Have you ever done the math on commuting to work? Telecommuting saves money, it’s a fact. Yet most folks are fearful of stepping out of the in-person environment. Luckily the barriers have been broken by Adobe as their new Acrobat Connect Pro software has video, audio, and interactivity that create an almost in-person experience for meeting attendees.

In addition, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro online meeting software is now offering a free trial and every time someone signs up they donate twenty-five dollars to help a school go green. In fact, Adobe has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council and the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help schools go green in their communities. Each city will receive up to $100,000 to create classrooms that foster learning alongside smart environmental practices.

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Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

Tomorrow my son turns five, and I’m feeling emotional. This week is a big roller coaster of emotions for me. My son had kindergarten round up, so I had to come to terms that he’s no longer a baby, toddler or even preschooler but heading into the school age realm where the world is much bigger and less sheltered. I’ll explain some of my observations during round up and how being a “green” mom I couldn’t not notice a few things that left lumps in my throat. But besides the birthday and kindergarten round up I head to my State capitol tomorrow with my son to advocate for early childhood services and programs. I’m emotional over this because it’s so important and dear to my heart and the idea of seeing thousands of parents, educators and children all rallying for our young children makes me feel so proud. I am excited for my son on his 5th birthday to be a part of such an important day and to see what his mom does and learn a small piece about government at such a young age. Oh and then there was my skin cancer examination went well and I have nothing to be worried about other than having melasma on my face - which has brought me to tears because most of the treatment options explored are far from “natural”.

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Every year, more schools across the country are doing their part to protect Mother Earth by practicing green initiatives that conserve energy, cut their carbon dioxide footprints and promote environmental awareness.

Public and private schools across Miami-Dade County are following suit.

Environmental studies are also being worked into the curriculum of several schools, including three new ones opening in the fall: a K-8 center in Homestead, a high school in North Miami and another high school in Kendall, which will be the first LEED-certified school in Miami-Dade, meaning the school meets the national standards for green construction.

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With three kids in three different schools, I am buried in paper; the running joke in our household is that I have more homework than my kids do.  Easily three-quarters of what comes home goes straight into the recycling bin.  Multiply that by over 5000 children in our school district and the mind boggles. 

Isn’t there a better way to get information to parents?

One Pennsylvania school thinks so.  Liberty elementary school in Harrisburg now sends school papers electronically through a free website on Shutterfly.  Nearly 90% of the parents at that school opted for the online version- the remainder still preferring paper or lacking home internet access.

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The endless parade of papers sent home, the individually wrapped snacks, the juice boxes at lunch, the idling of school busses, and, lest we forget, the possibility of toxic air: schools have a lot of areas where they could stand to go green. 

If, like me, you are a parent looking for ways to take action and help your child’s school become more environmentally friendly, consider suggesting a lesson in waste reduction through involvement with National Green Week:

“During this week schools can participate in the nationwide waste reduction program (optional). They will simply encourage students to bring their snacks and drinks in reusable containers for the week and weigh their total classroom snack trash the week prior to and during National Green Week….

The objective of National Green Week is to empower children to become environmental stewards to protect our planets valuable resources. The program will also encourage families to consider healthy snack options and save money by buying in bulk and recycling. “

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At www.AmericasGreenestSchool.com, students can nominate their school in a 500 word essay describing how their school is green. Submissions should, “describe how the school shows its commitment to going green, how it teaches its students the value of green living, how it shows its dedication to green transportation or how it embodies the spirit of a greener planet.”

And the best part is the awards if your school wins (well, of course there is educational value in the process!), check out the environmental goodies your school will receive:

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Teachers now have until Friday, Sept. 19, to apply for the C3 Student Club program.

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As The US House of Representatives votes on No Child Left Inside this week, this is your last chance to let your legislator know you want MORE funding for training teachers in outdoor education, MORE funding to expand environmental education programs and MORE programs to ensure that US graduates are environmentally literate.

You can write your representative directly and/or find out how she our he stands at the No Child Left Inside home page. With school budgets cut and the increased emphasis on teaching to the test, not much needed recess, this effort is needed now more than ever.

Jennifer Lance wrote about this effort back in May, but it bears repeating especially as the bill comes up for vote.

While Congress waits to vote, there’s an effort afoot to pass around this video to bring awareness to the issue, by adding this video to your blog. You can get the link on Youtube here.

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Related Posts:

Can You Imagine Your Kids Going to School 4 Days a Week?

No Child Left Inside Video

Uniting Schools at Green California Schools Summit

]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/10/last-chance-for-no-child-left-inside/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/08/take-action-5-ways-to-green-your-childs-school/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/08/take-action-5-ways-to-green-your-childs-school/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:06:00 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/08/take-action-5-ways-to-green-your-childs-school/ In my experience, one of the hardest places to green our family’s life is our children’s school.  As a parent and a teacher at this school, I am constantly met with resistance when I suggest ways we can green our children’s education.  The excuses from lack of money to health regulations never cease, but I never stop trying.  Ironically, these excuses are actually reasons why schools should become more eco-friendly.  Green schools reduce sick days for staff and students, as well as cost 2% less to run, according to the Organic Consumer’s Association.  Here are five ideas to help you change your child’s school:

1. Start a the top with the school board: All policies for school districts are set by the board of trustees.  The administration takes their directives from the school board. If you can get the school board’s support, your schools will go green.  Compile a packet of information on the benefits of green schools and submit it to the board. You may look to other schools or states as models, such as New York requiring the use green cleaners, and New Jersey requiring all new schools be built according to LEED standards.   OCA also has materials available you could use, and Green Schools has a sample school board resolution.  Have parents write letters supporting these changes (letters are more effective than petitions).  Request to have an agenda item listed, then organize a presentation with parents asking the board to adopt a green schools policy or resolution.
2. Work your way down the school’s hierarchy: If you can’t get support from the school board, go to the site’s principal.  If you can’t get the principal’s support, go to your child’s teacher, etc.  Don’t forget the teachers’ union, as they may include in their contract negotiations a reduction in chemical exposure, etc. 

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Look at what’s happening at some of these schools:

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The Green Schools Act passed the House of Representatives last month by a vote of 250 to 164 and is now in the Senate. If passed into law, this bill would provide funding to make school facilities safe, healthy, energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and technologically up-to-date. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), a member of the Education and Labor Committee explained:

The condition of our nation’s school facilities can have an immense impact on the ability of our children to learn and the quality of education they receive.  By improving our schools and making upgrades using green technology, this legislation will create new jobs and help improve student health, learning ability, and productivity.

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How to Turn Your Parents Green, by James Russell and illustrated by Oivind Hovland, is a humorous book for kids ages 8-80 (you are never too old to turn your parents green). This book helps alleviate eco-anxiety by empowering children. “The premise for the book is that grown-ups (the Groans) are responsible for causing global warming, but it’s you (the kids) who will have to deal with the consequences.” The tips in the book are what you would expect, such as eating organically, riding your bike, and turning off light bulbs; but the format is unique in suggesting how children can approach their parents. One suggestions is presenting your parents with a list of poisons in the household, such as cleaners, then giving them a month to switch to natural products. There’s even a section on how to turn your teachers green!

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ECP: Tell us about Borrego Solar and their work with schools going solar.

MH: Borrego Solar is a solar integrator, so we’re the last part of the machine, and what we do is provide turnkey solar electric solutions for our customers. We have two groups, one is called the commercial project group and they’re the ones that service the education industry and work with schools on developing solar projects. They also do commercial and industrial and government work, and then we have a division that does single-family homes. We’re very much focusing on trying to provide not just solar solutions for schools, but better solar solutions for schools. When we looked at the schools, the education industry, and school construction, we’ve been reading some studies that show that the single biggest contributor to new building construction is the construction and retrofitting of schools. If you look at the overall energy issues and the various contributors to carbon emissions, there are really two big sources. One of course is cars and transportation, which our company is not really taking on head on, the second is buildings, which we’re trying to tackle, and if you look at buildings, if you look at new construction, schools are the biggest contributor. So that’s a big reason why we’re focused on schools.

Secondary reasons are to kind of change things, the opportunity to teach students that there are alternatives to the existing fossil fuel-based energy sources. So we’re trying to work with schools. One of the things we’ve seen with schools is that there have been a fair amount, a very tiny percentage, but a fair amount of schools that have gone solar. A large amount of those schools have really not themselves been properly educated about solar and have not had enough support from their integrator to take that next step and not just treat it like an appliance on their roof that is hopefully saving them some money, but that they’re teaching the kids about what it is and use it as a demonstration piece to show that you can power your buildings and power your life with renewable energy. So that’s kind of where we’re coming from, and this session that we’re leading at the Green Schools Summit is really about enabling schools to go solar and some of the things that have happened very recently in the financial products market and then also on the technology side that are really making it much easier for them to go solar.

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According to the conference website, “This groundbreaking event will focus on the strategies, technologies, and services that will ensure that new and existing public schools are models of sustainability and provide a healthy learning environment for students.”

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When Amy wrote about green magazines, she mentioned GOOD as being one of her favorites. I, too, a self-described magazine junkie, am a big fan of GOOD since it’s inception last year. With all the depressing news out there on any given day, GOOD always reaffirms my faith in humanity. Its focus is, like its name implies, good stuff: those things that are making our world a little bit better, and when I’m feeling down about what’s going on around me, GOOD usually perks me up. It’s a rare magazine that doesn’t need an annual "green" issue: sustainability has been a priority since the magazine was founded.

The latest issue (Sept/Oct 07) is no exception. The issue, which commemorates their one-year anniversary, focuses on design solutions. A topic I covered a while back, green schools, gets a feature nod from Eva Steele-Saccio. Steele-Saccio highlights different schools’ efforts to reduce their footprint and become more energy efficient, and acknowledges that there are benefits beyond energy savings: "Green schools create a healthy atmosphere for learning that has measurable results. The combination of natural light, fresh air, open plans, and multi-use facilities that encourage community involvement has helped student test scores rise by 20% and reduced asthma rates by 39%."

There’s also a feature about a village in England that launched a community effort to reduce their carbon footprint, with the ultimate goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral village in the U.K. GOOD’s product reviews almost always include items produced with sustainability in mind, and in this issue, they create a proposal for better CFL packaging: create a package that can be used to ship burned-out bulbs back to the producer for proper disposal. There’s also a profile of Rogan Gregory, founder of clothing company Loomstate, who was virtually responsible for bringing organic cotton to the fashion industry though his work with Loomstate, and his other two companies, Rogan and Edun

Even subscribing to GOOD can make you feel good: 100% of your $20 subscription costs goes to your choice of twelve charities, including the World Wildlife Fund and Oceana. Good is printed on 30% recycled post-consumer paper that is EcoLogic certified, and 100% offset by projects Good is actually involved in.

The September/October issue of GOOD is on newsstands now.