Florida Schools Take Green Very Seriously

Every year, more schools across the country are doing their part to protect Mother Earth by practicing green initiatives that conserve energy, cut their carbon dioxide footprints and promote environmental awareness.

Public and private schools across Miami-Dade County are following suit.

Environmental studies are also being worked into the curriculum of several schools, including three new ones opening in the fall: a K-8 center in Homestead, a high school in North Miami and another high school in Kendall, which will be the first LEED-certified school in Miami-Dade, meaning the school meets the national standards for green construction.

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Nonprofits Dream in Green and Alliance to Save Energy have partnered with Ransom Everglades School over the past two years to host the Green Schools Challenge, a series of workshops designed to help local schools reduce electricity use, plant trees to sequester carbon and establish recycling programs.

So, how much an impact do green schools have?

At Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center in 2007, they recycled more than 87,000 pounds of paper and conserve more than 653,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity — a savings of $150,000. The results of last year’s challenge, with 48 participating schools, is still being calculated.

Children at the Waldorf school near Pinecrest not only recycle, they also grow organic vegetables, compost leftover food, utilize organic crayons made from beeswax and write on paper created from green processing, among other practices.

Students at Broad Bay Harbor have since learned how to recycle other things besides paper, including cardboard, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cellphones, batteris, even Crocs shoes! 

LEED Certified Schools

While existing schools are not mandated to practice green initiatives, most new schools going forward will be required to be LEED-certified or fall under an equivalent rating system.

Officials project the LEED-certified school in Kendall will use 20 percent less water by using low-flow fixtures and 50 percent less electricity by using energy-efficient fluorescent lamps and motion sensors that shut off lights in empty classrooms.

Both the Kendall and North Miami high schools will also have plenty of windows and skylights that provide natural light and curb energy use like Westland Hialeah High School, which opened last year.

Solar at School

All things solar are slowly but surely creeping into schools looking to conserve energy. In Homestead, Mandarin Lakes Academy K-8 Center is one of six Florida schools getting a five-kilowatt solar array from Florida Power and Light that will generate emissions-free electricity.

MAST Academy, which also has a solar array, offers a solar energy elective course that educates students on the different sources of reusable energy and its conservation and efficiency.

Being green is part of the curriculum now at many schools in Florida and because of it, the movement towards green building at and around the schools will undoubtedly take a strong hold on the community.

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