2011 International Green Schoolyard Conference: Engaging Our Grounds

Between September 16th and 18th, the 2011 International Green Schoolyard Conference will be held in San Francisco and Berkeley. The green schoolyard movement is growing rapidly and flourishing around the world. Schools are re-imagining their grounds, replacing their extensive paved surfaces with a vibrant mosaic of outdoor learning and play opportunities. Schools in many different countries are leaders in this field, finding innovative ways to weave curricula into their landscapes, diversify their recreational offerings, enhance their local ecology, and reflect their unique location and cultural context.

“Engaging Our Grounds,” is the first International Green Schoolyard Conference held in the United States, September 16-18, 2011. Participants will hear about cutting edge schoolyards and school gardens, meet like-minded colleagues from the United States and abroad and share ideas. Participants will also tour local school grounds including the Edible Schoolyard, the City of Berkeley’s Adventure Playground, and Rosa Parks School, with a green schoolyard created by the school community.

There will be information sessions from visionary leaders of the school ground movement from Canada, England, Germany, Japan & Sweden will share their experiences, case studies, and best practices.

Speakers will include:

- Dr. Petter Åkerblom, Movium & Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Uppsala, Sweden)
- Cam Collyer, Evergreen (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
- Manfred Dietzen, Grün macht Schule (Berlin, Germany)
- Mary Jackson and Julie Mountain, Learning through Landscapes (Winchester, England)
- Dr. Ko Senda, Environment Design Institute (Tokyo, Japan)
- Bernard Spiegal, Playlink (London, England)
- Birgit Teichmann, Teichmann Landschafts Architekten (Berlin, Germany)

Engaging Our Grounds is open to the public from the United States and around the world: teachers, parents, school administrators, designers, nonprofit organizations, environmentalists, and community members.

For registration information, go to the conference website.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Green School Buildings Offer Many Benefits
The Campus Green Builder Online Portal
Organizations and Groups in the USGBC's Center for Green Schools
USGBC's Center for Green Schools
The Green Market's Green Schools Series
USGBC's Green School Building Resources
Environmental Revolution: Building and Operations
The Extraordinary Growth of Green Building
Green Building Environmental Benefits
Green Buildings Combat Climate
The Future of Green School Buildings
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 1
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 2
Green Building Economic BenefitsGreen Building Social Benefits
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Natural Lighting
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Ventilation
25 Blogs Leading the Sustainable Building Revolution
Green Campus Student Resources
Obama's Jobs Plan Emphasizes Education and Greener Schools
The UK's Sandal Magna Community Primary School
Princeton is Building the Largest Solar Array of Any University
Solar Powered Schools In California
Coca-Cola's Solar Rebuilding in Japanese Schools
Australia's National Solar Schools Program
Bill Increases Energy Efficiency in Oregon's Schools
NYU's Energy Efficient Power Generation
Mississippi State University has the first LEED® Certified Chapter House in the US
Suffolk University's Green Efforts Include Building Design
Green School Rejuvenates Dying Town
LAUSD Green School Initiatives
Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland
New York's Leed Certified Universities

Suffolk University's Green Efforts Include Building Design

Boston's Suffolk University has building projects that incorporate environmentally sound construction processes and sustainable principles in their design. New buildings use water conservation fixtures, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC equipment, and recycled materials. Suffolk’s 10 West Residence Hall, which opened in 2008, received LEED Gold certification.

Other Suffolk University environmental initiatives include composting, biking workshops, and programs that encourage the use of reusable bags and mugs, bottle-less water filtration system, a reuse/donation program and a green event checklist to facilitate more environmentally friendly catered events

Princeton Review has again acknowledges Suffolk University as one of the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges citing coursework and sustainable practices. Suffolk University offers more than 50 courses in sustainability in areas of study ranging from business to law to science.

“Sustainability efforts have become a way of life at Suffolk University as we attend to environmental issues in the classroom, through outreach to faculty and staff, and by revamping our infrastructure,” said Marguerite Dennis, vice president for Enrollment and International Programs.

In 2010, the University’s employee education program on waste reduction and recycling earned a Gold Achievement Award from the Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise Program, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recognized Suffolk University as the 2009 WasteWise “Partner of the Year” for its comprehensive recycling and waste-prevention efforts.

To learn more click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved

Related Posts
Green School Buildings Offer Many Benefits
The Campus Green Builder Online Portal
Organizations and Groups in the USGBC's Center for Green Schools
USGBC's Center for Green Schools
The Green Market's Green Schools Series
USGBC's Green School Building Resources
Environmental Revolution: Building and Operations
The Extraordinary Growth of Green Building
Green Building Environmental Benefits
Green Buildings Combat Climate
The Future of Green School Buildings
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 1
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 2
Green Building Economic BenefitsGreen Building Social Benefits
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Natural Lighting
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Ventilation
25 Blogs Leading the Sustainable Building Revolution
Green Campus Student Resources
NYU's Energy Efficient Power Generation
Obama's Jobs Plan Emphasizes Education and Greener Schools
Mississippi State University has the first LEED® Certified Chapter House in the US
Green School Rejuvenates Dying Town
LAUSD Green School Initiatives
Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland
New York's Leed Certified Universities

Building Gateways to the Green Economy: Green Community Colleges Summit Coming Soon

The Green Market is a proud partner of the Green Community College Summit. All readers of The Green Market can get a 20% reduction on the summit's registration fee by mentioning the discount code GRMARKET.
_______________________________________________

California’s community colleges have launched some of the nation’s largest green building and renewable energy projects and are central to efforts to train workers for the state’s growing green economy. The strategies, best practices and policies behind these innovations will be the focus of the Green California Community Colleges Summit & Exposition, October 17-18, 2011, at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California.

The Summit will offer a rare opportunity to learn about not just job development, but all aspects of greening campuses – from funding opportunities for green building, energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy projects to understanding the emerging green workforce and how to prepare students for good jobs in the clean tech sector.

Green Technology, which organizes the event, has announced that Carl Pope, Sierra Club executive chairman and co-chair of the newly-formed BlueGreen Alliance, will be the keynote speaker. Through his position at the Sierra Club and his involvement with the BlueGreen Alliance, Pope has long worked at the heart of the push for sustainability. In May, the BlueGreen Alliance merged with the Apollo Alliance, merged “to build a stronger movement to create good jobs and produce clean energy in the 21st century economy.” Earlier in the year, the Alliance launched the Jobs21! campaign, a nine-state initiative, including California, to bring together union members and environmentalists to promote the creation of good jobs through investments in the clean energy economy.

Attendees will learn from and engage with leaders in all areas of high performance community colleges during an education program of panels and seminars. Educational offerings will include a double-session on funding and implementing renewable energy projects, sessions organized by the U.S. Green Building Council and a special session on the Los Angeles Community College District’s multi-billion dollar building project. Other topics covered will include green job training programs and engaging students in green campus projects.

For the first time, the Green California Community Colleges Summit will take place concurrently with the Green California Schools Summit. This unique convergence will offer a rare opportunity for networking and exploration among the K-12 and higher education sectors.

At a reception on October 17, Leadership Awards will be presented in recognition of achievements in green building, energy, curriculum and other categories. The two Summits will share an Expo featuring more than 100 companies offering green products and services.

For information and to register for the summits go to http://www.green-technology.org/ or call Cindy Dangberg at 626-577-5700.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Committed to Sustainability: 2011 Green Schools Summit and Expo
Green California Summit 2011

Committed to Sustainability: 2011 Green Schools Summit and Expo

The Green Market is a proud partner of Green CA Schools Summit and Expo. All readers of The Green Market can get a 20% reduction on the summit's registration fee by mentioning the discount code GRMARKET.
______________________________________

The fifth annual Green California Schools Summit & Expo is the place to learn about all aspects of green schools - from funding, to new building technologies, to implementing green curriculum. The Summit takes place October 17-18, 2011, at the Pasadena Convention Center.

From student performance and health to responsible resource management, there are many reasons why these facilities should take advantage of green building innovations. The home state of the nation’s first green building rating program especially designed for K-12 schools, California has long been on the leading edge of the green schools movement.

With the development of its Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) curriculum, the state is also poised to become a leader in environmental literacy.

The Green California Schools Summit was created to address the unique needs and challenges of the growing green schools sector. This year, for the first time, the Green California Schools Summit and the Green California Community Colleges Summit will be held concurrently, with a single Expo serving both events. Carl Pope, Sierra Club executive chairman and co-chair of the newly-formed Blue-Green Alliance, will be the keynote speaker during a general session open to attendees from both summits.

“The convergence of these two events offers a rare and unique opportunity for educators, administrators, curriculum specialists, facility directors and others from community colleges and K-12 schools to interact,” said Carl Smith, editor-in-chief of Green Technology, the organization producing the summits. “We have learned from our advisory board that there is a need for this kind of networking between sectors.”

Attendees can take advantage of an educational program of seminars and panels that address the many aspects of high performance schools. Strategies, best practices and results from effective green schools programs will be covered in sessions addressing innovative funding mechanisms for new schools or renovations, implementing energy and water efficiency programs, involving students in greening their schools and many others.

The Summit will also include a one-day Green Curriculum Institute for teachers, curriculum supervisors and other educators focused on California’s landmark Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI). The EEI is a full environmental curriculum comprised of 85 units covering science and history-social science academic standards created by the California Environmental Protection Agency and formally approved by the State Board of Education for use in classrooms statewide. Green Technology has formed a partnership with CalEPA to help forward EEI implementation.

Both summits will share an Expo featuring more than 100 companies offering innovative green products and services. At a reception on October 17, Leadership Awards will be presented in recognition of achievements in green building, energy, curriculum and other categories.

For information and to register for the summits go to http://www.green-technology.org/ or call Cindy Dangberg at 626-577-5700.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Building Gateways to the Green Economy: Green Community Colleges Summit Coming Soon
Green California Summit 2011