Green Schools Initiative: June 15 the News Letter

Green Schools e-News June 15, 2011

Updates: Green Dream Contest Winners & TEDx Conference TAKE ACTION for Healthy School Food First Green Modular Classrooms Arrive in Bay Area Schools of the Future: Models of Sustainability Events Calendar Grants, Awards & Contests   Green Jobs!  Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Openingsin Oakland, Atlanta, DC, Colorado, and New York http://acespace.org/about/careers Events June 16, 2011, 1pm-3pm PDT FREE WEBINAR:  "$250,000 for your Next Healthy, Green School Modernization - Why CA Can't Afford NOT to Go Green" Online June 21-23, 2011 "Smart by Nature Seminar: Making Learning Connections between the Classroom, Lunchroom, and Garden" Berkeley, CA July 10-16, 2011 FREE Forestry Institute for Teachers Arcata, CA October 12-15, 2011 North American Association for Environmental Education 40th Annual Conference Raleigh, NC October 14-16, 2011 Bioneers Conference San Rafael, CA Grant, Award, & Contest Deadlines September 20, 2011 Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation Grants up to $1,500 September 30, 2011 Global Green USA's Green School Makeover Competition up to $65,000 September 30, 2011 Green Thumb Challenge up to $5,000   New e-Book Giveaway "Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature" What if a story could inspire 100 million youth and unite the planet?  Pacha’s Pajamas, an urban fairy tale, meets youth “where they’re at”, using pop culture, hip-hop and musical storytelling.  One night, the animals on Pacha's new pajamas come alive, and Pacha meets a group of creatures who are uniting to bring balance to the planet.  Van Jones, bestselling author of The Green Collar Economy, says “This story about a little girl's dream -- where all species unite to support a healthy planet -- will play a catalytic role in building our movements for change.” To enter the PACHA’S PAJAMAS eBOOK GIVEAWAY and be notified of the Summer Solstice release (June 21st), send an email togiveaway@pachaspajamas.com

Greetings Sunny, In this last e-news of the 2010-11 school year, we take a moment to look ahead: at how the Schools of the Future Initiative will help us attain a greener future, and at one possible future of school buildings. UnderEvents you'll find out how to participate in a valuable (and free!) school modernization webinar, and we invite you to take action below to help bring about a future of fresh, healthy school food. The e-news will be on hiatus until our August back-to-school issue. Whether you're in the end-of-school home stretch or already poolside, we want to thank you for all you've done to green your world this year. Contact us over the summer if you have questions or need support to hit the ground running in the fall. Happy summer! Betsy Bigelow-Teller e-News Editor Create more green schools - forward this email to a friend! Updates: Green Dream Contest Winners & TEDx - Teaching Compassion Before we move blast ahead to the future, we want to give you some follow-up news from past stories: Green Dream Contest Winners: The winners of our Green Dream Contest -- King Chavez Academy in San Diego and Berkeley High School (BHS) -- have made exciting progress in just a few months. The BHSGreen Team took on a school-wide garbage audit as its first action towards reducing waste. More... TEDx Event - Teaching Compassion Makes Us Happier, Smarter and Healthier: The TEDX Golden Gate ED conference, "Teaching Compassion" was fascinating and inspiring. We already knew that learners thrive in healthy, green schools, but it turns out compassion plays a role in healthy schools and kids, too. More...  Improving School Food: Do It Now or Pay Later by Kari Hamerschlag On May 30, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee voted to cripple the nation’s budding effort to do something about the woeful quality of school food and make America’s kids healthier. Ignoring the recent bi-partisan mandate to develop new science-based, healthy food standards under theHealthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the committee’s bill directs the US Department of Agriculture to ensure that its proposed school food standards will not increase costs to schools. That would effectively squash the drive to make school food better.  Take Action First Green Modular Classrooms Arrive at Albany High Four Gen7 green modularclassrooms made their Bay Area debut at Albany High School in Albany on June 3rd with a range of eco-friendly features, an inspiring learning environment and a budget-friendly price tag. The Gen7s will give students an additional wing of high-performance learning space that cost less than a traditional building and can deliver as much as 60% in energy savings.   More...           Schools of the Future: Models of Sustainability In March, California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson asked his "Schools of the Future" task force to recommend innovative ways to foster California schools that not only enhance achievement of all students, but are also centers of the community, and models of sustainability and efficiency.  Torlakson said his first major initiative was to create a "Schools of the Future" team because the decisions made about school facilities today will affect students for years to come: "I see a huge potential for a win-win-win on energy efficiency and renewable energy in schools," he said. "Sustainable schools will save education dollars, improve the environment and create thousands of teachable moments for students." The task force released its policy recommendations on June 1, and the future looks bright.    More...