Reading High School’s Green Committee Takes a Fresh Look at its Interior Courtyard

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.

Looking to Grow Your Sustainability Knowledge This Summer? Check Out These Opportunities

Fuse 19: Design Thinking for Educators – Atlanta, GA

June 5 - 7, 2019

Fuse19 exists at the intersection of business and education – it is a conference for exploring the possibilities of design thinking, the maker movement, entrepreneurship and innovation. Hosted by the Mount Vernon Institute for Innovation (MVIFI) and Mount Vernon Presbyterian School (MVPS), this multi-day experience brings together leaders from education and corporate industries from around the country, with the intent to inspire transformative impact and change. Participants gain hands-on experience to build capacity as learners and leaders within their organizations and innovation teams.

Cost: $175 – $895

School Garden Teacher Training – West Sonoma County, CA

June 17 - 21, 2019

July 8 - 12, 2019

OAEC’s School Garden Teacher Training supports schools in creating and sustaining garden-based ecological literacy programs and helps build a strong cohort of colleagues.This training is designed for individuals or teams of teachers, garden educators, administrators and core parent volunteers.

Cost: $950 per participant for individuals, $900 per person for members of school teams (2+ from the same school)

Walton Sustainability Academy – Missoula, MT

June 17-21, 2019

June 24-28, 2019

July 15-19, 2019

The Walton National Sustainability Teachers’ Academy is an intensive, five-day professional development workshop for K-12 teachers held every summer. Participants receive a thorough introduction to sustainability science through hands-on activities and lectures by experts in the field. Engaging field trips highlight sustainability in action at local business and other organizations. Through ample networking opportunities, teachers become part of a dedicated community of sustainability activists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and other educators.

Application deadline: March 15, 2019

Cost: $0

Each individual receives a $300 stipend for participating in the workshop. An additional $300 stipend is available after completing a project in their home school and/or district.

Project Based Learning World Conference – Napa Valley, CA

June 18 - 20, 2019

PBL World is a one-of-a-kind, multi-day event for Project Based Learning. Each year, it brings together educators - K-12 teachers, instructional coaches, and school and district leaders - who want to begin and advance their Project Based Learning practice, and connect with a community of their peers. The event is an immersive experience that actively engages participants in deep, focused, real work, in collaboration with peers.

Cost: $1,150 – $1,475

Environmental Literature Institute at Exeter – Exeter, NH

June 23 - 28, 2019

ELI is a transformative experience designed to expand thinking about environmental education and to revitalize work with students and colleagues. This week-long teacher training aims to cultivate a community of educators interested in environmentally-focused teaching and learning. It emphasizes how the methods and approaches of disciplines in the humanities can enhance environmental learning. The various workshops, speakers, and events offers rich ideas for teachers in all disciplines, including the natural and social sciences.

Cost: $1,500

Community Works Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability – Brooklyn, NY

June 24 - 28, 2019

Participants include a diverse group of K-16 teachers and administrators, along with community based educators.

Cost: $899 – $1,289 (early registration rates available)

Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy – Shelburne, VT

July 8 - 10, 2019

Through the ten days of this program, we create a learning community exploring Education for Sustainability (EFS), systems thinking, and leadership for school transformation.​ We will engage participants with new ways of thinking, skills to create change and nurture themselves, and present them with innovative ideas & strategies to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the future. At the heart of this work is educators and a sense of hope, love and resilience.Cost: $1,500

Photo by Phil Kahler

Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week – Bremen, MN

July 14 - 19, 2019

Learn practical approaches and add inspiration to your environmental education curriculum during this action-packed program. Hog Island Audubon’s experienced and enthusiastic instructors share their favorite approaches, methods, and activities for engaging both children and adults with nature.

Cost: $1,045 – $1,445

CELF Annual Summer Institute – Multiple Locations, NY

Westchester County, NY – July 15 - 18, 2019

New York City, NY – July 29 - 31, 2019

An intensive multi-day workshop that enables teachers to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their existing curricula. The Institute equips K-12 teachers with practices and teaching methods to address the core concepts of EfS – the intersection of social, economic, and ecological systems – and how the balance of those three systems is vital to a sustainable future, and relevant to all subject areas.

Cost: Westchester County, $550 per person ($500 per person for school teams of 3 or more participants)

New York City, $500 per person ($450 per person for school teams of 3 or more participants)

Education for Sustainability: Summer Institute – Shelburne, VT

July 22 - 26, 2019

This week is part conference, part workshop, part retreat. Designed to be dynamic and democratic, the Institute offers teachers the time and space to develop projects of personal interest while providing opportunities to learn from colleagues and other leaders in field of Education for Sustainability. Interactive sessions will feature a blend of individual work time, peer-to-peer feedback, resource sharing, hands-on learning experiences, and large and small group discussions.

Cost: $60

Photo By Jaime Amling

Colorado Rockies Alpine Backpacking for Educators – Colorado

July 28 - Aug 4, 2019

This eight-day wilderness experience is designed to give primary, secondary, and college educators an introduction to the Outward Bound model of experiential education.

Cost: $1,895

Adult Courses and Outdoor Adventures at the College of the Atlantic

Field Botany: Plants of New England - July 28 - August 10, 2019

From Capture to Print: Digital Photography and Photoshop - July 28 - Aug 3, 2019

Plein-Air Watercolor Painting with Rob Finn - August 4-10, 2019

Our goal is to educate and inspire life-long learners through “hands-on” experiential learning by offering programs that appeal to both new and our ever-growing list of returning participants. Learning will include on-campus studio or lab work, informal discussions or lectures, and field trips out and about in Mount Desert Island’s picturesque Acadia National Park and the outer islands of Frenchman Bay.

Cost: Varied

Summer Curriculum Design Studio: Education for a Sustainable Future – Rhinebeck, NY

Aug. 5 - 9,2019

An immersive Introduction to Education for Sustainability (EfS) over the weekend and 5 Days of Curriculum Design and Coaching. Gain access to expertise, resources and tools required to design elegant curricula for use in the classroom, protocols for professional  development, or action plans designed to implement EfS change initiatives in schools and communities. Onsite lodging and meals optional.

Cost: $445 for members, $495 for non-members

Updated as of March 8, 2019

Compiled by Maryana Dumalska, Sustainability Intern at Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, and a junior at Boston College studying Environmental Geosciences and Economics.

National Recognition Drives Excellence in Green Schools

Sharing Sustainability Success in Schools

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.