In green schools initiatives, four pillars framework is used which will reduce the schools’ ecological footprints and creating healthier school environment. Green schools create an approach which bring solution to the major community problems and encourage the Go Green approach. Schools should be encourage to use the precautionary principle of “better to safe than sorry”, all the construction with maintenance, food service, office supplies, gardens and classrooms should be designed accordingly to Go Green schools requirements.
How to Green your school
First it will be required to build a team that can positively change the current school structure and that’s where we have to start. The green team should be visionary force with uniting and should be capable to ripple the facts throughout the society. Teachers along with their students have to build an action plane- the go green plan to create, make and implement the inspirations and collaborate to healthy environment which should be easy to sustain in few months.
Making the plan: the green school activities and plan should remain in between teachers and students, so that it must not be forced on the people. Plan should include accurate solutions for recycling program along with wastes reduction. Also the cleaning of nontoxic materials, reduction of global warming through conservation of energy and making greenish schools gardens should be in making the plan. It will be about reduction of environment footprints of schools and preparing students to take corrective Go Green actions at home, in their communities and schools.
A Green Back-to-School
more people are now realizing that their future is depending upon right protection of wellbeing and health of their children and this planet- the earth. To understand it, we will need to educate and aware our generations with skills and methods to protect the global environment and creating a green future or green economy, which is not possible without green schools. Green schools are the initial step to creating a green environment and fully protecting our planet form pollution and hazardous gases emission, which will be only possible after understanding the requirements of our clean atmosphere and our responsibilities to perform.
Safeguarding the health of more than 6 billion people around the word will be prime responsibility of green schools. Green schools are such institutions which have fully understand the responsibilities of citizens and teaching them for how to cope with major breakdown situation of pollution and reducing the presence of hazardous gases in the atmosphere. Research studies have shown that greener schools are able to improve the children health and level of their learning. In spite of these, our schools get the dismal grades when viewed with environmental practices, reasons of which are as following;
- Schools are using large quantities of energy and paper, with production of tons of waste and carbon dioxide emission from these wastes and hardly to say that these are producing any eco-friendly products.
- Asthma and childhood obesity rates are highly linked with nutrition at schools and their poor indoor air quality.
- Schools in USA are using pesticides with reproductive and neurological toxins which are creating health hazards for adults as well as children.
Saving money, improving health
There are large numbers of researches which are showing that green schools are saving money and improve the health standards. According to U.S Green Building council report of 2006, green schools required $3 more per square foot but they did generate $75 per square more savings of energy, along with positive effects of teachers’ retention, increased attendance and high tests scores.
Green schools raising the test scores
According to eco-friendly schools reviews, it has been found that increasing delighting inside the class rooms caused better inside the room air quality. Glenn Cook, the chief editor in American School Board Journals writes that green schools movement is the biggest miracle which has happened to education after the introduction of technology to class rooms of educational institutions. By promoting the constructions and designs of new green schools from existing green approach following schools, there can be made a tremendous improvement in health of students, operational costs of schools and their environment overall.
Green schools are much more than buildings to understand their philosophy and structure. These are such places where children are taught about the wonders of world and teachers are capable to prepare the next generations of leaders and builders of the nation. These schools are built and working to be full of air across them blowing with sunlight and no use of harmful chemicals and materials which are hazardous to the health of children. The green schools are efficient in energy and providing effective treatments for lowering down utility costs and conservation of resources which were consumed in abundance. Also wastes will be removed to great extent by corrective steps which are taken by a green school for its area or community.
Green schools don’t need to be new schools
There are app 133,000 schools currently operating in United States. Due to economy restrictions for slowing down the capital improvements plan taken in these schools, most of such schools are thinking to improve efficiency and improving the existing facilities existing qualities to increase. With new green constructed buildings of the schools, the implementation of green schools strategies to such institutions will be cost effective and much simple steps following approach.
Setting of objectives which should work to remove the wastes, use of public transport instead of private vehicles abundance and use of environmental friendly products and services will bring high positive and fast results soon. Schools are also able to develop new plans and upgrade new buildings structure with their daily routine operations to fully operate under the Go Green approach. The major characteristics of green schools include recycling, habitat protection, using fresh water along with its conserving, improving indoor air quality, saving taxpayer money and improvements in environmental knowledge being delivered to the students. This empower the kids to become good global citizens, ensuring the equate value of resources available with their clean use, healthy environment etc.