District News
82 Seattle Public Schools to receive Shared Savings Awards for reaching conservation goals
Seattle Public Schools’ students, staff, communities, custodians and maintenance personnel have been working hard to reduce utility use and teach environmental stewardship. Compared to the previous year, District-wide energy and water use in 2011-12 decreased. Our total volume of solid waste also decreased, while recycling increased.
A total of $49,350 will now be shared with the 82 winning schools for achieving conservation goals and/or reducing utility use. The Shared Savings Awards dollars can be used to continue current conservation projects at the school or begin new projects.
Ten schools met the conservation goal in each of the three categories -refuse, energy, and water: Bryant Elementary School, Coe Elementary School, the Denny/Sealth campus, Hamilton Middle School, John Hay Elementary School, John Stanford International School, Lawton Elementary School, Lowell Elementary School, Maple Elementary School, and John Muir Elementary School. Awards ranged from $100 to $1,800 depending on the size of the school and how much they conserved.
• Lowell was the top elementary school, earning $1,000 with John Stanford International School a close second at $900
• Eckstein led winning middle schools with $1,400, nearly tying with Hamilton at $1,350.
• Garfield led winning high schools with $1,800
All District schools will receive packets with school utility data and usage graphs, while special certificates will be sent to the 82 award-winning schools. You can view a list of the 82 winning schools here.
Schools may use their award for conservation projects, including things like composting, starting/continuing a school garden, conducting a school-wide poster contest for recycling or turning off lights, replacing an old staff refrigerator with an Energy Star model, purchasing power strips for workstations, buying recycled paper, field trips, tools for their custodial staff, or environmental camps.
Many teachers use the shared savings data and graphs as real-world learning opportunities for math and science, and as a tool to help students think critically about environmental sustainability. This leads to a school culture of conservation which saves ongoing operating dollars.
The Shared Savings Program is part of a suite of three interconnected Utility Conservation Programs: Shared Savings, Green Team Support, and Conservation Hero Awards. The goal of these programs is to encourage a culture of conservation at every school in our District.
For more information visit http://bit.ly/sps-conservation.