Time for some brainstorming!

Thank you to everyone for all of your hard work! We are proud to say that we have officially completed part II of the Green and Healthy Schools Initiative. The next step is to evaluate our data and come up with an action plan for areas that we feel our school could improve.   Our hope is that students, community members, staff and anyone with a good idea will use this blog as a sounding board to list your ideas for what we can do to improve our school! Be creative, be brave, share your ideas by adding comments to this blog! We'll keep adding ideas until next fall, when we will regroup and begin actually implementing our action plans.

So without further ado, here are some of the findings from our part II school assessments:

Energy Section

1)     The classroom audits conducted by WHS Physical Science and Physics students found that most classrooms are equipped to emit between 100-140 foot-candles when all switches are on.  Recommended ideal classroom lighting for comfort and productivity is between 50-75 fc.  Most classrooms audited were using over 50% more lighting than recommended.

2)     37% of staff reported they felt students and staff were encouraged to conserve energy, 47% reported they felt students and staff are NOT encouraged to conserve energy, and the remaining 16% were unsure on this topic

3)     Science and social studies are the only two departments that reported teaching energy education/conservation in their curriculums

4) Our swimming pool does not have a pool cover.  Pool covers for competitive-sized pools can reduce pool heating costs by an estimated 50-70%, however pool covers are very difficult to put on and remove daily unless they are automatic (push-button).

Waste and Recycling Section

1)     Our school has 2 garbage dumpsters and two recycling bins that are filled every day and taken each day.  We spend a $975/month to have both bins emptied.

2)     About 11% of our school’s waste is recycled each day and 89% of it is thrown away.

3)     We currently do not have any composting done at school

4)     We currently do not have a policy to encourage purchasing of recycled materials

5)     We communicate through email often to help save on paper

6)     We have reusable trays for the lunch program and Kokopelli

7)     Very little waste reduction and recycling education is taught in our curriculum

Water Section

1)     12% of teachers reported including water conservation in their classroom curriculum

2)     11% of staff have participated in training related to water education

3)     72% of teachers reported  they have discussed the importance of hand washing with their students

Healthy Lifestyle

1)     Our lunch menu should be investigated more, not enough data has been collected regarding the lunch program

2)    Based on the data collected in PE classes, many students are not eating breakfast

3)     Based on the data collected in PE classes, most students are eating/drinking more sugar than is recommended daily

4)     Very few students spend time outdoors either during the school day or outside the school day

5)     Based on the data collected in PE classes, most students are not eating the recommended amounts of  vegetables

7)     Based on the data collected in PE classes, most students drinking much more soda than is recommended

8)    Unless a student is involved in athletics, he/she reported not meeting the recommendations for physical activity in a week

Community Involvement

1)     On this portion of the survey we were classified as “adequate” in the areas of students involved in the community (through our school to work program), celebration and reflection, partnerships within the school building.

2)     On this portion of the assessment we were classified as “needing improvement” in the areas of members of the community involved in school activities, partnerships with businesses and local organizations, and service learning projects.

Schools Facilities and Grounds

1)     We do not have a prairie, aquatic area, or a wooded area on our school grounds

2)  We have one "outdoor classroom", but it is not conductive to teaching - there are not enough "seats", and space for only one class at a time.

3)  Our non-athletic common areas are composed almost entirely of lawn.

What is the Waunakee Green and Healthy Schools Initiative?

Green and Healthy Schools Initiative

OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM

Green and Healthy Schools Program is a joint project between WI DPI and WI DNR.  The process involves self evaluation of our school in seven areas, goal setting to improve the areas of study, and follow-up evaluation of goal achievement.  It is entirely voluntary and self-paced.

Required Areas of Assessment	Optional (Choose 2)
Waste and Recycling	Indoor Air Quality
Energy	Chemical and Mercury Management
Water	Integrated Pest Management
School Facilities and Grounds	Community Involvement
Healthy Lifestyle	Transportation

Benefits to the G&HS program:

1)      Once the Process is completed the DPI honors your school as a Green and Healthy School and you can fly the Green and Healthy flag.

2)      After the evaluation phase is completed the DNR awards your school with 50 recycle bins (As of April 8, we have finished phase 2 and have applied for these bins)

3)      Completing the goals will save our school money in energy costs and save valuable energy

4)      It increases a sense of community as our school/community works together

5)      It provides students with real world problem solving skills

6)      It prepares students for future problem solving related to sustainable use

7)      It helps us recognize Waunakee Community High School as the excellent learning community that it is.

Our school is already taking some initiatives, such as the school garden, the solar panels, composting project, etc.

The program should be student centered and student driven, with the support of a strong Green Team to organize and facilitate the program.  There are three basic components to the program:

1.       A Green Team oversees the program.  This is a core group of about 5-10 people from different areas of the school and community.  The green team is be responsible for overseeing the group doing each assessment, leading the plan of action, and reporting back to the Green Team during team meetings.  The Green Team is composed of:

a.       Teaching and support staff members from several disciplines

b.      Building/maintenance Director, custodial staff

c.       Representatives from 4 different student organizations

d.      2 Individual students who have a passion for the environment

e.      1 WPPI members

f.        WHS administrative staff

g.       Local businesses – Uniek Inc.

2.       Assessments:  Individual adults, students and groups/organizations worked as a team to perform the assessments and evaluate/come up with a plan of action.  We have had approximately 400 WHS students involved with these assessments, either through clubs and organizations, or class participation (for example, the physics and physical world students conducted a school wide energy audit of each classroom, and the physical education classes completed personal health assessments.)

3.       Action Plans:  The assessments have been completed and we are in the process of developing a plan of action for each assessment area.  We intend to submit ideas and brainstorm potential actions until the fall of 2011, when we will meet again to begin implementation of our action plans.   We will need teams dedicated to meeting the goals of each plan of action.  These actions can be as simple as stickers to remind people to turn off lights, or as large as writing grants – completely open ended so groups/organizations can find something that fit their organization’s interests.