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Greening the Next Generation
Issue 7 June 2010
masthead 5
Featured Program
Safe Routes to School (SR2S)
Safe Routes SF In 1969, approximately 50% of school children walked or biked to school. Today, fewer then 15% of school children to do. This partly explains why today's children are less active, less independent and less healthy.

The goal of SR2S is to reverse this trend by initiating a comprehensive program to address the physical and social barriers that prevent children from walking and biking to school. A successful SR2S program can improve community and personal health, benefit the environment, increase safety, and help to decrease traffic congestion around schools.

Last year, SFUSD began piloting SR2S in five elementary schools: Bryant, Carver, Longfellow, Sunnyside, and Sunset. Students at each school received pedestrian and bicycle safety classes, participated in Walk and Bike to School days, received mini grants for promoting alternative transportation, and implemented congestion management strategies.

Next year, ten more schools will be invited to participate. At the same time, the Sustainability Department will be coordinating the installation of bike racks at every SFUSD school thanks to a grant from the SF County Transportation Authority (SFCTA). We will also be developing a ridesharing website that allows parents to easily find others who would like to carpool to school during the morning commute.
Best Practices
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater Cistern

The SF Green Schoolyard Alliance, in collaboration with the SF School Alliance, SFUSD, and the SF Public Utilities Commission, completed rainwater gardens at Lafayette, Miraloma, and Starr King elementary schools last summer. A fourth school, Alvarado Elementary, received rainwater cisterns to capture water for their existing garden.

Capturing rainwater reduces the burden on our combined sewer system and minimizes the consumption of potable freshwater. Funding for the project was provided by the SFPUC and distributed through the Community Challenge Grant process. Teachers, parents, and principals at each school were involved in a community process to design the gardens and each school received $65,000 to implement the project.

More recently Sunnyside, Longfellow, Stevenson, and Jose Ortega elementary schools received a Water Stewardship Grant from the SFPUC and will be installing rainwater cistern of their own with the help of Rebuilding Together SF.

Behind the Scenes
Greening School Buildings From Start to Finish
Energy Audit Even as school sites are busy greening their campus by diverting waste, creating green schoolyards, and educating students about the need to conserve natural resources, Facilities staff are engaged in a multi-pronged effort to turn out schools into healthier and more efficient buildings.

In order to ensure that any future construction meets green building goals laid out in the School Board's CHPS Resolution of 2003, the District is currently reviewing its standards and upgrading its specs to incorporate stricter energy requirements, high-efficiency fixtures, and a preference for recycled and sustainable materials.

Thanks to support from the SFPUC and SF Department of the Environment, SFUSD is also currently analyzing what opportunities exist to improve the efficiency of existing buildings. Auditors from Cogent Energy are visiting three elementary, two middle, and two high schools and developing a list of energy efficiency projects to include in the next school bond.

In addition to these longer term efforts, District maintenance staff recently replaced inefficient incandescent bulbs in the Board room with modern, dimmable fluorescents, saving enough electricity in one Board meeting to power the average California home for an entire day!
In the News
Green Successes at SFUSD Schools
Bessie FEC* Almost 1000 students took part in the 2nd annual Bike to School Day.

* Sanchez Elementary welcomed a renewable energy-powered vertical garden.

* Lincoln High School students taught their peers how to live more sustainably.

* Rosa Parks finished its green makeover with a courtyard environmental center and lighting retrofit.

* Student helped clean up San Francisco's Ocean Beach.
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
How Much Does Your School Recycle?
The SFUSD Sustainability website now includes a home page link to every school's diversion rate. By reaching our goal of 85% at every site, we will lower the District's trash bill and free up funds for teachers and school supplies.

How to Grow a School Garden
Written by the SF Green Schoolyard Alliance, this book provides everything parents and teachers need to plan, build, use, and maintain a school garden.

Discount on Waste-Free Lunches
Order reusable lunch supplies at Kids Conserve and receive a 15% discount with coupon code SFUSD. Just in time for Back-to-School!

Environmental Futures Contest for Teachers
Next year, the SFUSD Sustainability Department will reward the teacher who most expertly integrates enviro ed into her curriculum with a $3,000 prize.

Bay-Friendly Landscape Conference
(September 17th)
Interactive sessions and a marketplace of cutting-edge products will help inspire you to
create schoolyards that conserve natural resources, prevent pollution, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Growing Greener Schoolyards
The SF Green Schoolyard Alliance will host its fourth  conference to teach school communities  about creating, using, and sustaining ecological schoolyards.


GRANTS & FUNDING

Captain Planet Foundation
(June 30)
Up to $2500 is available for hands-on projects that promote student ecoliteracy.

Save the Redwoods League
(June 30)
You could receive up to $5,000 for class- room and outdoor education about redwood trees.

Community Challenge Grants
(Jul 30)
These grants, as well as the associated Water Stewardship Grants, provide funding up to $50K to schools that wish to make physical improvements to their schoolyard and reduce storm water runoff.


NEA Green Across America
(Jul 30)
Grants of up to $1,000 are available to help you implement your innovative education program, activity, lesson, or event to excite students about caring for the earth and creating a sustainable future.