Second Annual Green Schools Challenge

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school statistics The US Green Building Council Southwest Virginia Chapter (USGBC-SWVA) is conducting its second annual Green Schools Challenge. All SWVA public school Districts from Lynchburg to Bristol) are invited to participate in the 2012 Green Schools Challenge by contacting the USGBC-SWVA Green Schools Committee Chair, Steve Sunderman, via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone 540-982-0335.

The USGBC-SWVA chapter coordinates Green Schools Challenge with the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) Green Schools Challenge. The VSBA partners with the Virginia Municipal League (VML) to participate in the Go Green Virginia Initiative. All School Divisions are invited to participate in the VSBA Green Schools Challenge which can be completed online by registering at www.GoGreenVa.org.

What is the USGBC-SWVA Green Schools Challenge

TheGreen Schools Challenge (GSC) is a friendly competition to encourage students, teachers, administrators and others to implement a variety of no or low cost environmental actions at their schools to help reduce carbon emissions, save money, provide better and healthier learning and teaching environments, conserve natural resources and increase environmental awareness in our schools and communities. It is our primary objective that we create green schools for all Southwest Virginia students within this generation. Our secondary objective is to create "Green Kids" in all SW Virginia schools within this generation.

So, how does my school participate?

An authorized school representative must contact Steve Sunderman, our Green Schools Committee Chair, via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone 540-982-0335. Your representative will be provided additional information and directed to an online form for registering your school as a participant. There is no registration fee to participate.

If my school participated in the Green Schools Challenge last year, can we participate again in 2012?

Absolutely. In fact, we strongly encourage all of our previous participating schools to build upon their prior green school activities as well as initiate new green programs for their schools and communities. Our intent is to instill long lasting and sustainable green programs at all SW Virginia schools.

See our online map that shows the schools that participated in our 2010 challenge.

What if I need help?

The USGBC-SWVA chapter assigned Green Mentors and Green Shadows for each participating school for last year's GSC, however the 2012 Green Schools Challenge will NOT be able to offer such direct assistance. If you participated in our first GSC, you may want to contact your previous Green Mentor/Shadow to see if they are able to provide some assistance with the 2012 GSC.

Your authorized representative may contact Steve Sunderman for additional information and guidance.

For technical assistance or examples of actions already established by other schools please refer to http://greenvirginiaschools.org/usgbc-swva.

What is the deadline for registering for the Challenge?

Any time prior to March 1, 2012, but the sooner the better.

What is the deadline for submitting documentation for the Challenge?

April 1, 2012.

What kind of documents should be submitted for the Challenge?

The USGBC-SWVA 2012 Green Schools Challenge Evaluation Form (attached) is a minimum requirement. The form shall be completed by the school Representative or Mentor and submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by the above stated deadline.

As an option we encourage you to also submit the attached USGBC-SWVA 2012 Green Schools Challenge VSBA Coordination Form, which is also a self-evaluation and reporting document.

These completed forms will be shared with the VSBA and your school board to demonstrate your commitment to environmental stewardship and to act as a catalyst for school board environmental policy decisions.

If chosen as a finalist, you may be asked to submit additional documents or information that demonstrates your attainment of each evaluation item. Relevant pictures and videos are also encouraged as supportive documentation.

When and where are the winners of the GSC announced?

May 6-9, 2012 at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) annual conference in Roanoke, Virginia.

What kind of awards or recognition will be given?

All Schools that submit their completed USGBC-SWVA 2012 Green Schools Challenge Evaluation Form by the stated deadline will receive:

Consideration as an outstanding Green Schools finalist to receive one of six complimentary facility energy audits.
Recognition on the USGBC-SWVA Green Schools web site
Recognition at the May 2012 VASS Conference in Roanoke, VA
Recognition at the November 2012 VSBA Conference in Williamsburg, VA
Personalized certificate recognizing your green schools challenge participation.

At least six finalists will be selected to receive a free professional facility energy audit to be conducted during fall 2012.

What are the judging criteria for selecting the winners?

The submitted self-reporting forms and any supporting documents will be evaluated based on the following performance objectives:

Measuring and documenting performance
Perpetuating the program
Creativity and student involvement
Communication of program
Community involvement
Other relevant innovative/sustainable items

What is different for the USGBC-SWVA 2012 Green Schools Challenge?

The judging criteria listed in the USGBC-SWVA 2012 Green Schools Challenge Evaluation Form and our commitment to providing green schools for all Southwest Virginia students within this generation remain the same. The changes this year include:

No official GSC launch event
No USGBC-SWVA commitment to recruit a Green Mentor for each participating school.
Addition of a VSBA coordinated list of green school objectives that will be presented to the VSBA and relevant school boards as incentive to implement the 2012 VSBA Green Schools Challenge, which runs from March to October.
On-line and direct email registration and communications.
Participating schools will self-evaluate their performance and report such to USGBC-SWVA.
Supporting documentation or information may be requested by USGBC-SWVA prior to award determination to qualify top ranked submittals.
A minimum of six schools will be selected to receive a free energy audit during fall 2012.
No GSC finale judging event. Participating schools will not display their projects at the VASS conference for judging purposes, but will be afforded the opportunity to display their projects to the public during the three day VASS conference.

January 01 2012

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Each day five billion gallons of potable water is used to flush toilets.

Regional recycling facitlities accepting comminged waste are achieving waste diversion rates of 80% or greater in many areas.

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In the U.S. approximately 340 billion gallons of fresh water are withdrawn per day from rivers, streams and reserviors to support residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational activities.

A typical North American Commercial construction project generates up to 2.5 pounds of solid waste per square foot of completed floor space.

Buildings annually consume more than 30% of the total energy and more than 60% of the electricity used in the U.S.

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If a green school saved $100,000 per year in operation costs, that's roughly enough to hire two new teachers, buy 200 neww computers or purchase 5000 new textbooks.