Question:
"Going green" and environmental awareness are on the minds of many of us, especially as we try to conserve energy AND save money. What measures have you or your school taken to model conservation and/or save money? (Ex. turn down thermostats, cover or replace windows, install motion-activated lights, change the school schedule, etc.)
Replies:
Judy Reeves - Lake Charles, La
Going Green in Lake Charles has been quest for my Science Club for the past 3 years. Our Theme is “A Cleaner Today for A greener Tomorrow” which speaks volumes on what we are doing in our community. Last year we competed nationally in the Lexus Challenge and won many part of their Environmental Challenge, We also won our states award for Keep Louisiana Beautiful for our waste management program. This year we are working with DEQ to identify all companies that are a potential risk to our drinking supply, we are tuning up our school by installing Solar Screens on all 150 windows, replacing thermostats with digital, reducing our light usage by running one string of light per room on sunny days thus utilizing natural light, Recycling paper, aluminum, plastic, and we are the first school in Louisiana with a Solar panel system. The students are active in all programs and projects and we have creates several blogs that can be viewed from our web site link www.stmcs.com just click on the recycle symbol.
Deborah Lindsey - Opelika, Al
Our school recycles plastic water bottles, paper, plastic bags, newspapers, and cardboard boxes in conjunction with our city's recycling program and the Keep Opelika Beautiful Program. With the current economic situation and proration in Alabama, all computers, printers, speakers, power strips, etc. are turned off every afternoon after school ends. Empty ink cartridges are being recycled for a rebate toward future purchases. Heating and air conditioning is shut off in large areas such as auditoriums and gyms when not scheduled for use. These areas are closed off to save energy. Energy efficient computer monitors are replacing older less energy efficient ones. Teachers are using school web pages to post information that was photocopied in large quantities and mailed out. Consideration is being given to posting teacher handbooks (over 100 photocopied pages each) in PDF files available online rather than making photocopies of them.
Mary Patterson - Coraopolis, PA
When we reconfigured our 1932 school building 5 years ago to meet the needs of our 21st century students, we became a Gold Level LEED school. We reused materials like the original wood trim, doors, etc., bought local products, used low VOC paints, built facilities that could be used by the community on off school hours. We try to reduce paper use through the use of technology. We recycle paper through ATIBI, teach using "found materials" (reuse) in our Art classes, share resources (books, E-books, DVDs, etc,.) through AccessPA. Our new windows allow use of ambient light while they reduce use of electricity.
For more details see our website at olsh.org
FL
We have a HUGE recycling bin where all the paper goes so it can be recycled and also we have all been using less water at our school
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