I am so proud that schools are engaging children about global warming and taking action. In 2006, three boarding schools founded the Green Cup Challenge. It has already grown to include over 40 participating schools, and this year the program welcomes day schools to the Challenge. I was fortunate to have been invited to join the Green Cup Challenge preparation conference at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.

Participating schools compete to reduce their electricity use for the month of February. The results are positive: every school’s total monthly usage was reduced, and the practices they’ve introduced resulted in ongoing savings.

Many of these schools employ environmental initiatives alongside electricity conservation such as recycling, composting, providing local food, using china and flatware rather than disposables, and sourcing renewable energy. This year, the Green Cup Challenge has joined forces with the Green Schools Alliance, a non-profit group of schools who commit to implementing environmental initiatives. These two groups should be praised for their efforts to address global warming while engaging our most important resource – our children.

At the conference, I spoke about carbon footprints, carbon offsets, and how to identify quality offset projects. The conference turnout was impressive, but the participation of the students and teachers was truly outstanding. They are well-informed and passionate. Overall, it was a wonderful success!

Please take a look at the Green Schools website and see if your school can participate.

–Ashley

We’ve heard it over and and over from students, teachers, parents, and administrators: ‘How can I get my school involved?’ That’s why we’re launching the Brighter Schools Program. We are inviting schools nationwide to join the program to raise money and environmental awareness. Participating schools can:

1. Sign-up for the free program at: https://brighterplanet.wufoo.com/forms/brighter-schools/.

2. Access a wealth of educational materials for teaching about global warming in the classroom and developing strategies for combating it.

3. Raise money when parents, teachers or friends purchase Planet Share carbon offsets that help reduce one’s carbon footprint or link their Brighter Planet™ Visa® credit cards to their school team, which in turn helps build renewable energy projects.

Our company was borne out of a Middlebury College classroom and half of our team cut their teeth as environmental student leaders in college. How appropriate that with the Brighter Schools Program we’re now able to give back to the classroom and in so doing, contribute further to environmental education and sustainability.

-Patti

In 1970, the parents in Aspen decided that the Aspen Elementary School was too conservative. They decided to start their own experimental school following the teachings of Sylvie Ashton Warner, a renowned teacher in New Zealand. The first year, the school opened in the Aspen Institute’s building in town. Sylvie came for the year to establish the curriculum. She documented her experience in “Spearpoint: Teacher in America”.

The parents (who were also the teachers) quickly decided they needed their own building so a local hero, George Stranahan, donated land and the parents began planning the building. The Fall semester of the school’s second year was devoted to building the log school.

The land is in Woody Creek and up the road was a saw mill where we got the logs and separators. I don’t remember where the mortar came from. The parents and students researched the building requirements, got donations and went to work. The main building is all logs with a tower that at the time, was the tallest log tower built. They used as few nails as possible, opting for dowels. The floor was poured concrete and classrooms were partitioned off with recycled garage doors. It was an ungraded school where students were grouped by ability and assignments were derived by student experience (the Aston Warner methodology).

Today, the school has grown but maintained its focus on environmentally friendly structures using yurts and the like. They have solar panels for energy and focus their classes on life skills and academics.

As a kid, my favorite classes were in the garden. The students still grow vegetables and flowers. The plot has grown substantially, but the concept is the same. Teach the children the value of the earth and of locally grown food. It is a lesson I still recall as we put our garden in every spring and as we enjoy our fresh vegetables in the harvest season.

Last week was “Eat Local National Challenge Week”, and I was happy to share the joy of growing food at home with my children.

-Ashley