Going Green: How can schools make New York a greener apple?
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Sustainability is one of those subjects that children and adults can learn about together. Sometimes children make the biggest difference!
At the Division of School Facilities’ Sustainability Committee meeting earlier this fall, Jamie Cloud, the inspiring founder of the Cloud Institute, talked about Jessie-Ruth Corkins, a girl in Vermont who saved her school $90,000 and changed the way the whole state of Vermont heats its school buildings — all before she graduated from high school. Jessie-Ruth was young, in 4th grade, when Vermont instituted its Sustainability Curriculum mandates, Jamie said, it was not that surprising that by the time she entered high school she had taken responsibility for the world she lived in and tried to make it a better place.
That’s what kids do, because they don’t know what’s supposed to be impossible. Some people ask how teachers can find time to teach sustainability concepts among all the other education mandates. “There’s never going to be more time in the day,” said Cloud. “But people have to ask, are we going to educate for sustainability, or for unsustainability?”
Pamela French, a New York parent and the founder of A Greener Apple video series, takes sustainability straight to the streets with the question: “How would you make New York a greener apple?” She asked this question of students, parents, and educators at the Green Schools Alliance’s Green Schools NYC Fair, held last spring at the Collegiate School. Enjoy her piece below and let us know how you would make New York a greener apple in the comments!
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Jennifer- You mention a Sustainability meeting held by DSF in the fall. Have there been more meetings since then and if so, how can one find out about them? I was just informed that DoE requested that all Principals select a Sustainability Coordinator who can help carry out the school’s Sustainability program but few schools even know about this directive as well as any Central meetings taking place to discuss the initiative. Any thoughts or information is appreciated. Thanks.
Comment by margaretnyc — November 21, 2009 @ 11:09 pm
Margaret-
There will be more DOE-run sustainability events in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx (borough-wide events for sustainability coordinators were previously held in Staten Island and Queens). The dates for the meetings in the last three boroughs have not yet been announced.
The regulation governing solid waste management, which covers sustainability, is A-850. All schools should be making a recycling and waste reduction plan. You can find A-850 at this long link: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:GJSrXyE4qZ0J:docs.nycenet.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-47/A-850%2520Final.pdf+schools.nyc.gov+a-850+reg&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESieme6GVcQ3mkTOwtmCtBrNR9jwqSlEAGGZQ6YIzmJAeseupN4kvLKgMAIMSjuIfKXYalT3aukzcUPwDNbdNIqgxQSIndH2M6lhZ3YfRol3y4lMbJBltw92EtOsUrZTLhHCq0A2&sig=AHIEtbRzOFKx5h4TYwz6UzLalVt4lVxXYA.
Increasing sustainability in the schools is a project all members of the school community can participate in–parents, children, teachers, custodians, and administration. The Green Schools Alliance is supporting these efforts by hosting the Green Cup Challenge energy reduction contest in January (www.greencupchallenge.net) and a big green resource fair, Green SchoolsNYC 2010, at Stuyvesant High School on April 17.
-Jennifer
Comment by Jennifer — November 24, 2009 @ 4:14 pm