2010 Greening of America's Schools Summit
November 7th – 9th, 2010 | Sundance, Utah

Picture every child in America attending a school that is designed to inspire creativity, provoke imagination and sharpen focus…a building that makes them smarter. The Greening of America's Schools Summit will turn this vision into an actionable plan.

From the Redford Center in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA, the 2010 Greening of America's Schools Summit will leverage the interest and opportunities created by the Mayors' Alliance for Green Schools and build on the momentum of the National Green Schools Campaign, which aims to have every child in America attending a green school within this generation. Participants will include U.S. mayors and their superintendents from around the country, invited in city-based teams, as well as leading green designers, educators, artists and green school advocates.

The Green Schools Media Challenge

This is a project of Youth Building Healthy Communities, a campaign where young leaders use their community organizing skills to fight health disparities and improve their neighborhoods. The two winning youth-created video or photo projects will be presented at the Green Schools Summit in November. More...

 

Some of this year's participants

  • Robert Redford
  • Mayor Martin Chávez, Executive Director, ICLEI USA
  • Rick Fedrizzi, CEO, U.S. Green Building Council
  • Chuck Saylors, President, National PTA
  • Bill McKibben
  • Jayni Chase, Founder, Center for Environmental Education at Unity College
  • Mayor Foxx of Charlotte
  • Superintendent Gorman of Charlotte
  • Mayor Cownie of Des Moines
  • Superintendent Sebring of Des Moines
  • Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles
  • School Board President Garcia of Los Angeles
  • Mayor Johnson of Sacramento
  • County Superintendent Gordon of Sacramento
  • City Superintendent Raymond of Sacramento
  • Mayor Hosterman of Pleasanton
  • Superintendent Ahmadi of Pleasanton
  • Mayor Cornett of Oklahoma City
  • Superintendent Karl Springer of Oklahoma City
  • Mayor Becker of Salt Lake City
  • Superintendent Withers of Salt Lake City
  • Mayor Hays of North Little Rock
  • Mayor Riley of Charleston
  • Superintendent McGinley of Charleston
  • Mayor Parker of Houston
  • Superintendent Grier of Houston
  • Mayor George Heartwell of Grand Rapids
  • Superintendent Dr. Bernard Taylor of Grand Rapids
  • Thomas M. Menino Mayor of Boston
  • Kathleen McCartney, Dean, Harvard School of Education
  • Chad Hoopes, featured artist

In my mind, the issues that we are facing in the environment and education are inextricably linked, and I believe that this summit in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and ICLEI can lead to creative ideas and bold solutions to tackle our education challenges.

Robert Redford

We need to develop a novel, invigorating approach that links education and the environment to benefit America's next generation of students and this unique gathering of experts and local government officials from across the nation will represent a major first step in establishing that goal.

Martin Chávez, Executive Director, ICLEI USA and former-three term mayor of Albuquerque, NM

At USGBC, we understand the profound impact green buildings have on our lives and the innovation they have poured into the marketplace, and we believe no other market speaks more powerfully to the benefits and potential of green buildings than our schools. Engaging educators in creating sustainable learning environments for their students and applying solid research to inform leadership — from school boards to college presidents — about the benefits of healthy, high-performing schools is one of the most important things we can do.

Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of U.S. Green Building Council

The Redford Center brings its unique facilitation model of civil and open discourse, and the power of the natural setting to nurture new ideas and solutions for enlighted education through green schools. The discussion will focus on making existing green school buildings as viable and attractive as new green schools, and to ensure that the definition of a green school goes beyond bricks and mortar; that it engages students' imaginations while creating healthy living environments for them beyond their school experience.