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Learn About Our Green Schools Model and Strategy
Download the PDF Brochure to learn more about the Green Schools Challenge, including the use of the
GREENOMETERsm
and the Menu of Options for reducing and offsetting carbon dioxide emissions at K-12 schools.
Download the BrochureJoin our community!
Sign up to our Green Schools Challenge group.
Talk to other teachers and listen to their experiences or share your own.
The Green Schools Challenge in a Nutshell
Why?
Dream in Green believes that schools and youth play a critical role in transitioning towards a more sustainable society. Also, in a time of skyrocketing energy costs, schools are spending an ever-increasing portion of their budget on utilities. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, schools typically spend more money on energy than books and computers combined. Schools that engage in active energy conservation and invest in efficiency improvements can reduce their energy costs by 25-30 percent. These savings can be used for more valuable and desperately needed expenditures, such as teacher salaries and educational materials.
The Green Schools Challenge plays a critical role in educating youth by involving them directly in designing and implementing environmental and energy solutions at their schools. Local schools compete to reduce their overall carbon footprint while educating other students and staff about why implementing energy conservation is critical. The activities are student-led and usually promote low and no cost conservation as part of the overall plan to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
First Year
Dream in Green earned approval from the Miami-Dade Public School Board in 2006 to pilot the Green Schools Challenge during the 2006-2007 school year. Three high schools, MAST Academy, Palmetto Senior High, and Ransom Everglades joined. The participating students designed and implemented energy conservation campaigns and made recommendations on how cost savings could be invested in infrastructure improvements (including installation of solar panels, window tinting, and replacement of aging appliances) to further accelerate energy reduction.
Second Year
In 2007-08, Dream in Green partnered with the Alliance to Save Energy to expand the Green Schools Challenge to 15 K-12 schools and with the Fairchild Challenge in an invitation to 130 middle and senior high schools to conduct energy research. Schools participating in the GSC:
- Saved over $150,000 while conserving 653,667 kWh of electricity
- Recycled over 87,000 pounds of paper. Of the 15 schools only 3 had recycling programs prior to this year. Now all do and those that did previously significantly expanded their recycling.
- Planted over 540 native trees
- Reduced, sequestered and offset nearly 1,200,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Third year
The Green Schools Challenge is continuing to expand with forty-five schools joining for the 2008/09 school year. Year three was launched with a very successful teacher training for over seventy teachers at Ransom Everglades in late September.
Green Schools Challenge Resources for Participating Schools
If you are a school participating in the Green Schools Challenge, the first step is to join the GSC Yahoo Group (see top of the page) so that you can have access to regular information and resources to implement the GSC in your school. You’ll also be able to ask questions and share resources with other teachers.
Green Schools Challenge Expands Outreach
For those schools participating in the 2007-2008 Fairchild Challenge, consider involving your middle school students in entering in the Research Poster: My Green School and your senior high students in the Research Project: Dream in Green. Entering schools may choose to use whichever research tools works best for them. Dream in Green offers the following resources for your team to consider:
