I just left my first session at the California Green Schools Summit – this particular work shop on building green schools was hosted by the US Green Building Council- the folks that sponsor the LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Here’s a term the speakers used that I hadn’t hear before - “Greenwash”. This refers to all the hype around green that is more about being politically correct or creating a marketing ploy than about developing innovative strategies to create a sustainable environment.
Despite our current economic crisis, the speakers expressed a great deal of optimism and hope regarding President-elect Obama’s commitment to create a stimulus package with green jobs and sustainability taking a place at the top of the agenda for economic recovery. The USGBC speakers expressed confidence in that we will soon see a great deal of effort put into developing green schools where the building and curriculum place an emphasis on sustainability. The challenge is to get beyond the Greenwash and focus on those policies and actions that can have a significant impact on the future.
While it looks like it is too late for this year I’m especially excited by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) Schools for the Future: Student Design Competition. The School of the Future Student Design Competition “dares students to think creatively about designing tomorrow's green schools, and takes the learning process to the completion of a formal school building design project”. Intended for middle and elementary schools competition throws out this challenge: “How would you connect the learning environment to the community in a school of the future? What would a typical day be like in your school of the future? How will your school of the future preserve the environment”? I’m going to check this out in more detail and share that information with you.Have any of you entered the competition? How are you usng Autodesk products to develop the designs?
As a teacher I’m constantly looking for new curriculum resources related to Green Technology. I found this one offered by The Department of Energy that seems to have a wide range of resources for elementary and secondary students. I’d also be very interested in finding out resources that others in the community are aware of so they can be shared.
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