Greenversations

By Shannon Burke

The Fairview Net Zero Club discovered that you have to act quickly to take advantage of opportunities. It’s the key to our success.

In 2009, Boulder County announced it would give away trees from a bankrupt tree farm to local non-profits for the cost of digging and transporting. We figured it would cost about $100 per tree to hire professionals, but only $60 if we used Fairview students. We had to accomplish two things: get permission from the red-tape plagued Boulder Valley School District and Boulder County and raise money to plant the trees.

We discovered that if you push through red-tape successfully, the next time you need to get through it, it won’t be there. People want to be part of your success. We learned that thanking people who help you get through that red tape is important to make change happen.

We also learned that to get a big project done, you form alliances. Chances are, someone else wants to accomplish the same thing. In our case, the Fairview Parents Organization was a strong ally. Together, we created the “Adopt a Tree, Leave a Legacy” program. Parents would donate $60 for a tree and their student’s name would be on a plaque. We initially planned on planting 25 trees. But the program was so successful, we planted 59: 4 Apple, 6 Ash, and 49 Spruce and Austrian Pine. Because we raised $3,440, the parents did not have to spend the money they allotted for tree planting. We saved the FPO money AND were able to plant more trees! With other partners, we transported the trees and obtained other necessary supplies to plant them.

During the planting, we tried to include as many people as possible. There were about 150 students involved of whom 11 were Net Zero supervisors. The whole day was a lot of fun and it was cool being able to include people that we didn’t usually interact with.

Those trees are a legacy. We hope that the apples will be used for the Farm-to-Table Program. When the trees grow a lot taller, they will also make a wind shield so that freshman do not get blown away while walking to school in the intense South Boulder winds.

Besides planting 59 trees and involving 150 kids, we also, most importantly, proved that kids can do great things when given the opportunity.

About the author: After spending her summer working as a Senate page, Shannon Burke is a senior and AP Scholar at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado where she is active in the school’s environmental student group, The Net Zero Club. Shannon’s many accomplishments revolve around her interests in science, the environment, volunteering and public outreach.

Recently, EPA was honored to present the President’s Environmental Youth Award to some of the futures brightest environmental stars. Several years ago, I coordinated this program, and was just as amazed this year as I was back then at the innovation and creativity school-aged kids have to address environmental issues in their communities.

The projects are carried out by either an individual or a group, but all of them no doubt make a huge difference in their community. For example, this year a group of middle school students created a sustainable project to collect the town’s waste cooking oil, refine it into biofuel and then distribute it. To date these students have donated 4,000 gallons of Bioheat to local charities and helped 40 families with emergency heating assistance, not to mention the reduction in the release of carbon dioxide into the air. Wow, if they can do something like this in middle school, I can only imagine the environmental impacts these students will make when they are older.

Another of this year’s winners, a high school student from Lubbock, Texas, set out to help educate children about living green. The result: Lorax Lodge, a new environmental education center, curriculum guides for the center with hands-on activities, and a nature trail. So far, 1,300 people have visited Lorax Lodge from 14 different states. Oh, and did I mention that Texas Tech University has adopted the Lodge to use as their pilot program for an energy audit and have arranged to use the Lodge as a model for sustainable construction…absolutely incredible.

I encourage you to read about all of the winning projects from this year and past years and be amazed at how today’s youth are tackling some of our most important environmental problems. Perhaps you know of some future environmentalists making a difference in your community. I encourage you to share this program with them.

During their trip to Washington, DC, we invited this year’s winners to blog about their experiences. During the next few weeks, Greenversations will be featuring their blogs on Friday’s. I invite you to read their stories about their experiences, share in and congratulate them on their successes, and take inspiration from these young folks about how we all can make a difference in tomorrow today!

About the author: Kelly Chick has worked for the federal government for over 26 years at various agencies. She currently works in the Office of Web Communications within the Office of Public Affairs at EPA Headquarters.

While this photo may appear to be that of a lush meadow in the foreground of a big city, it is actually a vegetated rooftop on a 9-story building in downtown Denver. When EPA Region 8’s office moved to a new “green” office building in Lower Downtown Denver, I did not know what to expect. I had never worked in a green building before. I really did not think it would be that different from a regular building. Was I wrong… Not only was the building very beautiful, it was the most comfortable building I have ever been in. From the lighting to the indoor air quality, I knew we were in a top quality and healthy working environment.

Our building is environmentally friendly and provides daily opportunities for us to practice stewardship. Some features of our building that help us decrease our impact include:

• Extensive use of daylight to reduce need for artificial light
• A vegetated green roof to control storm water and decrease urban heat island effect
• Waterless urinals and low-flow plumbing fixtures to decrease water use
• High recycled content materials throughout the building
• Proximity to public transit

However, it is not enough to simply build a green building; a big part of the equation is how the building is operated and the behavior of the occupants. Region 8’s Environmental Management System helps us improve our performance by quantifying and managing the impacts of our operations (e.g., electricity and water use, waste generation and transportation) and taking actions to reduce those impacts.

The green design, construction, operation and maintenance of 1595 Wynkoop, combined with close attention to our collective actions, help EPA in our efforts to practice what we preach.

Working in a green building is the only way to work in my mind. I have more energy throughout the day which I attribute to the environmentally healthy aspects of our building. I have the pleasure of knowing my work day has also been less of an impact to the environment. You can find out more, hear an audio tour and see lots of pictures of our green building at: http://www.epa.gov/region8/building/index.html

About the author: Wendy Dew has been with EPA for 11 years and is the Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator for Region 8.

While this photo may appear to be that of a lush meadow in the foreground of a big city, it is actually a vegetated rooftop on a 9-story building in downtown Denver. When EPA Region 8’s office moved to a new “green” office building in Lower Downtown Denver, I did not know what to expect. I had never worked in a green building before. I really did not think it would be that different from a regular building. Was I wrong… Not only was the building very beautiful, it was the most comfortable building I have ever been in. From the lighting to the indoor air quality, I knew we were in a top quality and healthy working environment.

Our building is environmentally friendly and provides daily opportunities for us to practice environmental stewardship. Some features of 1595 Wynkoop Street our building that help us decrease our environmental impact include:

• Extensive use of daylight to reduce need for artificial light
• A vegetated green roof to control storm water and decrease urban heat island effect
• Waterless urinals and low-flow plumbing fixtures to decrease water use
• High recycled content materials throughout the building help preserve resources
• A daytime cleaning crew that uses less toxic cleaning products and allows our building to shut down at time???
• Proximity to public transit reduces the impact of employee’s commute
• Redeveloping a site that was an eyesore and underutilized???

But however, it is not enough to simply build a green building; a big part of the equation is how the building is operated and the behavior of the occupants. Region 8’s Environmental Management System helps us improve our environmental performance by quantifying and managing the impacts of our operations (e.g., electricity and water use, waste generation and transportation, to name a few) and taking actions to reduce those impacts.

As a newly constructed building, 1595 received a Gold rating in the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Now, Region 8 is working toward a Gold rating in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) to ensure that our building is performing to the standards it was designed to meet (though this was put on the back burner for a while so need to check with Kate).

The green design, construction, operation and maintenance of 1595 Wynkoop, combined with close attention to our collective actions, help EPA Region 8 EPA in our efforts to practice what we preach.

I feel very lucky to be able to work in a green building. We have a lovely green roof we can sit near and have our lunch or conduct a meeting. We have convenient recycling and bike storage. Our building sits right on the 16th Street mall which has a free shuttle we can ride to numerous public transportation options and great lunch spots!

I also enjoy seeing all the tour groups that come through our building. Almost 10,000 people have visited us since we opened. I especially love to see the kids viewing a green building for the very first time, teaching them how a plastic bottle gets recycled into fiber and then turned into products like carpet (??) then challenged to make their school as green as possible when they leave.

Working in a green building is the only way to work in my mind. I can see better with natural day lighting. I have clean air to breathe. I have more energy throughout the day which I attribute to the environmentally healthy aspects of our building. I have the pleasure of knowing my work day has also been less of an impact to the environment. You can find out more, hear an audio tour and see lots of pictures of our green building.

About the author: Wendy Dew has been with EPA for 11 years and is the Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator for Region 8.

I had an indication that I am raising a little environmentalist on my daughter’s 100th day of school. Each child was asked to write what they wanted 100 of. The most popular answers where items such as dollars or Pokeman cards, but Zoe wrote, “I would like 100 gardens in my neighborhood.” Yes! Maybe it’s due to the lack of front yards in our San Francisco neighborhood, but I’m claiming progress towards raising another environmentally conscious individual. As I became involved in the Pacific Southwest environmental awards ceremony, I was particularly interested in the four award winners below.

• Laura Anderson/West Hawaii Youth Fisheries Council (WHYFC) – Smoking was banned at all Hawaii County Parks in 2008 as the result of a group of students in West Hawaii who belonged to the WHFYC. They performed research to support the bans, including two state science fair projects by Laura Anderson. They gathered signatures on petitions, testified before the Hawaii County Council, and even helped write the bill to ban smoking at Kahalu’u Beach Park.
• Suzanne Kretcshmer and Grades of Green – Suzanne, along with a small group of parent volunteers, recently founded Grades of Green to increase sustainability efforts on school campuses throughout the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. They worked with the District, City, and Waste Management, the local waste hauler, to develop programs such as “Trash Free Tuesdays,” “Walk to School Wednesdays,” lunchtime recycling and composting, and more.
• Katharine Noonan of Oakland High School – Since science is best learned through experience, Katherine provides fieldtrips for her students to the Marine Mammal Center, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Catalina Island, and the EPA Region 9 Lab. Katharine and her students collect water samples from Lake Merritt for analysis and share the data with City officials and the general public. Katherine also sponsors internships and many other exciting opportunities for her students such as participation in the Otter Bowl.
• Sewer Science – Sewer Science is a high school wastewater science laboratory developed through a collaboration of San Jose State University, the City of Palo Alto, and 13 high school science teachers from seven high schools. During the week-long laboratory, students simulate wastewater and wastewater treatment processes. They take environmental measurements and learn problem solving and decision making skills.

I know there are many other environmental youth programs out there and would love to hear about them!

About the author: Sara Jacobs usually can be found in the EPA Region 9 Drinking Water Office. However, she is currently on a detail to the Navajo Nation EPA Superfund Program where she spends much of her time out in the field helping to identify contaminated structures which are a legacy of uranium mining.

About the author: Amanda Sweda joined EPA’s Office of Environmental Information in 2001 and develops policy development for web related issues and serves on the Environmental Education Web Workgroup. Amanda is a former Social Studies and Deaf Education teacher and is married to a math teacher so education is an important topic in their home.

My 20 year high school reunion is this summer so I’ve been reconnecting with old friends, looking at my yearbook, and thinking about my high school days (yeah Class of 1989!). In some respects I am sure high school hasn’t changed much since I was in school – homework (too much), worrying about what to wear and my hair, thinking about the future (ranging from college to the prom)…that sort of thing. But some things have really changed. In 1989, we didn’t have e-mail, cell phones with text messaging, or even the Internet to help us with our research and homework! Now before you start thinking I am really old – we did have computers. I used the computer to write my papers for school but I could turn in a handwritten copy if necessary. Another difference – there is more focus on community service now – sure we did things for our community but nothing like the current generation’s commitment to service. So when I was thinking back to my school days, I was wondering what I would have done for community service in my small hometown of Rockwall, Texas. Back then, I don’t know where I would have started with coming up with ideas for making the environment better. For the past seven years, I have worked for EPA and try to do as much as I can at home and at work to make a difference in the environment…I only wish I could have used what I know now to help make a difference back in school in my community and the environment….

If you are looking for a potential community service project, sometimes the best place to start is with an issue or concern (or a potential one) in your community. Read your community’s newspaper (or web site), check out what the hot topics are in the town meetings, and take a look at the Community Service Projects page on EPA’s High School Web site. You can also check out “In Your Neighborhood” links to find resources about watersheds, air quality, ecological footprints, and if you’re not sure where to start – just plug your zip code into the Zip Code Search and see what comes up. Every community is different because of its history, geography, culture, etc. What you care about may be different from what I care about for lots of reasons so find something that matters to you. No matter what you do – enjoy your time in high school.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

February 20, 2009 – 8:20 am (Day 12)

In a previous blog titled “52 Ways to Save the Environment, Part II”, I suggested teachers and educators to take their lesson outside of the classroom to put their students in direct contact with nature. Yesterday, around 550 people, including nearly 30 teachers and many students, from the western side of the island came to have a science lesson outside of the classroom during EPA’s Open Ship event in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Students learned about the ship’s layout and latest technology, and had the opportunity to ask scientists, EPA personnel from the San Juan Office, and University of Puerto Rico professor’s questions. All of us gladly shared our knowledge and experiences and spoke about life aboard the Bold, as well as many of our every day duties as environmental protection professionals.

I wish I had had the opportunity when I was growing up that these students were given yesterday. Science is fascinating even when taught from a book, but it really comes alive when you can see it in action. In most environmental science careers, people get to bring together science and creativity to work towards a greater good, protecting ecosystems and people’s health.

I hope that many of the students that participated in the Open Ship yesterday get a new perspective on science and with our shared experiences pursue a career in the environmental protection field.

About the author: Kelly Leovic manages EPA’s Environmental and Community Outreach Program in Research Triangle Park. Kelly has worked at EPA for 21 years and has three children, one of whom needs regular reminders to “turn the lights off when you leave the room.”

“Raise your hand if you recycle,” I said to 15 students at Lowes Grove Middle School in Durham, NC. It was my first apprenticeship class at Citizen Schools, a national program that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for low-income children.

The goal of my 10-week Environmental Awareness Apprenticeship was to guide the students in developing an environmental project. No hands were raised in response to my recycling question, so I launched into my “Trash Talk” lesson which, in addition to REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, includes a trash sort activity. The students sorted through bags of “trash” to discover what could be reused, composted, or recycled. They quickly applied their new knowledge of the three R’s and were on their way to environmental awareness.

As the apprenticeship progressed, we learned about water pollution, conservation, and energy. (A few students even admitted taking over 1 hour showers, so we had a little talk about that one!) One day we used Watts meters to measure and compare the energy use of regular light bulbs and compact fluorescents. Equating energy use to money piqued their interest, and the students decided to do their project on measuring the energy use of various school equipment.

My “apprentices” used a Watts meter to measure computers, printers, microwaves, pencil sharpeners, and projectors during use and when they were turned off but plugged in. Next, the students calculated the estimated annual cost of using the equipment based on 9.86 cents per Kilowatt/hour and multiplied this by the number of each and estimated time used.
 
What suprised us the most was that, based on estimated usage time, the 37 printers at the school actually use more energy when they are plugged in but turned off ($117 annually) than when they are in use ($75 annually). This is because some appliances, e.g., think of a microwave clock, still consume energy just by being plugged in.

I truly enjoyed teaching these kids because they didn’t begin with much environmental knowledge, so I felt I could make a difference in their behaviors and choices. Being a Citizen Teacher also gave me the opportunity to work with the same group of students throughout the semester and to get to know them individually. One of the highlights for the students was their field trip to our EPA Building where they could see EPA’s energy conservation efforts in practice.

In addition to learning about ways to conserve energy at school, the students had an opportunity to “teach” their Principal about what they learned, presenting their results and recommendations for school energy savings at a staff meeting. This is one visit to the Principal’s office that I can feel good about!

Epilogue: On December 9, the students presented their recommendations to over 200 attendees at the Citizen Schools final program. The Principal, the Superintendent of Schools, and a State Senator were there and are excited about implementing the energy saving tips from our middle school citizens.

About the author: Kelly Leovic has been with EPA in Research Triangle Park, NC since 1987 and has served as the Project Officer for the Research Apprenticeship Program since 1996.

June 11 was my second favorite day of work during the summer. Eight high school seniors arrive on campus at 7:40 a.m. to begin their 6 week internships. The students are excited, yet quiet and polite, and I get the sense that this is going to be a great group.

The students are in their 4th and final year of the Research Apprenticeship Program, a cooperative training agreement between EPA’s Office of Research and Development and Shaw University, a Historically Black University in Raleigh. The Program began in 1990 to encourage high school students to pursue advanced degrees in environmental science. During the first 3 years, students take classes at Shaw, and the summer before their senior year, they intern at EPA.

I begin by explaining that they will learn a new language this summer called “Acronym Soup” and not to be intimidated. “Nicolle, you’ll be working in ORD in NHEERL’s ECD and, if you look across the lake, you can see NIH’s NIEHS. Caitlin will be in OAQPS which is part of OAR.”

It is a smart group of kids but, because they are teenagers, we review the program guidelines and dress code, i.e., EPA is a workplace, not a nightclub. Conveniently, cell phone use isn’t an issue because we don’t get reception inside. Next, it is time for safety training. Only a few labs on campus allow high school students, so it is important that they know the rules.

My coworker Suzanne then takes the students for ID badges. They always enjoy this part and, when the program ends, are usually bummed that they have to return their EPA badges. The students relax during lunch and genuinely seem to enjoy each other’s company. Being a mom myself, I try and strike a balance between giving them free time to “chill” and learning a bit more about them individually, such as where they would like to go to college. Finally, their mentors arrive, we make the introductions, and then send them off for a 6-week science adventure.

In case you were wondering…my favorite day of work will be July 18, when the students present their summer projects to an audience of nearly 100, including mentors, co-workers, family, and friends.