Greening School Facilities

Our students learn what they live. If they spend all their school days in sterile classrooms, prison-like buildings and lifeless playgrounds, they will not become creative and critical thinkers, and they will not learn that human beings are a part of the beautiful web of life. Why should schools, by their very design, be allowed to kill the wonderful spirit of our youngest citizens?

School greening is designing (and then building or renovating/retrofitting and decorating) school environments that help students stay connected with the rest of Nature, while helping them learn, both passively and actively, about energy efficiency and green building design.

Green School Design, Decor, Renovation and Building

• some of these ideas can be implemented even if you're not renovating, without much cost, and
• several of the ideas could contribute to your transformative sustainability education efforts.

The goal was to use research-based best practices, state-of-the-art technology, and sound design principles to intentionally create (by building or renovating) classrooms that are healthy, environmentally friendly, and conducive to effective learning and teaching.

The purpose of this template was to share with architects, designers and others the criteria we believed would best support students and teachers in their education programs, within our Green School framework.

Three caveats:

1. The criteria listed here are interactive and interconnected. Some synergistic effects or unintended consequences are possible.


2. Trade-offs might be necessary to contain costs. Through reflection and discussion, we identified those features we deemed "Baseline" (must be included) and those we deemed "Ideal" (would be great to include, if feasible).


3. We kept three main objectives in mind while researching and selecting these criteria:
   • First, the students and their learning are to be foremost in deliberations and decisions at all times.
   
   
   • Second, these renovations should meet the needs of students for the next 40 to 50 years (plan for longevity, not obsolescence).
   
   
   • Third, the aim is to create learning environments that will contribute to the mission of the school while helping teachers and students attain Green School goals.

Greening School Facilities and Operations
Design Criteria Template

• Safety, Comfort and Aesthetic Elements


• Developmentally Appropriate and Student-Centred Learning Features


• Flexibility


• Furnishings


• Instructional Technology


• Sensory Perceptions: Sound, Light and Colour


• Eco-Friendly Features: Lighting, Ventilation and Climate


• Integration and Connection (my personal favourite!)


• Good for Teachers and Their Teaching

I acknowledge that not all the criteria listed on these pages will be suitable for all cultures and climates, but the more humane our schools, classrooms and playgrounds, the more humane our students will be toward each other and the rest of Nature.

Ideas for Greening School Facilities and Operations

• build a school garden to help students reconnect with the natural world, learn how life works, and pick up valuable food-production skills


• install a greenhouse, to extend the school's growing season


• reclaim and retree portions of the field that aren't used for sports (perhaps with permaculture by planting fruit trees and bushes, and certainly using native species)


• build an outdoor classroom so that classes can spend formal learning time outdoors





Artist's rendition of an outdoor classroom

• install a living wall to bring Nature indoors


• install a rainwater collection system, to help students learn the value of water conservation (and especially if your school has a garden)


• ensure that all toilets are low flow, and that urinals don't run all day (or install waterless urinals); strive for a greywater system for flushing


• install energy-efficient heating and lighting systems to complement energy conservation measures


• install motion detectors in classrooms to make the lights go out when there's nobody in the room


• install solar panels and a wind turbine (these needn't be full-scale — more like demonstration projects for the students — although what a great example your school would set for the community if it managed to become energy self-sufficient; the point is to start familiarizing our students with the renewable energy technologies that will ensure them a future)


• build and place pedal-powered recharging stations throughout the school

If you'd like to contribute an idea for greening school facilities or a project that your school is working on, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you!

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