ʻGreen Teamʼ Resources and Models. Index:

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1 Index: Green Teams Concept for ORCSD... Page 2 Green Team Champion Job Description... Page 3 Green Team Resources/Models... Page 4 Example: Energy Challenge Project... Page 5 Example: e-waste Drive Project...Page 6 Example: Composting Project... Page 7 Example: Literacy Series Project...Page 8 Appendix: BVSD Sustainability Checklist...Pages

2 Oyster River Cooperative School District Sustainability Committee Green Teams Concept for ORCSD Scope: The scope of the green team is within areas of food and nutrition, facilities and procurement, transportation, and school curriculum at each of the facilities/campuses in the District. It would require participation of all relevant stakeholders in the process, including students, teachers, administrators, school staff, and some of the greater community. What is a green team? Cross functional group representing students, teachers, administrators, school staff, and community members. Each team would have a green team champion (See job description) who would mentor the group. The team would depend upon various stakeholders and subject matter experts as needed. Finally, each team would originate from, and make decisions about their own school/campus. Why join a green team? The hope is to help the community find models to promote sustainability in our schools, create leadership opportunities for students and staff, and educate the larger community about greening our schools. Small visible successes will build enthusiasm, participation and even greater results. How might it work? How to promote the teams and plans? In one proposed model, we would teach the teams about sustainability, in general, and best practices in particular. Assuming this team is familiar with their school, the team would next learn to see what the challenges are in their school. We need to start small and local. Empower the school community, support their efforts, report results, and add incentives like small cash grants toward future project or traveling best of trophy. Benefits of the Green Teams Among the highlights of the many benefits as teams begin to realize successful outcomes: Students and teachers given leadership opportunities, to learn to work together, to learn environmental stewardship; Student learning potential enhanced via a healthier, safer environment; Operating costs reduced through conservation, reduce vulnerability to energy and fuel price increases, thus saving tax payer dollars; Reduction in green house gas emissions, and the waste of natural resources. Models of Green Teams currently succeeding around the country There are a variety of visual management systems for consideration. Links to other school experiences include:. Figure 1: Washington State Schools Certification Rubric HYPERLINK " here. Figure 2: Boulder, CO School District Sustainability Visual Matrix HYPERLINK " here. 2 2

3 Oyster River Cooperative School District Sustainability Committee Green Team Champion/Coach Job Description About The Oyster River Cooperative School District (ORCSD) is committed to a level of sustainability encompassing renewability, substitution, adaptability, interdependence and institutional commitment in the areas of food, facilities and procurement, transportation, school curriculum, and community outreach. Seeking an individual to form, train, lead and mentor cross functional teams of volunteers to promote these values at each particular school in the district. Duties and Responsibilities Promote Oyster River Cooperative School District Sustainability Committee Values and Policy to the school district. Create, train, and mentor 4+ green teams, at least one per school, whose members may include students, teachers, staff, administrators, and members of the community. Be willing to become intimately familiar with his/her particular school, its physical plant, the land upon which it sits, and the day-to-day operations and behavior of the students, teachers, and staff working in the school. This combination of knowledge and behavioral characteristic is foremost in the success of the Green Team. Use a management system (see links in green team definition) that implements and sustains improvements; using policy goals to develop improvements and priorities, creating baseline measurements, and setting targets for improvement. Create a culture of collaboration among and between the teams, learning what has and has not worked and why, sharing best practices. Market the goals and achievements of the green teams in various outlets, including presentations to community forums and school advisory boards, news and web pages, local school report cards and bulletin boards. Seek funding from donations, grants and fundraisers, as well as nominations and recognition from local, state and national organizations that promote sustainability in our schools and community. Competencies Successful candidate should have, or be able to create, rapport with those who work within the school. Experienced change and sustain agent in the community/schools involving volunteers and stakeholders. Knowledgeable in or a willingness to learn sustainable practices. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word Excellent oral and written communication skills 3

4 Using the Boulder Valley (CO.) School District Publication called Tips for Green Schools, we made brief marketing documents with expanded explanations of time and resource requirements and expected benefits or savings from the activities. Admittedly, these are not based on extensive research. They are really just planning outlines, but they maybe useful when considering questions that arise related to Warrant Article #4, For example, What will the green teams be doing?" If you can help people understand that these activities are not only worth it, but require a lot of effort, then they may be more agreeable to a "yes" vote. Docs Include: What is and Energy Challenge? What is an E-Waste Drive What are Sustainability Literacy Seminars? How to Start Composting? 8 Pages of ideas from Boulder. We also made job descriptions for Green Team and Green Team Champion, submitted to school district mangers of advice, if you need them. 4

5 Estimated Time Commitment and Annual Savings from a Green Team Energy Challenge What Does an Energy Challenge Look Like? Sept- Announce Challenge, form teams, train up for energy literacy. Oct-May! Audit and report monthly. June! Announce Results and celebrate, award best outcomes with $ toward next years" initiatives. If you wish to participate, please complete the following information... School Name Date School Administrator s Signature Energy Champion (name and address) Green Team (main contact and address) What does a 5%-10% reduction save? From the 2012 Energy Audits, we know plug load and lighting fixture load. This analysis purposefully does not consider the mechanical (HVAC) portion of the electricity consumption in order to bias the analysis toward behavioral changes, i.e. turn off the lights/turn off the projector. Recent winners of similar national drives reduced usage by 22%. Table 1: Plug load by School (AEC energy snapshot (2012)) School $/year 5% 10% HS MS mw moh $ Annual Savings from Energy Drive How Many Members on a Team? Estimates of activities and time? 5, or 4 members plus 1 champion. Likely be a blend of students, staff and/or community members across a variety of generations. Table 2: Hours Estimate by Green Team Members Champion Team Activities Hours Hours (Hrs/wk) (Hrs/wk) weekly Meeting, 1 hr/wk 3 12 Weekly activities related to producing future state 3 hr/wk auditing rooms, measuring current state, contacting and collaborating with others, preparing energy usage reports (electric bill), making changes to meet future state Administrative and communications total hrs weekly Total Hrs annually (36 weeks) 5

6 Estimated Time Commitment and Benefits from a e-waste Drive What Does an e Waste Drive Look Like? During the Fall, timed to follow the Energy Challenge initial steps of inventorying equipment, and setting old/obsolete equipment aside. Select a company to partner with for e-waste management ( See Newport in Rochester as an example) Pick a centrally located place and invite the community to add their e-waste to the school! s old equipment. Benefits and Revenue from and e-waste Drive Environmental and Human Health The electronic wastage creates various pollution threats for the environment and human health. It is far cleaner to dispose of and recycle these items in an e Waste Drive. Energy Efficiency Recycling the e-waste also saves lots of electric and different types of energies. Recycling of e-waste consumes much less energy than creating a product from its raw material. Reduced Operating Budget Revenues from donations and award winning companies such as Newport here in Rochester, NH. Recycling of the e-waste and making them reusable is much more economically viable than creating these products from the scratch. It becomes less expensive to produce an electronic product from the e-waste. Reduce Clutter Cleared space in the school, making room for more useful activities. How Many Members on a Team? Estimates of activities and time? Depends upon whether it is opened to the community. At least 10 Volunteers for the actual day, emptying school, and cars. Table 1: Hours Estimate by Green Team Members Champion Team Activities Hours Hours 5 9 Preparation, Administrative and Communications 40 Day of Collection Event, 10 Volunteers, 4 hrs 2 10 After Event 7 59 Total Hrs 6

7 Estimated Time Commitment and Annual Savings to Implement Composting What Does Implementing Composting in School Cafe Look Like? What does a 30% 50% reduction save? Establish a vendor to process food wastes. Create the required number of composting stations in the cafeteria, and notify users of the new disposal requirements. For the very youngest users, 3 months of volunteer monitors (2 per day) assist children disposing of food each lunch time. Divert food (wet and dry) and paper waste from landfills to composting facilities. Reduce the cost of our annual solid waste removal fees. Send unused/uneaten foods to local food banks and shelters. In a recent example, in two months of practicing composting in their cafeteria, Moharimet diverted 1600 pounds to composting, rather than the typical landfill. How Many Members on a Team? Estimates of activities and time? 10 Volunteers, plus a Green Team Member 1 Facilities manager Table 1: Hours Estimate by Volunteers Champion Team Activities Hours Hours (Hrs/wk) (Hrs/wk) 10 total Gather Quotes/Decide on Vendor 10 total Create Station, purchase components 10 Kick off introduction, Monitor 2 Administration and Communications Total Hrs annually (12 weeks) 7

8 Estimated Time Commitment and Benefits from Sustainability Literacy Series What Does Sustainability Literacy Series Look Like? Series Topics? Hold a series of classes, brown bag talks, or seminars related to sustainability literacy. Objective to teach those interested in the green team how to see the energy and natural resources used all around them. Plethora of ideas from the Boulder! Green School Tips Sheet". Highlights in categories such as Energy, Water, and Solid Wastes include: Walk through your school grounds, learning and mapping current state of energy, water, solid waste and natural resources all around us. Ask members to do it at home. Present alternatives to current practices Calculate personal or school # ecological or carbon footprint using one of the many online calculators and have them write, draw, or present about simple things they can do to reduce their footprint, including energy, solid waste, travel, etc. Present findings and recommendations to school community or other appropriate audience. Establish a relationship with a sister school internationally with similar academic/environmental goals so students can be engaged with the global community. Learn what they are doing to conserve energy, recycle, reduce waste. Share information with whole school community. Mentor another school in your district or county to help improve its energy conservation practices, recycling, reduced water usage, etc Include a # " conservation minute" or # " factoid" each day or week. Post this information, make it a trivia game, a morning announcement, staff meeting announcement, etc. Benefits of Sustainability Literacy Series How Many Members on a Team? Estimates of activities and time? Help the community find models to promote sustainability in their schools, create leadership opportunities for students and staff, and educate the larger community about greening our schools. Identify a network of people who want to understand more and help to change the behaviors associated with waste. 5 members in a team, Any number of participants in the discussion or class. Table 1: Hours Estimate by Green Team Members & Participants Champion Team Activities Hours Hours 20 Develop training materials (Any Single Series) talk per week, over 1 month 60 Participants Activities during seminars (15 persons) 8 Administrative and Communications Total Hrs (after 4 week seminar) 8

9 BVSD Sustainability Management System Appendix D: School Sustainability Toolkit Boulder Valley School District School Sustainability Checklist The following is a quick checklist adapted from the Washington Green Schools Program ( to help your school s Green Team develop sustainability practices in four areas: energy, solid waste, water, and transportation. You can use this checklist to help track your school s progress as you take certain actions and accomplish milestones. Energy Establish or improve school-wide strategies for turning off all lights when adequate sunlight is available or when rooms are not in use. Establish or improve school-wide strategies to turn off (or put to sleep) all computer monitors, peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.) and other electronic equipment (copiers, typewriters, etc.) when not in use. Establish or improve school-wide strategies to make sure space around vents on walls and window sills is kept free of obstruction. Establish or improve school-wide strategies to make sure windows, blinds, and curtains are closed at theend of the school day to keep heat in, and open during the day to let daylight in and reduce heating need. Establish or improve school-wide strategies to make sure doors to the outside of the building are not leftopen longer than necessary when heating and cooling. Classrooms should also keep windows and doorsclosed when heating and cooling. Establish or improve school-wide strategies for turning off all outside lights during daylight hours. Consider turning them off at night after caretakers leave the school (dark campus w/motion sensor lights). Set standard heating and cooling points for thermostats to 68 F - 70 F during the winter or heating season and to 75 F or higher during the summer or cooling season. Include a plan to encourage students and staff to dress appropriately for the season so that they will be comfortable with the new energy conserving thermostat settings. Implement weekend and vacation shut-down procedures for heating/cooling and lights/equipment to maximize energy efficiency. Coordinate after-school and weekend activities for efficient use of heating and lighting systems

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