other teachers who would like to work with their students to bring solar power to their schools: 1. Let students do the heavy lifting, but be there to spot.
2. Make sure your school is willing to implement energy saving measures.
3. Start small with your proposed solar energy system. 4. Give yourself enough time to complete your project. 5. Seek support from other organizations. 6. Go after grants that can provide a big boost.
7. Explore alternative funding mechanisms that make solar energy more affordable. Many resources are available to guide teachers, students,
and parents in the process. For example, clean energy non- profit Generation 180 provides a free Solar Schools Campaign Toolkit with planning guidance and tools for transitioning to solar power. For those interested in a broader scope, the Sierra Club’s Climate Parents program has created an orga- nizing toolkit for campaigns to persuade school districts to commit to 100% clean energy. Our youth need to see leadership in finding solutions to
slow climate change and protect the planet they will inherit. There is no better place to start than with our schools, and educators can be the spark for change toward a brighter and cleaner future.
Lisa Hoyos (
lisa.hoyos@sierraclub.org) is the Director of Cli- mate Parents. She has been a campaigner in the labor and environmental movements for over 20 years, having worked with such organizations as the BlueGreen Alliance, the AFL- CIO, and Greenpeace. Lisa co-founded Climate Parents in 2012 out of concern for how climate change is already impacting the health and safety of our kids and communities, and from a strong belief that parents, grandparents, and families are motivated to mobilize for adopting clean energy solutions. Tish Tablan, Program Director for Generation 180 (
tish@generation180.org), is leading a national campaign to help schools benefit from clean energy. For nearly two decades she worked with the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to inspire sustainable solutions to complex envi-
ronmental challenges. She was a public school teacher for six years and holds an M.A. in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University. Tish has an M.S. in Environ- mental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University, a B.A. in Sociology from University of Virginia, and a LEED Green Associate credential for green building.
Additional Resources • Generation 180, Solar Schools Organizing Toolkit,
GoSolarSchools.org.
• Solar Foundation/Solar Energy Industries Association/Generation 180, Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools.
• Sierra Club’s Climate Parents program, 100% Clean Energy School Districts Guide and Organizing Toolkit,
ClimateParents.org.
• Green Learning Canada,
GreenLearning.ca. • Solar Schools Canada,
ssc-esc.ca. • Solar Schools Australia,
SolarSchools.net. • Schools for Climate Action,
https://schoolsforclimateaction.weebly.com/.
• National Energy Education Development Project, K–12 Energy curricula,
https://www.need.org//Files/curriculum/guides/Catalog2018_19.pdf.
• U.S. Department of Energy, Wind for Schools Project, https://windexchange.
energy.gov/windforschools.
• U.S. Department of Energy, Better Buildings Net Zero Energy Schools Accel- erator,
https://betterbuildingsinitiative.energy.gov/accelerators/zero-ener- gy-schools.
• Kid Wind Project,
www.KidWind.org. Endnotes
1. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), Table PBA3 Sum of major fuel con- sumption totals and gross energy intensities by building activity subcatego- ries, 2012.
2. Erika Eitland et al., Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success (Cambridge, MA: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Healthy Buildings Program, 2017).
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State and Local Climate and Energy Program, Energy Efficiency Programs in K–12 Schools: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs (Wash- ington, DC: 2011).
4. The Solar Foundation, Generation 180, and Solar Energy Industries Asso- ciation (SEIA), Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (Wash- ington, DC: November 2017).
5. US Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Efficiency Programs in K–12 Schools, 2011.
6. The Solar Foundation, Generation 180, and Solar Energy Industries Associ- ation (SEIA), Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools (Washing- ton, DC: November 2017).
Student-powered success story
Student Claire Vlases and Principal Gordon Grissom at Sacajawea Middle School in Bozeman, MT
Page 6
Seventh-grader Claire Vlases championed her school, Sacajawea Middle School in Bozeman, Montana, to install a solar energy system while the school was undergoing a large-scale renovation. Claire first got interested in solar panels while doing an independent study project. She was able to get support from her school principal and eventually the school board. Once a feasibility study demonstrated that the transition was possible, the school district pledged to support part of the investment. Claire mobilized the school community to raise funds and was awarded grants from community foundations. Not only did she successfully secure solar power at her school, but she helped raise enough money to seed solar installations at two more schools in her district. Claire’s advice is, “Never give up. Even if it seems like a lot of hard work, it will pay off.”
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