The Boulder Valley School District’s 20-year commitment to sustainability, from installing solar panels to teaching students about green practices, earned the district national recognition.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that Boulder Valley is one of nine districts in the country to earn a 2014 Green Ribbon District Sustainability Award, with officials describing the district as “way ahead of the game.” Winning districts serve as models and will be honored in July in Washington, DC.
“It’s a nice affirmation of a lot of work by many people — students, staff and the community,” said Boulder Valley Superintendent Bruce Messinger. “We’re very committed to sustainability and including students in that work. It’s good for our communities and the environment, but it’s also providing real, foundational lessons for our students.”
For the award, districts apply to the state, and each state forwards one district to the national competition. Districts are evaluated in three areas: reduced environmental impact and costs; improved health and wellness; and effective environmental and sustainability education.
Ghita Carroll, Boulder Valley’s sustainability coordinator, said it’s good to see the district’s efforts recognized.
“It’s a huge honor,” she said. “We want to build on that momentum moving forward.”
Highlights of the district’s work include a 34 percent decrease in water use since 2008 and an 18 percent decline in energy use since 2010. The district also has expanded renewable energy technologies from five schools to 28, offsetting more than 3,530 metric tons of carbon.
The district has seen increased participation in both walk-to-school day and bike-to-school day. Half of the district’s schools are composting, and all recycle paper and commingled containers.
For students, Boulder Valley starts teaching about sustainability in kindergarten, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary science or social studies units that integrate reading, writing and math. In the fall, the district plans to offer a new high school class on environmental sustainability.
The district also invites schools to participate in an energy challenge, with 21 schools participating this year. Schools needed to conduct an energy audit, develop an action plan based on the audit and educate the school community. Then they competed in February to see which schools could reduce the most energy use.
The winners, announced Tuesday, were Boulder Preparatory, Peak to Peak Charter School, Eldorado K-8, Summit Middle, Eisenhower Elementary and Lafayette Elementary. Winning high schools received $1,000, middle schools received $750 and elementary schools received $500.
At Boulder Prep, students in the school’s environmental science class took on the project.
Senior Jeff Goertz said the class talked to teachers and other students about ways to conserve energy — including unplugging appliances — and put stickers on all the light switches to remind people to turn them off. They also made regular announcements reminding students about the challenge and encouraged students to continue to compost and recycle.
“We were talking in class about how to change our world,” he said. “This was a way to actually do something.”
Teacher Rachel Brett said the challenge helped motivate her students to learn by making the topic more relevant.
“It’s a benefit for learning because it makes it real,” she said.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Amy Bounds at 303-473-1341 or boundsa@dailycamera.com.