Green Print
A “GreenPrint” for Becoming a Green and Healthy School
What Is a Green School?
A Green School enhances student health and learning while conserving natural resources and empowering students to develop sustainable behaviors, enabling them to become the stewards of the future.
How do you become a Green School?
Becoming a green school is not a prescribed journey; it is a series of conscious actions that lead to more ecological and sustainable practices. By using this “GreenPrint” as a road map, leaders, teachers and students, can begin to implement core practices immediately. Through long-term commitment to these core practices, schools and school districts work toward implementation of all benchmarks at the highest level.
Core Practice 1: Curriculum that Advances Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
- Environmental literacy and education for sustainability, as defined by local, state, and national standards, is integrated at all grade levels;
- All teachers use inquiry, problem, and project based pedagogy to facilitate learning about global systems and relationships.
- Outdoor experiences and fieldwork support learning about complex systems that connect humans with other humans and all aspects of the natural world.
- Content areas are integrated by using environmental and sustainability topics as the integrating theme.
- STEM education is designed to support a sustainable workforce for a green economy.
Core Practice 2: Stewardship and Service Learning
- Real world service learning projects that explore solutions to local, regional, and global problems and issues and teach 21century skills;
- Stewardship projects that allow the student to take responsibility for their own school grounds.
- Place-based projects and practices that include, but are not limited to, school farms, forests, and gardens.
- All students have the opportunity to participate in land restoration projects, such as native eco-system or brown fields remediation;
- Teacher and leaders provide opportunities for students to make local and global connections.
Core Practice 3: Sustainable Facilities Design and Management
- Green facilities design and construction retrofit for existing buildings as defined by state, regional or national certification programs.
- Management practices operations and maintenance that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, improve indoor air quality and lighting, decrease waste stream and improve water conservation.
- Zero-waste or reduced-waste cafeterias.
- Use of non-toxic and eco-friendly supplies and materials;
- Facility managers and teacher work together to use buildings, management practices, materials and supplies purchasing to teach about sustainability.
Core Practice 4: Health and Well Being
- Healthy eating programs that utilize locally sourced and whole foods;
- Curriculum and support for physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices.
- Fitness and recreation program that includes lifetime outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, biking, skiing, and camping.
- Healthy air quality practices and lighting that reduce illness and absenteeism.
- Healthy and thoughtful relationships with others that support character development.
Core Practice 5: Strong Partnerships and Networks
- Long-term partnerships that support systemic change and ecological balance within the school and community
- Develop strong partnerships among groups of diverse cultural heritage to promote the greening of schools in all communities.
- Participation in the development of state and national green school networks.
- Participation in research and evaluation of student learning and best green school practices.
- Collaboration with research based curriculum and assessment models.
GSNN MISSION
The Green Schools National Network (GSNN) advances the national green and healthy schools movement by connecting like-minded and passionate education, non-profit, corporate and public sector individuals and organizations.
GSNN VISION
GSNN is nationally recognized as the premier partner in advancing collaboration to integrate a green and healthy culture in schools to ensure that current and future generation of students are environmentally literate as well as practice and promote sustainability in their community.
GSNN AREAS OF FOCUS
- Education/Professional Development
- Resources and Information
- Networking/Collaboration
- Advocacy/Policy
- Research
ORGANIZATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO THE
GREEN SCHOOLS NATIONAL NETWORK
GREENPRINT DOCUMENT
| Alaska Green Schools
Alliance for Climate Education Association of Independent Schools Biological Sciences Curriculum Study BluePlanet Cannon Design Center for Diversity and the Environment Denver Public Schools E3 Washington EarthEcho Earth Partnerships for Schools Environmental Charter Schools – California Facing the Future Global Green HealthCorps High Plains Environmental Center |
Kansas Assoc. for Conservation & Environmental Education
Kokua Hawaii Foundation Lunch Partners Maine Green Schools Mid-America Regional Council Minnesota Department of Education National Association of Elementary School Principals Oregon Green Schools Pine Jog Environmental Center SIG Energy Initiative Sizemore Group Sustenance International Sustainable Schools Project Trane – Climate Solutions Center Triangle Energy Solutions U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development Washington Green Schools Will Steger Foundation Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education |
