a bold statement for sustainability?
Carolyn
I was thinking about some of the discussions that my "table group" had
at last week's meeting. There was a lot of talk of the need for DC to
be a leader in sustainability - but so far we haven't gone beyond (or
even quite reached) the commitments made by other major cities in
their climate action plans.
One person in my group (she's an architect, but I don't remember her
name, sorry!) suggested the need for a really bold statement, as in
planting a forest on the Mall to show our commitment to lowering
carbon emissions.
I like the sentiment, but here is my idea: make DC public schools
sustainability hubs for their neighborhoods (and go way beyond the
"DCPS Facility Modernization initiative" wherein the city expects to
reduce the building emissions from public schools by 25% over the next
7 years).
- Recognize that sustainability IS an education initiative, as far as
changing the behavior/consumption patterns of residents, and begin
with the kids.
- Renovate all of the schools to LEED Platinum + and take them off the
grid, turning them into zero-energy demonstrations.
- Add community gardens and composting centers, community services and
amenities to the renovated school buildings. Make the hub available
to all neighborhood residents, and utilize the new infrastructure
after-hours and on weekends. Some schools could have green job
training programs - like weatherization certification - for adults
too.
- At the same time, make investments in education - more teachers,
better pay - that will improve kids education overall. Yes, and
incorporate sustainability into the curriculum.
Why? Because public schools are an important infrastructure
investment, because they touch every neighborhood, and because the
long-term sustainability and resiliency of DC will depend on the next
generation. Also, there are a lot of potential jobs in improving
education.
Please comment!
Carolyn Reid
Yasmani
recycling program. All my life I attended public schools and there was
always a recycling program (some of you may remember those little blue
garbage cans). It is 2011 and we are in the Nations Capitol and no
such thing exists. This is crazy to me. Maybe we can start there...
Yasmani
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Matt Grason
Why should District residents and workers value e.g., street trees, a clean Anacostia, or a healthy school building? We only value what we have a connection to, what we understand sustains us. Ultimately, maintaining sustainability and supporting nature requires that all residents recognize and value the ecosystem services (clean air, clean water, stable climate) we often take for granted. If we tell our government to do the job for us, then we go back to our same old behaviors, the government will go back to business as usual. The Sustainable DC Work Groups and other sustainability stakeholders can foster all residents' connection to to sustainability and nature:
-- engage volunteers and school kids in regular river cleanup and tree planting days.
-- involve the neighborhood in creating a school building they will take pride in
-- teach children about local plant, bird and insect species and the importance of preserving resources (water, energy, open space)
-- hold recycling and energy conservation contests between schools, offices, and neighborhoods
-- hold composting and gardening workshops
-- and on and on.
The opportunities are limitless and affordable, considering engaged residents could be eager volunteers.
I also agree we should take advantage of the opportunity to set bold goals, in particular, bold five-year goals. Cutting a greater percentage of emissions in less time is critical at this moment in time.
Matt
eley.c...@epa.gov
capacity building for school age children through a summer camp
program.
It is called "Project Pipeline."
NOMA has a chapter in Washington, DC. I believe this chapter hosted a
youth summer camp in 2011. In the camp, students learn how design
affects many of the issues described in your email.
An article on Project Pipeline is at this site --
http://www.noma.net/EventsPrograms/resource_pipeline.aspx
Carlton
On Dec 18, 5:06 pm, Matt Grason <mattgra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm very much in favor of the concept of investing in schools as hubs of sustainability -- particularly giving citizens opportunities to invest their time and enthusiasm in local sustainability solutions. In thinking about strategies and goals for the Nature group. I've been thinking that "nature," as fundamental as it is to our health and well-being, it would be easy to let it continue to be a secondary priority.
>
> Why should District residents and workers value e.g., street trees, a clean Anacostia, or a healthy school building? We only value what we have a connection to, what we understand sustains us. Ultimately, maintaining sustainability and supporting nature requires that all residents recognize and value the ecosystem services (clean air, clean water, stable climate) we often take for granted. If we tell our government to do the job for us, then we go back to our same old behaviors, the government will go back to business as usual. The Sustainable DC Work Groups and other sustainability stakeholders can foster all residents' connection to to sustainability and nature:
> -- engage volunteers and school kids in regular river cleanup and tree planting days.
> -- involve the neighborhood in creating a school building they will take pride in
> -- teach children about local plant, bird and insect species and the importance of preserving resources (water, energy, open space)
> -- hold recycling and energy conservation contests between schools, offices, and neighborhoods
> -- hold composting and gardening workshops
> -- and on and on.
>
> The opportunities are limitless and affordable, considering engaged residents could be eager volunteers.
>
> I also agree we should take advantage of the opportunity to set bold goals, in particular, bold five-year goals. Cutting a greater percentage of emissions in less time is critical at this moment in time.
>
> Matt
>
> On Dec 18, 2011, at 2:35 PM, Yasmani wrote:
>
>
>
> > This is great and I agree. DC public schools don't even have a recycling program. All my life I attended public schools and there was always a recycling program (some of you may remember those little blue garbage cans). It is 2011 and we are in the Nations Capitol and no such thing exists. This is crazy to me. Maybe we can start there...
>
> > Yasmani
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sustainable DC Built Environment" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to sustainable-dc-b...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sustainable-dc-built-e...@googlegroups.com.
>
> - Show quoted text -
