Feds Launch Green Ribbon School Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A tree-planting ceremony at the Department of Education headquarters marked the launch of a new program to recognize eco-friendly school facilities and operations that aims to both help schools in need of money and prepare students for jobs.

 

The Green Ribbon Schools program will “recognize schools that have taken great strides in greening their curricula, buildings, school grounds and overall building operations,” according to a department statement.

 

The awards will be given to students who best exemplify the country’s transition to a sustainable economy by graduating “environmentally literate students” and managing the carbon footprint.

 

In addition to educating students, the Department of Education also aims to provide an innovative solution to economic problems hitting districts across the United States by cuttings costs through energy efficient and green building measures.

 

"In a time when budgets are tight, the Department of Education is encouraging schools to engage in a creative win-win scenario, cutting expenses while using the school facilities as dynamic learning labs for students," said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. "This federal initiative supports the work of the National Wildlife Federation, which has helped more than 4,000 schools go green over the last 15 years."

 

The effort to get the program adopted by the department was coordinated by the Campaign for Environmental Literacy and the campaign’s steering committee — Earth Day Network, the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Green Building Council — which worked for over a year to bring it into effect.

 

Launched at the behest of teachers, principals, students and others supporters across the country, the program modeled on the nearly 30-year-old Blue Ribbon Schools program, which recognizes schools whose student bodies have displayed high academic achievement or improvement.

 

“Green Ribbon is more than just another award program,” said Jim Elder, director of the campaign. “It puts the weight of the U.S. Department of Education behind a comprehensive vision for green schools, and with a strong push from everyone involved, will significantly accelerate the adoption rate of green school practices among schools across the country.” 

 

The initiative was supported by 75 national and state organizations, the department reported.

 

While many states already have green school programs or environmental literacy plans, the Green program will unify and acknowledge those efforts under a voluntary national award that intends to “stress innovation and new strategies in environmental curriculum development, teacher training, facilities management, operations and community engagement with criteria developed by the Department of Education,” the statement said. 

 

Officials from the Campaign for Environmental Literacy said the program sets a high standard for schools to aim for and defines what a green school is.

 

Green schools reduce energy consumption, save money and foster healthier learning environments for children, said Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U. S. Green Building Council.

 

"No other building type speaks more profoundly to the benefits of green building than the places where our children learn,” he said. "The Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools program is a landmark in progress toward green schools for everyone within this generation, which is the vision for (the Council’s) Center for Green Schools."