The following piece is a case study written by the New Jersey Climate Change Education Initiative, showcasing its efforts to expand climate change education in New Jersey.  

K-12 school districts spend nearly $8 billion annually on energy costs, the second largest expense after teacher salaries. Aging facilities combined with limited school budgets result in deferred maintenance of facilities with an estimated $270 billion needed for infrastructure repairs.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is challenging organizations to set ambitious, portfolio-wide GHG emission reduction goals. This new effort provides additional opportunities for peer exchange and technical assistance to meet the urgent call to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The National Environmental Education Foundation’s Climate Superstars Challenge is an online environmental challenge that gets kids excited about the environment and how they can take an active role in caring for its future. During the challenge, middle school classrooms and after-school programs in grades 6-8 complete short tasks geared towards environmental literacy and energy efficiency. Classes that complete a specified number of tasks are entered into a prize drawing.  Consult the program website for specific dates and registration links.

The Vitamin N Challenge was inspired by Richard Louv’s book on Vitamin N that includes 500 practical ideas to leading a nature-rich life. Join the challenge to help youth on summer break spend time outdoors.

Pre-College University launched the Environmental Justice Academy, with funding by the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management, to introduce individuals to the field of Environmental Justice. The free courses are designed for all skill levels and include Environmental Justice 101 and Climate Justice.

The Xerces Society free resources for educators and parents include a new invertebrate exploration activity book, YouTube channel for youth, monarch toolkit, and identification and monitoring guides. All of the resources are designed to help inspire the next generation to care for invertebrates.

Allergy & Asthma Network offers a podcast series, Kids Breathe Better! This podcast series is designed to give parents and caregivers helpful tips and strategies to manage their child’s asthma symptoms. The host is a pediatric nurse practitioner with over 35 years of experience in working with children with asthma. 

Parents and schools need to partner to care for students with asthma and life-threatening allergies, as well as other related conditions.

This Guide explains how schools can use EXHALE strategies, individually or in combination, to help people with asthma achieve better health outcomes.

Tree-Plenish is a non-profit that helps schools host community tree-planting events to offset their school's energy consumption. Tree-Plenish supports schools every step of the event hosting process from picking the right species all the way to setting up on the day of the event. Tree-Plenish orders and ships the saplings, creates a custom website for each school's event, and provides mentorship support. The event comes at no cost to the school.

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition award for school sustainability. Learn about the 2020 ED-GRS honorees’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices in our annual Highlights Report. 

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition award for school sustainability. Learn about the 2019 ED-GRS honorees’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices in our annual Highlights Report. 

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition award for school sustainability. Learn about the 2016 ED-GRS honorees’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices in our annual Highlights Report. 

Learn from past ED-GRS honorees.  Then apply to your state education authorities for their nomination to ED today!

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

Learn from past ED-GRS honorees.  Then apply to your state education authorities for their nomination to ED today!

This study explored the status of climate change education policy in the United States by analyzing the extent and type of climate change inclusion in 802 publicly available education policies from state departments or boards of education. Using a whole institution approach, researchers collected and reviewed policies from each of four domains: (1) institutional governance (e.g., strategic plans), (2) teaching and learning (e.g., state standards), (3) facilities and operations (e.g., operations plans), and (4) community partnerships (e.g., community engagement plans). This study also evaluated how holistic the approach to climate change education was by looking at inclusion of three learning dimensions: 1) cognitive (e.g., teaching the science of the greenhouse effect), (2) socio-emotional (e.g., addressing social and emotional issues such as grief and denial), and (3) action-oriented (e.g., focusing on collective justice-oriented climate action).

The study builds on prior climate change education research and underscores the importance of including climate change in education policy in all areas of institutional activity to further climate change action through education.

This design guide should be used to prioritize decisions related to Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system design and operation for both existing facilities (commissioning, maintenance, improvement, and retrofit projects) and new facilities in order to improve indoor air quality while limiting energy consumption.

The Decarbonization Roadmap Guide is written for those interested in healthy, efficient, carbon neutral school design, construction and operation. It outlines achievable goals that result in healthy, affordable, all-electric facilities, and explains common actions taken by leading districts to operationalize their carbon neutral ambitions.

EPA has created this voluntary assessment to help you reduce and prevent exposures to common environmental health hazards in your school. This fillable PDF was adapted from the quick assessment in the brochure Sensible Steps to Healthier School Environments. For more information, go to EPA's Healthy Schools website.

This brochure is designed to address some of the most common areas of environmental health concerns found in schools. It also provides one-stop access to learn some facts about these issues and the many existing low cost or no cost, affordable measures, programs and resources available to help prevent, reduce and resolve each of the highlighted environmental hazards. By completing the voluntary Quick Assessment activity provided near the end of this brochure, schools can determine which areas and programs will require more detailed attention. Additionally, by implementing the waste reduction and energy efficiency actions highlighted, schools can conserve valuable, financial resources.