Weekly Green Audit for Youth: School Sustainability

This week’s green audit is going to be kid specific; although adults are certainly welcome to participate. We’re going to be looking at schools, or rather the greening of schools.

What we’ll be looking at this week will include:

• How schools can protect resources such as paper, water, and electricity.
• What’s scary and not so green about the school cafeteria.
• Schools supplies and how they affect sustainability.
• The school grounds; including cleaning and maintenance.
• School-based traffic and transportation.

We’ll also take a look at some very green schools, and a few other random issues that affect school greenness. I’ll offer some easy checklist formats this week, so that the kids in your family can participate easily in learning about the impact their school has on the environment.

For youth – how to get started with your green school audit:

Not all schools have environmental guidelines. Many don’t have complete guidelines. Some kids have tomorrow off for President’s Day; however, when you return to school, ask your teacher if he or she is aware of the environmental guidelines for your school. Ask at the main office. Try to find out, who, if anyone knows what the exact eco-guidelines for your school and district are.

Don’t be surprised if you get some blank looks. Like I said, not all schools have eco-sense. Not yet anyway. The point of this green school audit will be for you and your school friends to start a process of change. Your audit can help to remind people that the earth’s resources are important. If people, if you, don’t question what your school is doing to save the environment, maybe no one will.

Your one voice can change everything. Think about it. Tomorrow, we’ll get going on our green school checklists.