Every day, the average American produces 4.9 pounds of trash — a staggering amount that contributes to overflowing landfills and environmental harm. A significant portion of this waste comes from food. In fact, 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted, the equivalent of bringing home three grocery bags and tossing one straight into the trash.
By making small changes, we can reduce waste, save money and help protect the planet. Let's make every day Earth Day, starting with what's on our plates.
Fallen leaves provide crucial winter protection for insects and invertebrates like butterflies, moths, and beetles. For example, wooly bear and great spangled fritillary caterpillars rely on leaves for warmth and food. By participating in the “Leave the Leaves” campaign, schools can support these ecosystems on their own grounds. Imagine designating a section of the schoolyard as a “wild zone” where leaves are left undisturbed, creating a living laboratory for students to observe changes throughout the seasons.
On March 8, the PAISBOA Sustainability Group hosted a virtual panel discussion: “Leading Change: Environmental Sustainability at Your School.” Panelists included Lisa Carbone Warren, Director of Finance & Operations at Moorestown Friends School (MFS), and Carolyn Hapeman, Dean of Finance & Operations at Westtown School and Mary Ann Boyer of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.
Studies show that being outside in nature has the ability to calm and heal. Spending as little as 15 minutes in nature lowers cortisol stress levels and blood pressure. Nature helps foster our creativity and observation skills. With the increase of screen time, we often forget to unplug and head outside.
Educational institutions are instrumental in accelerating the transition to clean energy. As centers of scholarship, innovation, and technical expertise, they are well-positioned to lead the charge towards sustainability. Here are tools educational institutions can use to transition to clean energy as outlined in Environment America’s fact sheets, which can be found at https://environmentamerica.org. While written with higher education institutions in mind, much of the report’s guidance is applicable to K-12 schools as well.
On Saturday, January 25th, 2020 a group of dedicated teachers braved rainy weather to attend a Philadelphia GreenFutures Climate Change Teacher Training Workshop at Fairmount Water Works. A partnership between environmentally focused organizations organized this event for Philadelphia School District teachers to discuss their progress following last summer’s three-day summer climate education workshop.
The PAISBOA Sustainability Group convened at The Agnes Irwin School (AIS) on January 14th. Head of School, Dr. Wendy Hill, welcomed over 36 participants from 13 different institutions and highlighted how sustainability has been integrated into the buildings and classrooms at AIS along with a special focus on aquaponics.
The Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) is a non-profit organization located in Valhalla, New York, which works to integrate education for sustainability into school curricula and culture. One of our interns, Casey, spent her summer working for CELF and has written an article to share her reflections on her experience!
During the beginning of school last year, first grade students in Brooke Donovan’s class conducted a classroom waste audit. “We took a close look at the amount of trash we generated after one lunch. Students counted the number of yogurt cups, plastic forks and knives, juice boxes and other trash that we generated” she noted. “Then they discussed what they could do to reduce this waste.”
On the morning of April 22nd, Derby Academy students and faculty gathered to kick off Earth Week with a presentation on how to tackle today’s environmental challenges by Anne Sudduth of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants. The address then culminated in the presentation of the National Wildlife Federation Eco Schools Bronze Award to the Derby community.
On March 16, 2019, Boyer Sudduth helped to run the Bright Ideas About Energy Workshop at the Franklin Institute. This workshop consisted of twenty-two sustainable minded teachers from the Philadelphia region seeking to enhance their understanding of energy conservation and develop tools to bring back to the classroom.
We’ve been working on something new…
Since August 2018, Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants met to organize, brainstorm, and plan -- and then organize, brainstorm and plan again, with Reading High School students, teachers and staff to develop a vision for a project that would invigorate their environmental education and school sustainability. Now it’s time for the big reveal…The Living Learning Laboratory Project. Reading High School will transform their unused school courtyard into a vibrant, biodiverse space where students can engage in hands-on STEAM learning outdoors.
The Green Committee at Reading High School believes “This project will foster a generation of citizens who are prepared to become creative and innovative leaders, to take care of their environment, and to actively participate in their community for years to come.” We think so, too!
Reading High School’s Green Committee members
RHS’s Green Committee of faculty and students review design drawings by Structure Green’s Ann Sellers (pictured second from left)
A section of the existing courtyard at RHS which will be renovated into a new outdoor learning space.
Science teacher and Green Committee faculty leader, Jeannine Michel, with one of RHS’s courtyard inhabitants--Big Mamma
We are so excited to work with a talented group of people: the students of the Eco Club, Faculty Green Committee Lead and Environmental Science teacher, Jeannine Michel (pictured below), landscape designer Ann Sellers, and agriculturalist Kent Himmelright of the Berks County Conservation District to make this vision possible. On April 11, the School will have a “Green Between” event from 3 to 5 pm with area community partners to raise awareness about the plans for the Courtyard. We hope to break ground late spring and during the summer. Check back in with us as this courtyard, and the Reading High School community, transform.
By Emma Schlam, Sustainability Intern at Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, and grad student at Clark University pursuing dual degrees in Master of Business Administration and Master of Environmental Science and Policy.
Students at APS Discovery Elementary observe energy use on a display screen. (Photo from the Green Schools National Network.)
Last year, the Arlington Public School District (APS) in Massachusetts was one of fifty-eight primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools and school districts to receive national recognition for efforts and achievements in sustainability. Over the course of several years APS invested in improving energy efficiencies by installing solar panels, new natural gas boilers, LED lighting, and energy management systems, among other operational improvements (APS ED-GRS application, 2017). Students and faculty can be found composting, diverting 122,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill each year. Students also have the opportunity to learn about environmental science, energy efficiency and sustainability through recycling and composting programs as well as interactive tools that display energy use and savings.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a 2012 Green Ribbon School from Pennsylvania, uses bulletin boards to raise awareness of the school’s zero waste efforts.
Through these diligent efforts APS was able to earn the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) Award. Considered the top honor for green schools, DOE grants ED-GRS awards every year in conjunction Earth Day celebrations. The goal? Inspiration and resource-sharing. “The ED-GRS award was very meaningful,” says Arlington Public Schools Sustainability Coordinator, Rachel Oliveri, “it not only gave us state and national recognition but also led many other communities to reach out and learn from us and exchange ideas.” In a press release after receiving the 2018 award, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie said, “it’s such an honor to be cited on the national level for our efforts and to educate students who see themselves as powerful change makers.”
Developing minds are a distinct target for initiating change, promoting sustainable innovation, and spreading awareness. More than a quarter of the U.S. population is school-aged (0-25), most of whom spend significant portions of their day in educational institutions (and more, if you include faculty and staff) (KFF, 2016). Thus, educational institutions have become exemplars and boiling pots of sustainable transformation. Through efficiency improvements, recycling, composting and other waste-reduction programs along with numerous environmental education opportunities, schools across the country are taking steps (both big and little) towards a more sustainable future for generations to come. ED-GRS awards work as a catalyst to improve infrastructure, experience, and opportunity in schools nationwide by amplifying sustainability success stories and sharing best practices. Green schools “teach students how to lead a changing world, and they support student understanding by modeling sustainable behavior through green operations and building practices” (Center for Green Schools, 2018).
Every year each state can nominate up to six schools and/or districts for consideration by the U.S. Department of Education. Schools that qualify as “green” must demonstrate progress in three main areas, or “pillars” (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2018):
DOE Green Ribbon Schools three pillars.
Pillar 1: Reduce environmental impacts and operational costs
Schools with more energy efficient operations spend less on utility costs and are better able to channel resources to education.
Pillar 2: Improve health and wellness
Schools with healthy environments allow students, faculty, and staff to flourish.
Pillar 3: Provide effective environmental and sustainability education
Schools that offer exceptional educational opportunities in hands-on cross-departmental environmental learning (especially STEM and green careers) foster student engagement, civic skills and leadership.
Wendy Turner, teacher and Green Team leader, at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, a 2015 Green Ribbon Award winner and participant in Green Building United’s Delaware Pathways to Green Schools program.
The program has “made a significant impact on the green schools movement,” says ED-GRS Director, Andrea Falken. The DOE now has “an unprecedented platform to address school facilities, health, and environment.” Falken believes in the program’s unique ability to foster collaboration. ED-GRS and it’s affiliated resource-sharing tools have worked to spread awareness of the many free programs that organizations such as NOAA, EPA, and U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Energy offer. The program has also enabled collaborations across the for- and non-profit private sectors, Falken says.
While the award itself is strictly non-monetary, the program fosters a funding culture that values and strives for excellence in sustainability. Many states have adopted funding programs specific to sustainability improvement projects, such as Green Building United’s Delaware Pathways to Green Schools Program, which offers mini grants and other resources to promote sustainability improvements in schools. Other states have incorporated sustainability standards and requirements into their existing funding programs for capital improvement projects. In Massachusetts, the School Building Authority (MSBA), which provides funds for most major building projects, sets baseline sustainability standards and provides incentives for going beyond those standards (MSBA, 2011). Matthew Deninger, who works for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, serves on the MSBA board, and is the Massachusetts coordinator for ED-GRS, believes that the ED-GRS award program and MSBA funding requirements complement each other quite effectively. “The MSBA baseline standards are pretty high,” Deninger says, “so any school that does a major remodel or new construction project that is funded by MSBA is required to meet those standards. Schools can also opt-in to higher sustainability standards such as LEED-S or NE-CHIPS and gain additional reimbursement points.”
Massachusetts (and many other states) have also used the application process for ED-GRS awards as a means to recognize sustainability efforts big and small within their state. “Even if a school doesn’t quite make it to consideration on the national level, we recognize state finalists and sustained excellence at schools that have already been recognized in past years,” Deninger says. “There’s a tremendous amount of work happening by teachers and students who go above and beyond,” he says, “it’s the least we can do to recognize their efforts.”
Has your school made significant progress on its sustainability goals? If so, you may want to consider applying to be nominated by your state for the ED-GRS award. Application deadlines are approaching - be sure to allow plenty of time for this prestigious application process. Information for all states can be found here or you can follow the links for select states below:
Pennsylvania Department of Education ED-GRS application: education.pa.gov
Due January 4, 2019
Massachusetts Department of Education ED-GRS application: doe.mass.edu
Due January 11, 2019
Delaware Green Building United Green Schools Program: greenbuildingunited.org
Rolling application
Want to make improvements in the three pillar areas at your school? BSEC has experience empowering and guiding schools through the development and implementation of sustainability strategic plans and programs. Contact us for a free phone consult!
You can find more information on the national ED-GRS program here. DOE’s Green Strides platform also offers a user-friendly pool of resources, funding and collaboration opportunities. You can also contact your state ED-GRS coordinator for more information.
Article submitted by Avery Wolfe a recent graduate of Bates College and intern with Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.
Photo: Students at Boston Latin stand outside of their Freight Farm
Stepping into the shipping container on the grounds of Boston Latin School is not what you would expect. The glow of LED lights, the cool humid temperature and the abundance of leafy greens hanging from the ceilings might surprise you, but for the students in charge of maintaining this wonder, it’s just another day.
