Green Schools Academy

Pittsburgh has turned last year’s international green community-service day for local students into a two-month-long Green Schools Academy, and organizers at Green Building Alliance say they already have 1,661 kids, school officials and community members doing 22 projects created by 10 schools alongside representatives from local green agencies and businesses.

“Last year was a really great success,” says the Alliance’s Jenna Cramer, vice president of the Academy. “This is a great way to reach more people and talk about health and high-performing schools. It has allowed us to increase the number of projects and people involved.”

Garden Day at Environmental Charter School

The Academy kicked off in mid-September with projects such as Garden Day at the Environmental Charter School in Regent Square, Grow Pittsburgh’s garden workshop at Pittsburgh Faison K-5 in Homewood, ALCOSAN’s Eco-Mural lessons at Manchester Academy Charter School and others.

Projects coming up include talks on the benefits of native plants, school energy audits, green community tours, writing projects, local home repair efforts, community gardens, the creation of a worm bin for specialized composting, harvest festivals, and many more.

Other schools involved include Pittsburgh Langley K-8, Pittsburgh Schiller 6-8, Pittsburgh Perry High School, Spectrum Charter School, Kentucky Avenue School, Barrett Elementary School in the Steel Valley School District and Northwestern Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy in Erie.

“We want to make sure all schools provide healthy, safe and high-performing learning environments,” says Cramer. That includes using the fewest resources possible, enhancing their environmental and sustainability education (which helps increase students’ civic engagement and career preparation) and providing a healthy learning environment – from ensuring healthy indoor air quality and food to employing green cleaning and school gardens.

Ongoing projects

Create more projects and sign up for Green School Academy participation here.

Writer: Marty Levine

Source: Jenna Cramer, Green Building Alliance