Tag: schools

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Back to school sustainability resources

Photo by wavebreak3 – stock.adobe.com (Education license, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) 

Time flies, and August is upon us already, so it will soon be back-to-school time in IL. Whether you’re a parent, student, or educator, if visions of classrooms or campuses are dancing in your head, the following resources will help you prepare for the new school year. As always, please keep in mind that links to specific products or services are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement by ISTC, the Prairie Research Institute, or the University of Illinois.

Choosing better school supplies

Check out this 2023 ISTC blog post for tips on more sustainable school supplies. The advice provided remains sound, and the links included to examples of various products still function.

Climate change education

Did you know that beginning next fall, IL K-12 public schools are required to provide climate change education? Public Act 103-0837, signed into law by Governor J. B. Pritzker in August 2024, provides that, “Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, every public school shall provide instruction on climate change, which shall include, but not be limited to, identifying the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and communities and evaluating solutions for addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change and shall be in alignment with State learning standards, as appropriate. The State Board of Education shall, subject to appropriation, prepare and make available multi-disciplinary instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used to meet the requirements of this subsection.”

An organization called SubjectToClimate is already leading efforts to develop an Illinois Climate Education Hub. The goal of the online hub is to make it easier for Illinois K-12 educators of all grade levels and subjects to teach about climate change by providing access to free, vetted teaching resources, professional development opportunities, lesson plan examples, and more. They’ve previously created similar hubs for New Jersey, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maine, New York, Connecticut, and Michigan. Check our their “Get Involved” page if you’re interested in being part of the effort, or reach out to Katie Nahrwold, the Illinois State Lead, for more information. While the IL hub has yet to be launched (the tentative launch date is September 10, 2025), teachers may still consider registering for an account on the SubjectToClimate website to browse teaching resources already available. Resources can be searched by grade, subject, resource type, standards, providers, locations, and languages. You can also use online forms to suggest teaching resources or suggest a teacher professional development opportunity.

You may also be interested in this list of climate education resources compiled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources: https://dnr.illinois.gov/outreach/climate-action-plan/climate-education-resources.html. The US EPA website lists climate change resources for educators and students. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also offers a compilation of climate change teaching resources. Finally, visit the Illinois EPA website if you’d like to learn more about our state’s participation in the US Climate Alliance.

It’s worth recognizing that people of all ages may experience anxiety or other forms of distress as they learn more about climate change and potential impacts on society. So, beyond resources to expand knowledge related to climate change, you may also be interested in resources for coping with the emotions stirred by such knowledge. Check out Unthinkable’s resource hub for climate distress and other polycrisis problems, the Climate Mental Health Network, and the Climate Psychology Alliance.

Other education for sustainability resources

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) defines education for sustainability (EfS) as follows (as relayed on the Getting Started with Sustainability in Schools website): “Education for sustainability develops the knowledge, skills, values and world-views necessary for people to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable patterns of living. It enables individuals and communities to reflect on ways of interpreting and engaging with the world. Sustainability education is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. Actions that support more sustainable patterns of living require consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence.”

Similarly, UNESCO uses the term “education for sustainable development,” or ESD, stating “Education for Sustainable Development empowers people with the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors to live in a way that is good for the environment, economy, and society. It encourages people to make smart, responsible choices that help create a better future for everyone.” The UNESCO ESD website provides a variety of resources to explore, along with its Education for sustainable development for 2030 toolbox.

Concordia University offers the online text “A guide to embedding education for sustainability in higher education courses.”

The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education provides professional development opportunities, EfS standards and indicators, and a variety of other resources to support educators interested in integrating sustainability in their curricula.

Specifically related to chemistry, Beyond Benign offers green chemistry resources for the K-12 classroom, higher education green chemistry resources, and the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), an online space for sharing, learning, collaboration, networking, and mentorship including K-12 and higher education teachers and educators, students, and industry stakeholders.

Improving school facilities and grounds

The following resources may support efforts to improve the sustainability of school facilities and grounds.

Interested in aspects of sustainability for schools not covered here? Feel free to reach out to Joy Scrogum with questions.

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U.S. EPA finalizes Lead & Copper Rule Improvements

Brown metal pipes installed on a tan tile wall.
Photo credit: Bayram Er from Pexels via Canva for Education.

On October 8th, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a final rule requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) also requires more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold requiring communities to take action to protect people from lead exposure in water. In addition, the final rule improves communication within communities so that families are better informed about the risk of lead in drinking water, the location of lead pipes, and plans for replacing them.

Under Public Act 99-0922, which took effect in January 2017, Illinois schools built between January 2, 1987 and January 1, 2000 were required to complete testing and submit results to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) by the end of 2018.

Based on those results, IDPH recommends that testing at all schools built before 2014. Parents and guardians of students must be notified of lead results greater than or equal to five parts per billion (ppb). LeadCare Illinois, through funding from IDPH, provides FREE lead testing to schools and licensed childcare facilities.

For more information, see the IDPH publication Improving Water Quality in Illinois Schools.

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Green Lunchroom Challenge Webinar, Sept. 30, Features Innovative School Projects

Join us on Friday, September 30, 2016 for a Green Lunchroom Challenge Webinar, “School Gardening and Composting at Salem High School (MA).” The webinar will be broadcast from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Central, and will be recorded and posted to the Challenge web site for later viewing. Register online at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2878734024751555843.

 

Learn about innovative on-site gardening and composting efforts at Salem High School (Salem, MA). These projects not only provide fresh produce for school meals, but also engaging experiential learning opportunities for students. Our presenters will be Graeme Marcoux, Salem High School science teacher, and Deborah Jeffers, Food Services Director. This school not only has traditional garden plots, but also grows produce in a modified, climate controlled shipping container from Freight Farms. This atypical approach to on-site gardening allows the school to generate more fresh produce than they would with their traditional plots alone, and can allow growing during any season. This CBS Boston feature on the school’s efforts provides more information, and may help you formulate questions you’d like to ask during the webinar: http://boston.cbslocal.com/video/category/news-general/3411386-eye-on-education-students-grow-fresh-healthy-food-for-cafeteria/#.V1cjQm52EV9.wordpress.

 

Coordinated by ISTC with funding from US EPA Region 5, the Green Lunchroom Challenge is a voluntary pledge program for schools to improve the sustainability of their food service operations. By registering, participants are accepting the challenge to reduce and prevent food waste in their facilities. The Challenge involves suggested activities that range in complexity and commitment, to allow participants to best suit their situation, budget and available community resources. Participants are not required to complete activities, but with each activity that is completed successfully, they earn points and can be recognized as having achieved different levels of accomplishment. Learn more, and register your school or district, at www.greenlunchroom.org.

 

Green Lunchroom Challenge logo

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Green Lunchroom Challenge to Assist IL Schools with Food Waste Prevention, Reduction

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, food production represents 10 percent of the total US energy budget, uses 50 percent of US land, and accounts for 80 percent of the freshwater we consume–yet, 40 percent of food in the US goes uneaten. And in 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children. Food waste is clearly both a tremendous problem and opportunity for improving the sustainability of our society. Reducing food waste in schools not only helps to ensure those precious expended resources are providing nutrition as intended, but also provides the opportunity to set important examples of conservation and systems thinking among our impressionable youth, which will hopefully stay with them as they become our next generation of leaders.

 

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) is therefore pleased to announce an exciting new project that addresses this important societal and environmental challenge. In order to identify sources of food waste in K-12 schools and facilitate its prevention and reduction, ISTC, in collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), UI Extension, and Beyond Green Partners, Inc., is launching the Green Lunchroom Challenge this fall. Funded by US EPA Region 5, the program is open for participation from K-12 schools throughout the state. Marketing of the program will however, be targeted toward underserved regions of southern Illinois, including Pulaski, Alexander, Marion, White, and Fayette counties. According to data from the ISBE, over 70 percent of K-12 students in those counties are eligible for assistance through the National School Lunch Program. By preventing and reducing food waste in these areas particularly, and throughout the state, it is hoped the Challenge will not only achieve environmental benefits, but also stretch federal and state assistance and resources through increased efficiency.

 

school kids in cafeteria
Photo: USDA Blog

 

Similar to the successful Illinois Green Office Challenge, the Green Lunchroom Challenge is a voluntary, “friendly competition,” in which participating schools will choose among a variety of suggested activities to improve the sustainability of their food service. These activities will range in complexity and commitment to allow participants to best suit their situation, budget, and available community resources. Examples might include, but not be limited to, composting of food scraps, use of creative entree names and careful relative placement of food choices to reduce waste of fruit and vegetables, donation of unused food to local food banks or shelters, etc. In addition to operationally related activities, schools may also choose to integrate food waste prevention and reduction into curricula, helping students learn about food security and hunger, composting, the circular economy, and stewardship. Resources and guidance will be available on the project web site and from ISTC technical assistance staff for each recommended activity, and participants will earn points for every activity they complete. Relative progress will be displayed on an online leaderboard. On Earth Day 2016, the participating public K-12 school with the most points will be declared the winner for the year and will receive public recognition and a prize (to be determined) to foster continuous improvement.

 

A kickoff workshop will be held in September 2015 (date and location to be announced) to introduce the Challenge; identify (in part through feedback from school and district representatives in attendance) key sources of food waste in schools, as well as barriers to its prevention; to raise awareness among potential participants of existing relevant toolkits and programs; and to provide comprehensive training on analysis and modification of menus, food procurement and inventory, lunchroom procedures, etc. Note that a school does not need to participate in the workshop to participate in the Challenge, and schools may register throughout the Challenge period (Sept. 1, 2015- April 1, 2016). While the competition is only open to K-12 schools in Illinois, ISTC hopes that other states and organizations beyond schools will be able to use resources developed for the Challenge to guide food waste reduction and prevention in their operations and regions.

 

Interested parties may contact Joy Scrogum with questions or to request addition to the mailing list for more information on the workshop and activities as it becomes available. The project web site will be available soon, and potential participants will be able to sign up to receive further information there as well. (The URL for the program web site will be posted in the comments of this post as soon as it is live.)

 

cafeteria tray
Photo by Tim Lauer, principal of Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon