by Sheila Wong
April 2011

Given the amount of time our kids spend in school, it’s no wonder that efforts to reduce their carbon footprint often begins there. Students have a remarkably keen eye when it comes to waste. We’ve seen in schools their recycling programs, energy saving campaigns, and fundraising efforts. Although there are countless projects going on in various schools, we’ve selected three to highlight this time.

International schools have been leading the way in terms of implementing green features. As they expand their campuses and establish new locations to house a growing student body, schools are known to closely examine the costs and feasibility of being more green both as a cost-savings exercise as well as a learning opportunity for students.

YK Pao has not only invested in a green campus on Wuding Lu that they moved into in September, but they also were able to use salvaged material from last year’s Expo in the construction of their boarding school that’s under construction. “It’s something we can show to our kids as something they can learn from, the importance of reuse,” says Cindy Ma, mom to a YK Pao student and the project manager behind the Expo Reuse Initiative.

A combination of groups, including Green Ideas Green Action, Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy and SHE Advisory, joined forces to encourage nine pavilions to donate reusable parts of their buildings. “The UK Pavilion donated Astroturf, which will be used in the school’s outdoor track, a glass banister was salvaged, and thousands of other items like tables and chairs and construction material are being put to use.” The idea was initiated by a China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) student and put into play by Richard Brubaker, founder of Collective Responsibility and a professor of Sustainability and Responsible Leadership at CEIBS.

Cindy, who founded SHE Advisory which stands for Women for Sustainability, Health and Education, adds that some of the green features at the elementary school campus include heat-insulating walls, double-glazed windows, and bamboo flooring. Rainwater is also collected and filtered for irrigation use on campus, while plans are underway to begin a composting project to process organic waste from the garden and cafeteria.

Rooftop Sustainability
The power of parent involvement can also be seen in Western International School of Shanghai (WISS). The school has had a garden behind the kindergarten for several years, and now the organic rooftop greenhouse is into its second year of operation. To make the greenhouse functional year round, a benefactor has donated funds to finance a refit to include an exhaust system and temperature controls. A parent to two WISS students has volunteered to oversee the project.

“We’re now growing vegetables in the greenhouse that we give away to the community, and we have herbs like basil, mint and lemon balm that we grew from seed,” says John Cucinello, a WISS secondary English teacher who has taken charge of the garden. Students get together two Saturdays a month and the 11th graders come by once a week to work on the garden.

Treading Lightly
The students of Shanghai American School (SAS) were behind the recent initative to offset school travel by raising extra funds to cover their carbon output by having trees planted through the Million Tree Project. The school board of directors unanimously approved the proposal put forth by students of the Roots and Shoots club.

“We have a large team of Roots and Shoots students who go all out in their efforts, even traveling to Mongolia to plant trees,” says May Ho Chang, Marketing Department. “It’s very touching and I admire their passion and belief in what they’re doing for the environment. These are great kids!”

The students wrote in their proposal: We envision a greener school policy that helps prepare us as global citizens. If students are able to protect and advocate for local and global environments and engage responsibly in the world’s problems, we feel that committing to go carbon neutral is not an act of kindness, but rather a responsibility.
Air travel offsetting isn’t new to SAS. The school has been already funding the planting of trees for its China Alive travel program in high and middle school, while the swim team, among others, also plans carbon offsets as a part of their travel expenditures.

With the commitment of students, teachers and parents, our schools are looking a whole lot greener.