By Kristin Simmons Ferguson
Higher Ed Associate

The Center for Green Schools was recently invited to present on LEED v4 at the Society for College and University Planners’ (SCUP) annual conference. With my colleague Chrissy Macken, manager of LEED technical development, we provided an overview of what changes are coming, suggestions for how to implement these changes into campus planning now and a sense of timing for the release of the new rating system. We were honored to be invited to present on a subject that fit nicely into the conference’s theme of “make no isolated plans – integrating planning ...

By Emily Knupp
Grassroots Outreach

For the last four years I have been able to see the green schools movement grow out of the communities USGBC represents. The Green Schools Committee volunteers and the chapter staff that support them are working around the clock, every day of the year to improve learning environments in their communities. The people I have the privilege of working with over email, phone and webcast are making real change happen at the local, state and national level. And being at USGBC’s mid-year meeting this past week, I was reminded that the people I get to ...

By Kristin Simmons Ferguson
Higher Ed Associate

While summer brings a quieter time on campus in some respects, we at the Center for Green School know that summers are also hectic times for new construction, renovations and maintenance projects across campus. If your campus has been undertaken innovative sustainability projects that you are proud of over the last year, you should consider submitting your story to one of two places:

1. The Innovation in Green Building Award – Deadline is today, July 27

The Innovation in Green Building Award is presented by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in ...

By Mallory Shelter
Communications Associate

Hello San Antonio! The Center for Green Schools team arrived this week in the great state of Texas for USGBC’s annual mid-year meeting, chatting with our most engaged stakeholders about Green Apple and the Day of Service. It’s been inspiring to hear how engaged so many of our leaders are planning to be on Sept. 29, and what they’ve already done to promote this day.

We’ve been spending our days with the chapter green schools committees and those interested in how they can further become involved in our mission to create healthy, high-performing schools for ...

By Rachel Gutter
Director, Center for Green Schools

This week, I’ve had the pleasure of spending my time in San Antonio, Texas with some of the most engaged members of our USGBC family for our annual mid-year meeting. These folks are the heartbeat of the green building community – the lifeblood of our movement. And the mid-year meeting serves as a way to celebrate their many victories and vision into the future.

I told this audience at my opening remarks on Tuesday night that we have some very important work to do in the coming months. The stakes have never ...

By Jodi Smits Anderson, AIA, LEED-AP BD+C
Chair, USGBC NY Upstate Chapter

Brittany is joining us for the summer as our marketing & communications summer associate. She is supporting the Center for Green Schools in media outreach, writing and editing, press coverage, blog posts and social media. She is a rising senior at Howard University, studying public relations.

Position: Marketing & Communications Summer Associate

Current location: Washington DC

Hometown: Washington DC

College Name: Howard University

Degree:currently in my senior year, pursuing a bachelor of arts in communications and a minor in sports management

Areas of expertise:Communications, image management

Previous experience:I have served in a PR capacity with three campus ...

By Craig Moody
Principal, Verdis Group

Note: This blog was originally posted on the Verdis Group blog.

I’m on the plane headed home from D.C. after a torrid and invigorating few days at the USGBC’s School Sustainability Leaders Summit. My mind is simultaneously racing and completely at ease. Yes, I know that sounds a little impossible. Let me explain.

Mind Status: Racing
Why: Opportunity Overload?

I just finished reading my copy of “The Impact of School Buildings on Student Health and Performance,” which sheds light on the critical need for research around how the school building impacts the health ...

By Craig Moody
Principal, Verdis Group

Note: This blog was originally posted on the Verdis Group blog.

I’m in Washington, DC for a few days this week attending the School Sustainability Leaders Summit. It’s a three-day focused discussion on greening K12 schools hosted by the United States Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, and I am really excited to be representing the Omaha Public Schools and Verdis Group while here.

The first day was very much intended to build some rapport amongst attendees (there are just over 40) and establish a foundation for the discussions that will be ...

By Rachel Gutter
Director, Center for Green Schools

Guttentag!

Five years ago, in preparation to lead USGBC’s green school efforts, I spent three months working alongside a wonderful born and educated German, Anja Caldwell, who at the time was the green building program manager for Montgomery County Public Schools. In this field, Anja was a pioneer and visionary, and she never missed an opportunity to remind me that all she really needed to know she learned in Germany.

On days when Anja was feeling particularly homesick, she would pull from the shelf one of her many books on German school ...