Environmentally Friendly Schools - Assignment Example

Green School Name: Professor: College: Course: Date: Introduction The Green schools are committed to maintain the aesthetic beauty of the environment and its significance in creating a conducive environment for learning. Not only does green give the aesthetic value to a place but it also give some other natural benefits like reduction in both energy and water consumptions (Chan, 2014, p. 98). There are various benefits underlying green schools and green environments in general. Green is always environmental friendly and helps very much in the replenishment of natural gases in the air. These schools have triumphed in ensuring that they use environmental friendly items in their construction and activities among other features that make these schools to be the center of environmental conservation. The solar energy used in these institutions is great testaments to the whole world of what really need to be done. The institutions are also surrounded by the green environment that presents a serene environment for learning. Greening school is a pointer to the future generation of the kind of environment that they should live in. The paper show case various green school and their benefits towards realizing sustain able environment. Case study one: Wangaratta High School Wangaratta High School is a High education institution in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. It was established in the year 1909. Wangaratta High school show case how green school can help in reducing the impact on the environment and also improve the health and the learning environment for those who are within it, especially the students and the teachers (International Conference the Future of Education, 2014, p. 65). One of the fundamental objectives was to make the school as energy efficient as possible. They also wanted to make sure that water is preserved and is always available not only to the students but also the society at large. Moreover the stakeholders wanted to ensure that the learning environment is made serene to the students, teacher and all other occupants. The school has put in place a ground heating exchange system that would help in serving the heating and the cooling facilities in the school. This would help in realizing the environmental sustainable design initiative. The geothermal power energy in the school was using the earth as a source of heat sink so that it circulated the water in the building in a way to bring the cooling and the heating effect (Chan, 2014, p. 78). This ensures the temperature was always maintained between 20- 26 degrees Celsius. The temperature provided a conductive environment for learning and for the health of the school occupants. A good percentage of the gas that was used was traditional gas which was not only friendly to the environment but also cost effective to school. Green schools have become one of the interactive learning resources in most of the schools. It engages students to environmental subjects so that they can practice even after school. Wangaratta high school has implemented learning strategies that enables the staff and the students to participate in executing and monitoring the progress of the students. The school is committed to save water as it encourage prevalent change in behavior on how to use water. The committee intensifies the minimum usage of water by ensuring that they account for the water usage; identify those strategies that they can use in saving the water and lastly implementing these strategies (Yudelson, 2008, p. 67). Similarly, the school has water efficiency management plan which the students are given every year. For the new students, it is mandatory that they must go through these plans and get familiarize with them. Most importantly, the Green school has installed water storage tanks and other ways of harvesting rain water. Students and the school occupants are supposed close the water taps which are not in use. There is energy proficiency scheme, for example photovoltaic panels that make a good percentage of the building. (Tabb & Deviren, 2013, p. 56). Furthermore most of the workshops in the school have updated energy generated system that constantly supply school with the power, thus making the activities, for instance in the laboratories running without failure. However, there is a body that ensures that the power is regulate to avoid wastage. The management is also concerned with power supply also ensure that the power efficiency is guaranteed in the required amount and all the time. Fig: 1A picture of Wangaratta High School Case study two: Bond University The Bond University is a private university situated in Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was established in the year 1987. Bond University’s Mirvac School of sustainable development is a living example of a green school that teaches how to build green. From its early stages of its inception, the university uplifted the spirit of sustainable development where it primarily focused on the ecological sustainability together with the socio- economical sustainability in the school and the society around it. Another element of Green school is getting to finance the project. At Bond University, the government played a key role in ensuring that the project was fully implemented. The government did this by offering aids and grants to the school. The changes made in the infrastructure allowed the committee to accommodate the large budget that was required in starting off the project. The school also received donations from non-governmental bodies. At the start most of the people including the students never positively welcomed the idea; this brought a lot of loopholes since moral support was very crucial at its inception (Tabb & Deviren, 2013, p. 76). The materials used in building the schools are renewable which is cost effective as the materials can be reused in constructing other buildings. Similarly, the indoor materials that have been used are highly volatile. As a way of avoiding wastage of water, the school has very big water tanks which they use in preserving rain water. Water re- use system and elimination of potable water consumption is another strategy that the school has put in place. There are tight principles put in place which helps in wastage of water by the students. This principle also applies to the retention of water in the landscape irrigation. For the reduction of energy consumption, students are always advised to be switching those lights which are not in use. There is always a principle that the lights are only fixed when there is a good purpose of doing so. Fig Two: The Bond University Case study three: Larkin community college Larkin community college is one of the Green schools that were awarded the Green schools program Flag for their commitments to eliminate the litters in their environment. The school was established in 1999 previous to an merger of Parnell Vocational School and Gairmscoil Uí Chong Haile The committee is made up of students represented by members from all the years, staff, parents and volunteer’s members of the community. The committee meets four times a year where they discuss the progress of the initiated projects. However, the core duty of the committee members is to execute the changes prevalent for the existence of the group. Similarly, they develop new programs that will ensure that the college will be able to execute other themes in case the programs for greening schools are fully implemented. The college has a well laid down environmental review where the committee does an analytic assessment so that they can determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are prevalent in supporting the recycling of the waste. Similarly, it has established a comprehensive recycling program both internally and externally. Assessment for the progress of these programs in this school is done by the Green schools committees, students, teachers and the management staff. During the time of evaluation, the practices which are seen not to be fruitful are eliminated and new practices are incorporated so as to allow efficient recycling of the waste materials. Most of the subject and units which are taught in this school always contribute towards the betterment of the environment. There has been improvement in the syllabus coverage in this college since the inception of the greening school. Most students and teachers are committed towards their work with very minimal absenteeism. The sustainable features of this school are the lighting features, plumbing fixtures, the water management system and low water landscaping. The school also has a robust system of recycling waste materials so as to reduce the rate of waste which are channeled to the environment. Moreover, it has all its building fitted with modern mechanical systems, such as ventilation system, plumbing, lightening and the heating systems (Hoffman, 2012, p. 46). This is exactly the same as above Additionally there is energy adeptness system, for example photovoltaic panels positioned in the roofs and the walls of all the buildings. Moreover, the workshops are tailored with the contemporary energy producing systems such that the quantity of energy formed is more than the ones which are spent in these labs. The power modifiable expert certifies that there is appointing of the system frequently so that their efficacies are realized as arranged. Fig. 3 Larkin community college Case study four: North Monastery Secondary school, Cork City The school was founded in the year 1811 in Ireland. It is located in North Monastery CBS. This Green school has a committee that is made up of Members of staff, students and members who hail from Leaving Cert Applied. The projects are carried out in this school according to the year of the student, for instance the second year lot started an action Project of stewardship. Apart from the major committee, there are also sub committees within the group like Chewing gum cleanup committee (Gaarder- Juntti, 2011, p. 77). Moreover, the student’s council is always kept informed of the projects that go on in the schools and outside the school. The committee always carries out weekly meeting where they discuss the progress of the project. There was an environmental review that was taken by the group of students that reported that the corridors and the yards were always littered by the end of the day as a result of the plastic bottles that from the canteen. It was here that there was an initiative to sustain the environment by channeling these litters to a better disposal point. The group put in place a very comprehensive action plan whereby they began by purchasing, painting and decorating the available dustbins. The bins were made accessible in all corridors of the school, especially those places which were mostly littered. The group always made a binning rubbish campaign through posters and power point presentation. As a way to solve the littering by plastic bottle, the group has always appealed to the students that they may buy permanent drinking bottles. For the case of papers, the group advices the teachers to do a photocopy using the double sided choice so as to reduce paper littering. As a way of increasing the water efficiency and to reduce water consumption, the school has installed the rain water tanks. The school has also upgraded the water fixture and fitting so that there is no any wastage of water in the school compound. The toilets and the bathrooms are also having efficient supplies of water and the students are advised not to waste water while in the bathrooms and toilets. The school has also designed rules and regulation that governs the usage of water in the compound. Students are advised to be ambassadors of they own environment and they should extend this even when they go back at home. Furthermore, they are advised to teach their families and the members of the society the benefits of conserving and good usage of water. Fig. 4 North Monastery Secondary school, Cork City Case study four: The University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is an Australian community research university situated in Melbourne, Victoria. The school was founded in 1853. The environment in the University provides a hundred percent fresh air to its inhabitants and the community around it. Furthermore, the area has very reduced unstable organic compounds contact by the use of volatile organic compounds paints, carpets and sealant (Olver & Blainey, 1956, p. 56). All the above features help the students to improve their performance and enhance their wellbeing in the school. The environment projects were a focus in this school due to the growing needs and the unpleasant environment that was prevailing at that time. Due to the prevailing environment of the school, there are increased rates of enrolment of new students and it has also attracted excellent lecturers all over the nation. Similarly, there is very few cases of sickness reported in this university as compared to the time when it had not put the greening school into force. The administration of the school has also reported that the cost of operation is very low as they recorded that then school consumes a lesser percentage of water and energy as compared to conventional schools. Melbourne university saves close to 200,000$ every year. They only consume 46% of the energy and a very insignificant amount of water. Furthermore, it has exceptional buildings which are revered in the entire society. This particular university is also having environmentally friendly facilities, for instance chairs and table which further make the learning enjoyable and conducive. Fig. 5 The University of Melbourne Cases study five: The Green School Bali The Green School (Bali) is a private and international pre-kindergarten to secondary school situated beside the Ayung River near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. It was founded in September, 2008. Bali is a private and international school which is from Kindergarten to secondary school. The school has a sustainable ecological design and primarily focuses on a sustainable education for the younger generation. Furthermore the school is committed to providing holistic environment prevalent for learning. The founder of Green school Bali are John and Cynthia Hardy. It was officially launched as Green school in the year 2006. The school started with 98 students, but because of the adoption of greening school, it has shown tremendous enrolment of students. The students in this school hail from different parts o0f the world with a smaller percentage from Indonesia. Green School Bali provides students with natural and holistic environment for learning. It is believed to be the greenest school on planet. In the year 2012, the school got an award “2012 Greenest school on Earth” this was a clear testimony that the program that the school offers was that which nurture the student. Choosing a school to be given this award does not only depend on the physical out look of the school environment, but also other factors like academics. The school prepares the students to be responsible stewards of the environment and also great thinkers who are committed to realizing the sustainability of the environment. The buildings in this school are mostly bamboo, grass and ancient mud wall which are renewable. Again as a way of ensuring that learning is practically done in schools, students cultivate organic garden in the school compounds and they are also encouraged to practice the same even when they are back at home. Other building materials are also renewable so as to help manage the littering of the compound. The school has a well laid down strategy of preventing water shortage. Water re- use system and purging of potable water consumption is one more stratagem that the school has put in place (Gaarder- Juntti, 2011, p. 57). There are constricted principles put in place which helps in consumption of water by the students. This principle also applies to the retention of water in the landscape irrigation. For the reduction of energy consumption, students are always advised to be switching those light. Below is an image of a building in Green School Bali. Fig. 6 The Green School Bali Benefits of green schools Green schools provide a better place to teach; this is because they improve the health of the student and that one of the teachers. Most teachers will be willing to work in an environment with natural day light which is basically provided in Green schools. It therefore gives these schools an upper hand in getting the best teachers in the region, thus translating to the performance of the students because they are well attended to by the teachers. Moreover, Green schools provides the teacher with the ability to control their environment, this makes them to become happier in handling the task which is laid before them. Prosperity of the Green schools helps in strengthening the economy. One of the obvious ways through which it does this is by creating job opportunities. The modern technologies which are used in this in greening the schools creates thousands of job opportunities (Edenhofer & Sokana. 2012, p. 84). Similarly, during acquisition of these technologies and the process of building there is money channeled to the economy. Again there is tax that the states get from green schools which are very important for strengthening the economy. In addition green school saves money. The cost saving is from the various sources that they us such as energy heating and air conditioning system. The main aim of Green school is to minimize wastage of resources as much as possible, this follows that any element of wasting is not in their vocabularies. The robust system also avails the drought resistant crops which all add up to be cost effective. Green Schools are aimed at inspiring and educating students to stand strong for the campaign of global warming because the young can have a substantial change in for the global climate disaster. Furthermore, they strive to broaden the understanding of the young generation because they are the future leaders. There is position that when the young adults are made to know the impacts of the global warming, they can act responsively so as to better their future. Green school further aims at instilling the knowledge to the young generation so that they can also go outside there to change the mindset of their family members, society and consequently the whole nation in dealing with the environmental issues (Edenhofer & Sokana. 2012, p. 64) Green schools are mostly built and designed with modern strategies and technologies that are aimed at alleviating the quality of the air that surrounds the school. This improves the health status of the students, teachers and the workers in school. It also creates a serene environment for learning to students and to the teachers equally. According to the statistics, there are few reported cases of sickness among students who learn in Green schools as compared to those ones who learn at non- Green schools. One of the diseases which are recorded to have reduced in Green schools is Asthma because of the good climatic conditions in these schools. Similarly, Green schools are well equipped with lightening facilities, controlled temperature and well ventilated rooms that provide ample learning environment for both the students and their teachers. Good lighting is usually associated with the improvement of the test score of the students. Most students are able to score because the lighting is conducive for their and again they can any time of the night because they are always assured of the presence of lighting. Apart from the outside look of their rooms, there are also indoor air qualities important for learning. Another importance of Green schools is that they create job opportunities for the members of the society. In some nations like the United States of American, Green schools create up to 2000 job opportunities to the society. The jobs created are mostly in energy technologies because this is the area which is mostly captured in the field. Green schools also have benefits to the environment. The buildings which are certified with the LEED are designed in such a way that their water and energy consumption is significantly low as compared to conventionally designed houses. In addition the kind of building that is done in Green schools is such that they reduce the level of waste that they accumulate during construction (Edenhofer & Sokana. 2012, p. 75). Again Greening schools is very cost effective today both academically and financially. Apart improving the students health, Green schools decreases the chance of absenteeism among students. Absenteeism could be as a result of poor health condition that surrounds learning environment. These environments are coupled with the elimination of toxic substances in the environment and the proper ventilated rooms. Due to the fact that the rate of absenteeism is limited, there will be increased productivity in the performance of the students. It is reported that most of the students in America and other parts of the world absent themselves from school because asthma, therefore improving the environment that that favors existence of asthma, most of the students won’t be wasting their time seeking for treatment instead they will be going to school. Less exposure of students to gases such as carbon monoxide, dust and pollen can also lead less contraction of asthma. When schools have the toxic substances like paints on the walls and the floor, there will be irritation of nose and throats. In this case the doctors posited that when the indoor air can be improved the cases of asthmatic can drastically reduce. In order to improve the performance of the student, there need to be good teachers and this will only be possible when the environment is conducive for the teachers (Karins, 2010, p. 45). More teachers will be more than willing to teach in Green schools as compared to the conventional schools. Moreover, when the learning environment is more acoustic, there will be good communication between the teachers and the students. The teacher’s health is preserved at the same time the students can maximally gain from the teacher. Notably, teachers miss classes in non- Green schools because they lose their voices due to the irritation in their voices. This make the coverage of the syllabus to be poor, again it cripples the whole process of learning. This is a case which is rarely experienced in the green school because the environment is conducive to the teachers and the students. Nonetheless, schools that have clean indoor air and conducive temperature posits fewer problems such as distractions. The control system offers a serene classroom and the proper use of delighting ensures that the learning environment is welcoming and the distraction to both the teachers and the students is reduced. This encourages the students to participate in learning so that they develop a pride in learning, thus leading to a good performance. Green Schools are important because they bring the society together. Most of the activities that take place in the society are carried out in the schools. However, these activities are majorly carried out in the school environments which can offer serene environment for such activities (Gaarder- Juntti, 2011, p. 87). For instance when disaster struck a community then schools are used as one of the places where the displaced persons get solace. The government has a great responsibility in funding these schools and improving the security in them. Similarly, Green school can be a source of civil pride in the community especially when the community is made to play part is its construction. Furthermore, the stakeholders in the community can be invited so that they conduct a research in the school, for instance they can participate in saving water, builders and also facilitate other activities (Gaarder- Juntti, 2011, p. 98). These stakeholders can also give a talk to the students so as to inculcate an environmental friendly culture in them. The school is always an asset to the society because they play a crucial role in shaping the future of the society. For this case therefore, the members of the society and the students should be ambassadors of the environment. The students can take advantage of the knowledge they get in schools to change the perception of their families and the entire society. They can teach their family members and the society the benefit of going green. Another prevalent step that most of the Green schools have taken to change the face of the society is designing a website where they teach the society the benefit of going green. The school website can include the sustainable programs that can be used in uniting the members of the society on how they can change the face of the society (Hoffman, 2012, p. 86). Conclusion While over the last decades environmental supporters have, with changeable steps of success, beleaguered administration interventions and great environmentally disparaging industries for change, schools, to a large extent, have glided below the radar screen. Hitherto, as this work has exposed the contribution educational institutions restoring the environmental health hazards. On the other hand, not all schools work towards realizing sustainable environment. Following this paper’s report, there are several indications of optimistic change. State and local healthy school grids of parents, professionals and teachers are forming to address children’s environmental health evils. Related to this, the rising efforts to design green buildings have arrived at the educational realm, laying a variety of creativities to promote healthy, high–performance schools following the natural lighting, solar panel among other projects that green schools are executing. Bibliography Bibliography INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION. (2014). Conference proceedings. [S. l.], Libreriauniversitaria.it. CHAN, T. C. (2014). Marketing the green school: form, function, and the future. LPA (FIRM). (2009). Green school primer: lessons in sustainability. Mulgrave, Vic, Images Pub. GAARDER-JUNTTI, O. (2011). What in the world is a green school? Edina, Minn, ABDO Pub. Co. OLVER, N. H., & BLAINEY, G. (1956). The University of Melbourne: a centenary portrait. Melbourne, Melbourne U.P. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING, BREBBIA, C. A., BERIATOS, E., & KUNGOLOS, A. (2007). Sustainable development and planning III. Southampton, WIT press. 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