reduced by ¼
Staff and students think “sustainably”
Younger parents appreciate that GSD “gets it”
Student’s environmental education filters through academic work‐ project based learning and place based learning
Results?
• A healthier, safer, more productive and cost‐efficient environment
• Minimum annual energy cost savings of $200,000
• Engaged community (Sustainability Team, Nourish Expo, healthy lunches, school gardens)
• Improved communications
• Improved purchasing
• De‐cluttering !
10 years of accomplishments at GSD
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IAQ Plan & EPA Award of Excellence
Educated staff on IAQ and TfS
EPA IAQ Great Start and Leadership Awards – 2009
EPA IAQ Excellence Award in 2011
Reduced worker compensation claims saving $50,000/yr
National Green Ribbon Award 2014
Applied for District wide National Green Ribbon Award in 2014
On Earth Day, 2014, informed we were one of 8 districts in US chosen!
Received award in July of 2014 in Washington DC
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District Sustainability Team
Past initiatives
Began 3 school gardens to grow produce and use for curriculum
Team education in the “Natural Step” & lower impact ways of living and sustaining environment
Held (3) community events to highlight “green sustainability” topics
National wellness/walker speaker Rob Sweetgallbrought to all EL schools in 2015
Healthsize food service offerings
Future goals/interest
Continue educating community and students in sustainability and future of the planet
Students measure carbon footprint of district and reduce it/use less resources
Add school gardens at every school
Develop school forests as outdoor classrooms
Measure waste diversion and ramp up composting to divert 75% of waste from landfill
Recognition Levels and Benefits
Sugar Maple(9 focus areas)
Sapling(5 focus areas)
Seedling(1 focus area)
Sprout(register)
• Certificate and Banner• Eligible to be nominated for Green
Ribbon Schools• EcoSchools Flag*
• Framed Certificate • Certified PLT GreenSchool!• Expanded PLT grant eligibility
• Certificate• Eligible for Recycling Bin, PLT Grant• EcoSchools certification*
• Welcome Packet/Window Clings• Cool Choices Game, Media Blitz• Registered PLT GreenSchool!
* In progress for potential future availability
EcoSchools*
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What’s the benefit to our district? (or how to get buy in)• It will put you in touch with your core mission‐ educating
the next Gen!• It will help you develop relationships with faculty, students
and community• Your district will save precious dollars that can be directed
into the classroom• You will attract positive PR for being progressive and
understanding environmental impacts• It will foster real world and outdoor learning opportunities
for students and promote STEM learning• Green/sustainability careers are BIG now and into the
future‐ career pathways for students!• You will be viewed as a district that “gets it”!• Your kids and Grandkids will think you are cool !
Building on the past and redefining the future!
Greendale Schools
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Get Recognized! Start Now…
Complete the online application at:
MyGHSwisconsin.org
Share your story on GHSWisconsin.org:
create a profile and upload photos and/or video.
There is no deadline for Green & Healthy Schools Wisconsin.
To be considered for the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools or District Sustainability Award, application materials must be submitted by December 1 each year.
What’s Next?
Green & Healthy Schools Wisconsin Institute
October 30, 2015
Lake Mills Elementary School
Victoria RydbergWisconsin Department of Public Instruction 608‐266‐[email protected]
Erin GreenGreendale School DistrictDirector of Business 414‐423‐2705 [email protected]
GHSWisconsin.org