Creating Sustainable Students

Discussions on sustainable design in recent years have been focused on rating systems and certifications; however, a sustainable building can be so much more. When it comes to schools, sustainability must go beyond design and create institutions that provide students, faculty, staff, and community members with a space that celebrates learning and collaboration while fostering ethical relationships between people and the natural systems that support them. Classrooms have the potential to be living laboratories that produce sustainable students with minimal or no cost increase using a focus on high-value design.

The school building should serve as a canvas for student learning and exploration, while raising awareness about how the built environment and earth systems work together1. Imagine a classroom that not only provides a place for direct learning from teachers, but also allows students to explore concepts like electricity and solar energy using actual systems installed in the school. Displays demonstrating energy demand and use by using real-time data coupled with lessons on how energy works, help students to be more prepared for the 21st century workforce. Similarly, hands on activities connect students with a greater purpose, such as creating community gardens on school grounds by planting and harvesting crops that can then be used in local food kitchens, benefit students by providing new skills and also help the community through enhanced cohesion and food supply. By including sustainability in curriculum and programming, students adopt a global and social perspective.

Sustainable design creates student innovators who embody the principles of sustainability through programming, curriculum development, and active design. Students spend an estimated 16,000 hours inside a school building before they reach college. Designers have the ability to create environments that stimulate learning and provide improved health and activity during these precious hours, while conserving energy. A recent report published by Harvard demonstrates that students benefit from increased levels of lighting and indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and views and access to green space from reduced absenteeism to increased test scores2.

Benefits of health-optimized learning environments:

Performance-based design ensures conservation is considered as soon as pen hits paper. Traditional energy modeling requires building improvements in later stages that then compete for priority. Early modeling of energy allows for flexibility and innovation by analyzing the impacts of various design scenarios and learning from each one. The continuous improvement process allows both the designer and the building to raise the bar of performance and track it over time. The result is schools that save on operation and maintenance costs. According to a report by American Institute of Architects and The U.S. Green Building Council, sustainable schools can achieve indirect savings of almost $70 per square foot with $12/sf going directly back into the school in the way of energy savings, lowered water costs, improved teacher retention and lowered health costs3.

1 2017. NMC/CoSN Horizon Report > 2017 K–12 Edition. https://cdn.nmc.org/media/2017-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf

2 2017. Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. http://schools.forhealth.org/

3 2004. High-Performance Schools: Affordable Green Design for K-12 Schools. 

Farm in a Box

What is it?
Sustainability goes beyond sustainable design, working to create opportunities where students embody the principles of conservation and environmental awareness. There are a number of ways that sustainability can brought into teaching and learning that also have practical, real-life applications.

One such approach is the concept of a ‘farm-in-a-box,’ a compact container that contains all of the elements to grow plants and food. The farm can be created within a used shipping container and uses hydroponic technology, which is a way of growing plants without soil. This approach also complements active learning and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. A Farm-in-a-Box solution represents the latest in agricultural technology and can be used to teach curriculum ranging from biology to horticulture to computer science. In urban environments this technology exposes students to science of growing their own food, an abstract concept for many, if not most. In rural environments this technology trains students how to interact with the agricultural technologies of the future and could be used to complement other kinds of farming activities.

Many communities suffer from food injustice issues, such as food deserts, where there is a lack of healthy, affordable, fresh food in the community. Additionally, the space required by these systems is significantly less than traditional farming and therefore makes more economic sense. Depending on the location, the farm in a box allows for plants to be grown in areas where they would otherwise be infeasible due to the local climate. Now plants that thrive in hot, humid climates could theoretically be grown anywhere, even in dry, arid climates.

How big an Investment are Indoor Plants?
The cost of creating a school garden can vary widely. A traditional farm-in-a-box will range from $50,000-$80,000 depending on the manufacturer and materials used. However, similar objectives can be achieved with smaller scale projects such as planter beds and indoor hydroponic or aeroponic growing racks for minimal costs. The more sophisticated versions have added costs due to technology such as solar pv to power the grow systems, battery storage systems for backup, water pumps, basic farming tools, sensors and wifi connectivity. There may also be additional ongoing costs for the seedlings as well as the nutrients required for the plants to grow.

What are the benefits to instruction?
One of the obvious benefits of the farm in a box concept is local food production. In addition to providing fresh, healthy food, the students can connect with the broader community by donating the food directly to local food pantries or selling using a co-op or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) method which could help pay for the materials. Local volunteers such as community members and parents can also be utilized to support these efforts. There are also benefits of workforce training such as technology, agriculture/farming, and project management.

The students will also have the benefit of eating healthy foods which can improve their own health and provide further success in the class. A recent report1 demonstrated that significant improvements in student performance were found when plants were present, compared with classes without plants (increases between 10-14%) and recommend that indoor plants be a standard installation for school classrooms. Trials found that classroom plants consistently led to improvement in spelling, mathematics, and science performance.

Additionally, planting and growing can be used as a hands on tool for lessons in science, on the various organisms, plant anatomy, earth science, as well as mathematics and even art. The food products produced can be used in other classes such as home economics or cooking, preparing a new wave of chefs who utilize local foods. The long-term nature of growing can also provide students with a sense of responsibility for the growth and care of the plants and a reason to never give up.

1 Daly, et al. “Plants in the Classroom Can Improve Student Performance.” 2010. 

Steps to Net Zero

When most people hear the words “net zero” they picture solar panels and wind turbines. In reality, one of the first and arguably most important steps to getting to net zero involves optimizing the building envelope and reducing loads. While adding renewable energy is certainly beneficial, it is only one part of the equation. Many net zero buildings start with a reduction of 60-70% compared to the median building by optimizing the envelope and maximizing energy efficiency. By reducing the amount of power generation required to offset the building’s consumption, the required physical footprint and financial cost of the generation system becomes much more feasible for a wider number of building sites and styles.

There are many definitions of net zero ranging from energy use to cost to carbon emissions. For the purpose of this discussion, we will focus on net zero energy, meaning the total amount of energy consumed by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the total amount of renewable energy created on the site. While the number of certified net zero projects around the country is still small (43 verified projects with confirmed and measuring energy data across the country according to the New Buildings Institute, the number will continue to rise as cities and states approve policies that push owners to meet these standards. One such example is California’s Title 24, which will require Net Zero residential buildings by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030. 

According to NBI, schools continue to be the largest building category to achieve and target net zero (NBI 2016 List of Zero Net Energy Buildings) with California leading the way in number of net zero buildings overall. Buildings consume approximately 40% of the energy use in the United States, and for school districts, the cost of energy is larger than that of salaries and textbooks. By allowing a school district to spend its money on what matters, the opportunity to reduce or offset these energy costs can have a tremendous impact on education. Additionally, the actual building elements that help to achieve net zero can be used as educational tools, helping to create student innovators who embody the principles of sustainability. These elements can be featured in curriculum and programming that teaches about conservation, energy, health, and collaboration. In Higher Education and Career and Technical Education (CTE) there are linkages between net zero and STEM education and workforce development, as sustainability is increasingly important in a number of career pathways including automotive technology (electric), renewable energy, and landscaping.

Examples of ways that a building can start to achieve the first step of net zero by reducing their loads include:

Orientation/Massing

• Orient the building so that the longer wall exposures faces North and South
• Create a compact design, both in plan and volume with reduced perimeter wall surface area
• Utilize existing trees and natural features to provide shading and windbreaks

Building Envelope

• Increase R-values of walls and roof assembly to provide an efficient building envelope.
• Utilize reflective (white or light-colored) materials for roof and hardscape to reduce cooling loads
• Specify energy-efficient windows with low U-values and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and reduce the amount of glazing

Daylight and Lighting Reduction

• Configure the building to allow maximum daylight without overheating or creating glare (exterior shading devices, louvres, and light shelves can be used)
• Reduce lighting levels in classrooms and add occupancy sensors and dimmable multi-level switching
• Consider the use of skylights and solar tubes to add natural daylight to interior spaces

Heating/Cooling

• Groups of classrooms should be zoned for Heating and Cooling
• High efficiencyheating and cooling equipment coupled with controls and sensors for conserving and monitoring energy use and energy recovery

Technology and Plug Use Reduction

• Implement wireless computer technology and use Energy Star appliances to reduce plug load and aid in the efficiency and performance of the building.

Operations and Maintenance

• Enable control systems that will monitor and control every electrical device throughout the building
• Provide Occupancy and motion sensors, as well as CO2 monitoring, to maintain an optimum learning environment and reduce the system's power demands.
• Schedule operations to determine areas that require continuous heating, cooling, and lighting at what times of the day, week and year.

Zero Waste Schools

Reducing the amount of waste we produce and send to landfills is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. The world population is growing by approximately 80 million people each year and the amount of waste we produce is staggering at over 2 billion tons per year. Sourcing and producing new materials, rather than reusing, leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions and public health issues related to air, water, and land pollution. As a result of these enormous pressures, cities around the world are setting zero waste goals, including Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, London, Paris, and Tokyo. While waste management is still poorly understood and waste experts are rarely brought in to consult on design, Architects can play a critical role as designers of the systems that support maintenance operations within buildings.

To meet the challenge, the AIA (American Institute of Architects) has assembled best practices for designing buildings to achieve zero waste. GBCI has also recently launched a new certification called TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) for facilities which have achieved at least 90% diversion from landfill and incineration. More specific to schools, several entities have created guidelines to help staff and administration achieve zero waste in their facilities. In NYC the Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Sanitation (DSNY) teamed up to create guidelines for diverting all recyclable and compostable waste from 100 schools in five years starting in 2016.

The strategy for achieving zero waste consists of three main tenets:

1 - Reduce the amount of material used;

2 - Reuse materials instead of buying new;

3 - Recycle and separate food scraps and food-soiled paper for composting1.

Materials such as clean paper, cardboard, metal, glass, and plastic can be recycled using traditional methods (separated and baled to be sold to facilities who recycle the material). Food scrap and soiled paper can be brought to regional facilities where it is turned into compost for soil fertilizer or turned into renewable energy. Recycling alone can be a challenge for many facilities, so special attention needs to be paid to create a comprehensive waste reduction program. Best practices for creating a program include:

• Start by creating a culture that includes recycling as the norm by raising consciousness and refining practice.
• Identify a school sustainability coordinator or team leader who is in charge of managing the process.
• Get students involved through an established group or club
• Provide training and education through kickoff events, classroom and staff training with lunchroom monitoring.
• Keep consistent communication through newsletters, waste-free lunch promotions, anniversary celebrations, and assistance in coordinating events2.
• Work with custodial staff to confirm that trash, recycling, and composting remain separated as they are collected from various spaces in the school.
• Establish consistent signage and colors for the bins and place wherever waste bins are located, especially in high-traffic areas such as the cafeteria, kitchen, teacher break rooms, and restrooms.
• A local composting facility will need to be contracted to receive the compost material. For recycling, confirm which items local waste haulers or municipal facilities will accept.
• Alternatively, composting can be done on-site using vermicomposting (worms) or typical backyard residential containers (which often require additional material such as leaves to break down the compost).
• Ensure only organic items are composted: Organics, typically include vegetables and fruit; prepared foods; baked goods; cereal, flour, grains, pasta, and rice; eggs and eggshells; dairy products; nuts, meat, fish, and bones; paper towels and napkins; paper plates Food-Soiled Paper; coffee filters and tea bags; paper bags; paper trays and plant-based compostable trays; paper food boats
• Consider performing a waste audit to determine existing waste streams
• Engage students to come up with new ideas about how to reuse items rather than throw away.

In addition to the more obvious benefits of waste reduction, zero waste programs have tangential benefits. By making connections between our consumption and the waste produced, schools can advance the culture of sustainability throughout the school system. Composting programs can also be tied in to lesson planning around growing healthy food and sustainability using harvest planters or school gardens. The most comprehensive programs can deliver financial, environmental as well as social benefits.

1 https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/docs/zero-waste-schools-guide-zwsg-accessible.pdf

2https://www.ecocycle.org/files/Zero%20Waste%20A%20Realistic%20Approach%20Sustainability%20Program%20for%20Schools.pdf