Earth Day is only one day a year – April 22 – but the environment is a year-round focus at Evanston/Skokie District 65 schools. Thanks to the efforts of the two-year-old Greening/Sustainability Committee, local schools are educating students and parents on conservation and sustainability practices to use in their everyday lives.
Established in 2007, the Greening Committee implements programs at local elementary and middle schools to encourage conservation and sustainability practices. To achieve this mission, the committee developed policies on recycling, anti-idling and energy efficiency. The committee also supports the incorporation of sustainability lessons into school curriculum.
The committee’s anti-idling campaign will post signs to remind parents to turn off their engines while waiting to pick up their children at school. To reduce paper usage, schools are scanning flyers to the Internet instead of mailing hard copies.
Like any educational institution, the Greening Committee believes knowledge is the key to success, members said.
“Educating the young will ensure our resources for generations to come and could also help us find new resources,” said Lee Kulman, a teacher at Haven Middle School and energy manager for the Greening Committee.
Rather than treating the environment as a stand-alone subject, third- to fifth-grade teachers incorporated environmental sustainability into the entire curriculum. Students gain exposure to sustainability outside the classroom through environmental groups, vegetable gardens and recycling or compost projects.
Children understand and care a lot about recycling and other sustainability efforts, said Dick Peach, president of local group Keep Evanston Beautiful and member of the Greening Committee. But the committee wants to reach out to parents, too.
“It’s easier for kids to grasp the basics,” Peach said. “For parents, it’s just more work that they have to do, and their plate’s pretty full as it is.”
Although the committee focuses on conservation and sustainability in District 65 schools, its membership draws from groups throughout Evanston. This includes representatives from Evanston Township High School, the City of Evanston, the Healthy Schools Campaign and Keep Evanston Beautiful.
“District 65 can’t make a change in isolation,” said Katie Bailey, a school board member who chairs the committee.
Bailey thinks the committee receives huge support from the community and school district, but some members think the district could devote more attention to the sustainability movement.
“It’s not the top priority; our priority is to educate the students,” Kulman said. “That’s the main focus of the schools, so I think (the Greening Committee) doesn’t necessarily get as much focus as it could or should get.”
That’s not to say the district isn’t taking steps in the right direction. In recent years, the district has made an effort to buy recyclable materials and pursue green construction projects. District 65 has reduced its water use by 40 percent over the last nine years, employees said. Both natural gas and water consumption are below 1996 levels. And although electricity levels have risen due to increased technology and square footage, the district has continued to pursue smart energy practices to reduce consumption.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Kulman said. “Ten years ago, no one thought about conserving energy or recycling. Now, it’s something people think about when decisions are being made.”
Bailey sees potential for greater progress, but she thinks the Greening Committee is moving in the right direction.
“There’s still work we need to do. Changing people’s behavior, educating children, those things take time,” Bailey said. “But I think there’s a lot of great things going on in the district. We’re on the right path.”
