Green Schools National Conference

I am finally unpacking the conference from last week in Denver. So often, we can get in the trap of going to a conference and allowing the learning to get trapped in the moment, never to be processed, reflected on, or shared out. 

U.S. Green Building Council offers a great download called, Green Existing Schools Toolkit. This could be an ideal resource for science or sustainability courses. 

I was really impressed by the work of the Green Bronx Machine. They are keeping kids off the street and learning a ton of green skills. Here is their TED talk. 

EPEAT is a comprehensive environmental rating system of electronics that helps school reduce their environmental footprint. This was one of the Green Ribbon Schools areas that we didn't have a resources for when we completed our application. 

CHPS, Collaborative for High Performance School, is designed to improve the quality of education for our nation's school children by facilitating the design, construction and operation of high performing schools: places of learning that are not only environmentally sustainable, but also healthy, comfortable and well-lit. 

I didn't realize that there is a certification called Greenguard for desks, chairs, flooring, and other common classroom items that looks to enhance indoor air quality. 

This caught my attention, The green movement brought us this far- but if we want our planet to grow and thrive, doing less bad won't be good enough. It's time to shift our mindsets. It's time to evolve from sustainability to regeneration. The future depends on it.  CLEAR, the Center for Living Environments and Regeneration. 

This is an incredible vision for a school. I would love to exist in this space. The Conserve School.

The folks at Project Learning Tree really impressed me during the conference. They appeared in a number of places, and they seem like that have some programming for us. 

Foodskey, the science behind what you eat and drink. 

The Environmental Protection Agency has a program called the SunWise. It is a program surrounding sun safety for kids. Seems like one of those things that we could touch on with all of our time outside with kids. 

There are many times when people are asking whether there is research behind our expeditionary learning. Here is one great study, The Benefits of Place-based Education.  

There is a huge section on the Green Ribbon Schools Application surrounding Indoor Air Quality. This seems to be the gold standard of information from the EPA. 

I had a chance to work with Brian Wee during my panel presentation at the conference. He talked about a very interesting study that he has worked on surrounding the Green School National Network Greenprint and how it correlates to achievement in Denver. The study summary is attached. 

The United States Forest Service has a great learning activity called the i-Tree Learning Lab that allows students to see the cost savings that comes from the trees on campus. It is an ideal activity for middle school and high schools. 

Missouri Environmental Education Association is a great local resources for kids and staff.