Interested in becoming a Green School?
Environmental change starts with education.
Fortunately, many schools are starting to connect their curriculum to climate change and sustainability. Allowing young people to learn about environmental problems and connect with nature can provoke real change in legislation and world habits.
Why transition to a green school educational model?
Developing environmentally conscious, global citizens will help us move toward a greener future. Inspiring our future leaders to think about solutions for inevitable climate disaster is critical. Transitioning to a green school model can inspire students, teachers, families and can lead to community action.
Experts at Stanford University found clear evidence that environmental education programs provide a variety of benefits.
Environmental education has led to a number of positive impacts like…
- an improvement in academic performance
- an increase in critical thinking skills
- development in personal growth and life-building skills including confidence, autonomy, and leadership
- an increase civic engagement and positive environmental behaviors.
But, we’re behind…
So far, America is behind in environmental action and legislation. Many Scandinavian and European countries are spearheading our climate problem by pushing green legislation through. For example, Italy has made it mandatory for public schools to teach climate change and sustainability at every age in every grade. Read about this movement HERE!
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Need Help becoming a Green School?
Here are 7 Organizations that are helping schools with Sustainability!
1. Green Schools Alliance
Green Alliance connects and empowers schools worldwide to lead the transformation to a sustainable future. Green Schools Alliance envisions a world where every person is aware of and accountable for the impact they have in creating an environmentally, economically, and equitably sustainable future.
Check out the programs they offer HERE
2. Green Schools Initiative
The Green Schools Initiative was founded in 2004 by parent-environmentalists who were shocked by how un-environmental their kids’ schools were and mobilized to improve the environmental health and ecological sustainability of schools in the U.S.
Check out their 7 Steps to a Green School
3. EcoRise
EcoRise partners with elementary, middle, and high school teachers to infuse sustainability education and project-based learning methodologies into core content STEM subjects.
The world is changing and their goal is to motivate and inspire our future leaders to think about our current problems and solutions. EcoRise introduces students to current problems and solutions surrounding water, food, energy, transportation, public spaces, air quality, and waste, and inspires them to take action on campus.
Check out their website for lesson plans, curriculum, teacher training, and consulting services!
4. Children and Nature.org
Children and Nature is leading a global movement to increase equitable access to nature so that children– and natural places–can thrive. They invest in leadership and communities through sharing evidence-based resources, scaling innovative solutions and driving policy change.
5. Free Forrest School
Free Forest School ignites children’s innate capacity to learn through unstructured play in nature. Through collaborations with parents, child care providers, educators, schools and civic leaders, we find innovative ways to expand access to child-directed play and outdoor exploration.
Find out if there is a Forrest School chapter in your city!
6. Zinn Education Project: Teach Climate Justice Campaign
How do we teach the climate crisis in a way that also confronts racism, economic inequality, misogyny, militarism, xenophobia, and that imagines the kind of world that we would like to live in? The Zinn Education Project can help!
They offer classroom-tested lessons, workshops for educators, and a sample school board climate justice resolution.
7. Green Teacher
Green Teacher is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping educators, both inside and outside of schools, promote environmental awareness among young people aged 6-19. On their website, they have many different resources for teaching sustainability!
Check out their webinars HERE.
8. Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree believes that environmental education provides important opportunities for students to become engaged in real world issues that transcend classroom walls.