APS: Natural & Renewable Resources

Weekly Newsletter: October 17th, 2016

Educating for Sustainability

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a great Fall Break and this week is off to a promising start!

I was able to attend a conference last week which brought together experts in the energy efficiency field from Oakland Unified School District, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and various companies working to make buildings across the US more efficient.

Knowing that APS has a utility budget of $8.2 million dollars, I was not surprised to learn that school districts spend more on utilities than textbooks and computers combined; only second to salaries.

I don't want to be a Debbie-downer here, but $8.2 million dollars is quite a bit of money, so every dollar that APS collectively saves on utility services, is another dollar to impact student achievement. It was a relief to hear that that nearly all of the professionals that attended the workshop (94% to be exact) believed that sustainability should be a part of school curriculum (see above photo).

Is there a process to teach our students about sustainability, environmental stewardship, responsibility and social equity?

How can we build more opportunities for sustainability and problem-based learning into our classrooms that complements existing curriculum?

The Green Star Schools Program has partnered with Earth Force this year to help integrate more opportunities for PBL into our classrooms with existing curriculum and activities that are already in the works. Would you like to learn more? Please feel free to connect with me and we'll get you on board! Not to mention, some easy ways for students to learn how to earn digital badges for their efforts!

Here's to another week of project based learning, environmental education, and going green at Aurora Public Schools!

Julie North

Natural & Renewable Resources Coordinator

Aurora Public Schools

jenorth@aps.k12.co.us

ext. 28668

Mobile: 720-400-3148

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Energy Efficiency

Every action towards conservation counts! Students can conduct energy audits with industry professionals to determine how their school is performing. Better yet, students have access to real time data about their schools here: www.buildlingdashboard.com/clients/aps

and can earn digital badges for analyzing data and determining better practices to promote conservation at their schools!

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Waste Services

Food waste equates to 80% of our waste as a district. We can do one of two things: continue to throw away food so that it ends up in a landfill, OR compost it for use in our gardens!

Students can earn digital badges for their efforts to reduce waste in their schools or provide other solutions, like food donation programs.

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Speaking of gardens...

More than 21 schools have a "garden" program in the works. Students can earn digital badges for creating opportunities to grow food to be used in the cafeteria or develop a Youth farmer's Market to provide a service to the community.

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Water conservation

Students can earn badges by partnering with an expert from Aurora Water to conduct a water use audit at the school.

Students use critical thinking and collaboration skills to test water spigots and determine better practices to be adopted by their peers and teachers.

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Digital Badging is as easy as 1,2,3

More than 370 badges have been earned by students for their efforts. Not only is this a great way to teach self-sufficiency, but students also earn more credibility for their work when they can demonstrate real-world examples of their learning.