Make Your School Go Green

In honor of Earth Day on April 22^nd, we wanted to do a special blog highlighting ways that you can make your school a greener place. Now this doesn’t mean you have to start installing solar panels on your roof! We’re going to list some simple ways you can do your part to protect the environment.

1.      Create a recycling center, whether this is school wide, classroom specific, or both. This should go beyond simply recycling paper. Have a section for cans, plastic, paper, and glass. It makes recycling easy, which means students are more likely to do it!

2.      Have each classroom have a scratch paper bin. For some projects, students do not need a full, nice sheet of paper. This will cut down on the waste of paper, which will do wonders for the environment.

3.      Form a Green student club. This club will give students a chance to brainstorm ideas to make the school greener, find volunteer opportunities, and more. They may hold environmental presentations or lobby the school board. It is a great way to get students involved in protecting the environment.

4.      Stop busses from idling at your school. Many busses will park in front of the school to pick up students with the engines running. This is a huge waste of gas and a huge increase in unnecessary pollution. Have busses park, turn off the engine, and only turn back on once it is time to depart.

5.      Plant a school garden. This is great for so many reasons. Students will get to learn about gardening, students spend more time outdoors, and you are able to grow fresh fruits and vegetables that students can consume!

6.      Use electronics less. Always turn off lights and fans when they aren’t in use. Don’t put computers to sleep, shut them down. These small things can save a ton of energy.

7.      Get your school involved with local environmental groups. Have speakers come in and present students with volunteer opportunities. Service learning isn’t uncommon in the classroom, so why not center it around the environment?

8.      Use the environment in the classroom instead of energy. Open up blinds and let sunlight light the rooms. Open the windows instead of using fans or air conditioning. As the weather warms students love to feel the breeze just like us. If appropriate you can even take classes outside.

9.      Go paperless, or as much as you can. So many forms used in a school can be just as effective if on a computer. You’ll save an amazing amount of paper this way.

10.   Use eco-friendly cleaners in your school. Many chemical cleaners are not only bad for the environment, they are bad for humans. There’s plenty of natural ways to keep a building clean. In fact it may even be cheaper.

      Try out these ten tips to making your school a greener place!