Registration for 2019 Green Strides Tour

Agenda
This year’s tour will take place October 28—30, according to the following schedule:

Monday, Oct. 28
8:00 a.m.—9:50 a.m. Oak Harbor Public Schools
12:00 p.m.—2:00 p.m. Lake Washington School District
2:45 p.m.—3:45 p.m. Carnation Elementary School

Tuesday, Oct. 29
8:30 a.m.—10:00 a.m. Issaquah School District
10:30 a.m.—11:40 a.m. Bertschi School
12:45 p.m.—1:45 p.m. Northwest School
1:45 p.m.—4:30 p.m. Discussion and Networking Event at the Northwest School: Putting the Focus on Whole Child, Whole School Sustainability

Wednesday, Oct. 30
8:45 a.m.—10:30 a.m. Bethel School District
10:50 a.m.—11:50 a.m. Weyerhaeuser Elementary
12:10 p.m.—1:10 p.m. Eatonville Elementary at the GRIT Farm
1:30 p.m.—2:30 p.m. Columbia Crest A-STEM Academy

Tour Site Descriptions

Oak Harbor Public Schools (2019 district honoree) @OakHarborPS
Meet at 350 S. Oak Harbor Street, Oak Harbor, WA. Transportation will be provided within the district.
Waste reduction at Oak Harbor Public Schools (OHPS) efforts include composting, use of reusable silverware and lunch trays, recycling, and share tables. The district has upgraded lighting to LED lights. The most recent upgrade was at the high school, where 70 outdoor fixtures were replaced, leading to a reduction of energy use by 80 percent. Over the past several years, OHPS has slowly integrated propane school buses to its fleet, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaping a savings of $35,000 on fuel costs in one year. A Safe Routes to Schools program encourages alternative modes of transportation. Students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten take part in play-based climate science education. All five elementary schools feature learning gardens and student-led vermicomposting systems. Some schools raise chickens and bunnies. Oak Harbor High School hosts backpacking/survival and environmental science courses that get students out locally to collect and analyze environmental data; partners with community organizations to promote citizen science; and students designed and built high-tech tiny homes for the homeless.
 
Broad View Elementary School (2018 school honoree)
473 SW Fairhaven Drive, Oak Harbor, WA
The Broad View Elementary School custodial crew uses green cleaning products to sanitize classrooms from floor to ceiling. Teachers work with students to track energy usage in their classrooms. Energy savings are estimated at 75 percent, giving Broad View the highest efficiency of energy use of any school in its district. Forty percent of its energy comes from renewable sources.  Physical education includes a unit on pedestrian safety, and students are rewarded for biking to school. Students build, create, and problem-solve in the Makerspace and participate in a daily all-school morning walk/run. They learn from a garden, outdoor classroom area, and composting bins. Water quality and conservation efforts include the use of a rain garden, rain barrels, metered restroom faucets, and public education artwork adjacent to outdoor drains to raise awareness of the need to keep them clean and clear of debris. Broad View's art teacher uses the school garden as inspiration for art projects.  Students look forward to annual field trips to Whidbey Watershed Stewards Outdoor Classroom.
 
Hillcrest Elementary School (2015 school honoree)
1500 NW 2nd Ave., Oak Harbor, WA, 98277
Hillcrest Elementary School began a collaborative relationship with the Oak Harbor Garden Club in 2010 to create a courtyard garden. Students now plant, weed, harvest, study insect anatomy, and learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly, among other garden learning experiences. Hillcrest has a covered outdoor classroom, complete with white board and seating in the garden area and over a dozen raised flower and vegetable beds built by staff and Navy Partners in Education. The produce is donated and given to school families. Parents built a chicken coop using donated materials, with windows for students to observe the chickens laying eggs. Students visit the chickens daily, monitor growth, write about chicken behavior, collect the eggs, feed the chickens, and know each by name. The eggs are sold and the money donated to a local food bank. Over the past several years, the school has replaced 25-year-old carpet with tiles and recycled materials, changed to LED lights, replaced the old boiler with a new cast iron condensing boiler, replaced the old water tank with a new condensing style hot water tank, and changed to green cleaning bleach-free products. The school participates in Washington Green Schools and uses Leave No Trace, Project Bluebird, FOSS, and National Geographic Kids materials. The school participates in Safe Routes to School, Fuel Up to Play 60, Let’s Move Active Schools, and Fitnessgram.

Lake Washington School District (2019 district honoree) @LakeWashSchools
Meet at 12801 84th Avenue N.E., Kirkland, WA. Finish at 1312 6th St., Kirkland, WA. Participants may purchase a school lunch during the tour.
Since 2005-06, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) has reduced electricity usage per square foot by 30 percent and natural gas usage by 37 percent. LWSD has decreased domestic water usage 30 percent per student and irrigation water usage by 80 percent. By 2020, 27 percent of schools' heating will come from high-efficiency geothermal, including 75 percent of high schools. LWSD has the largest solar energy capacity of any district in the state at 615 kilowatts. Waste-reduction and recycling efforts have reduced costs by $120,000 per year since 2008. All schools recycle and about 75 percent of schools collect organic food waste for composting at a regional facility. LWSD students have unlimited access to fresh fruits and vegetables in lunch garden bars. "Local Wednesday" features locally-sourced foods. Elementary students have P.E. twice per week, in addition to morning and afternoon recess each day. LWSD is one of 12 districts in the nation to receive Excellence in Integrated Pest Management star certification. In 2017, LWSD received the Green Cleaning Award from American School and University Magazine. Prior to graduation, the typical capstone course for students is Physics in the Universe, which includes a full unit with standards addressing climate change. LWSD Career and Technical Education courses include Environmental Science, Sustainable Design, and Urban Gardening. The Lake Washington Parent Teacher School Association (PTSA) Council established a district PTSA Sustainability Committee, with parent representative chairs in every school.
 
Carnation Elementary School (2018 school honoree) @Riverview407
Meet at 4950 Tolt Avenue, Carnation, WA
Carnation Elementary School (CES) partners with local agencies and organizations to learn about the environment and work actively at improving conditions. Students have been involved in tree plantings, river exploration and restoration, forest trail studies, ecological presentations at the local farmers market, in addition to the releasing of salmon into local streams. Students participate in environmental studies during a multi-day/night trip to Camp Waskowitz. Through citizen science programs, like the Great Backyard Bird Count, students participate in field studies and record their data. Carnation’s student-led environmental club set up a program that collects food scraps from the school cafeteria for use as hog feed in the community. CES is a Level Four recognized school in the local King County Green School Program. A major renovation was completed in 2010 in which energy efficient systems and appliances were installed. All bathrooms have been outfitted with automatic flush, low-flow toilets and automatic faucets. All storm drains at Carnation Elementary are stenciled with "Salmon to Sound" markings to remind students, staff, and parents to be careful of what goes into the school runoff. The CES recycling rate is above 60 percent and, with food recycling programs currently underway, this rate is expected to climb even higher. CES offers a morning walking club and students participate in 55 minutes of recess daily. Students and staff participate in mindful minutes throughout the school day. Students participate in walking field trips that take them into the local community and ecosystem.
 
Issaquah School District (2016 district honoree) @IssaquahSchools
Meet at Issaquah Middle School, 600 2nd Ave. SE, Issaquah, WA.  Two adjacent sites on foot.
The Issaquah School District has a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program, with seven schools recycling at a rate of 60 percent or more. The district’s energy conservation program has resulted in the district using 4.6 percent less energy even though the district has added nearly 36 percent more square footage. Due to the district’s water conservation efforts, the irrigation rate has stayed the same even though the district added five buildings with new irrigation systems. By installing low-flow fixtures and toilets, the district has had a 30 percent reduction in domestic water use. Issaquah has developed an indoor environmental quality plan, including ways to reduce the level of air pollutants, provide adequate airflow, and reduce the use of chemicals and pesticides. Students participate in outdoor fitness activities that take advantage of the district’s rich environment, such as hiking trails on Tiger Mountain.  Sustainability concepts and topics are embedded at each grade level. Courses include hands-on, real-life field experiences, where students are collecting and analyzing data and reporting their results. Issaquah has developed strong partnerships with local sustainability organizations to provide professional development to staff and offer environmental field trips.  Several schools are located within walking distance to salmon streams, wetlands, wilderness parks, and lakes.
 
Bertschi School, (2014 school honoree) @Bertschi1975
Meet at 2227 10th Ave East, Seattle, WA
In 2011, Bertschi realized an audacious goal by completing its Living Building Science Wing.  In April 2013, the Living Building Science Wing was certified as the first urban Living Building, the first building to be certified under Living Building 2.0 standards, the first Living Building in Washington state, and the fourth Living Building in the world. Weekly tours inspire guests to integrate some of the building’s features into their own designs, while fourth- and fifth-graders track water and energy usage in the building, respectively, to ensure that the school maintains net zero usage. All students experience the green wall (a 164 square-foot wall of plants that treats grey water), the composting toilet, and the ethnobotanical garden outside. Bertschi’s Green Team is comprised of staff members, teachers, students, and parents, who undertake projects throughout the year to make the school more sustainable. At the end of the day, kindergarten classes count how many pieces of paper they used that day and compare it to past totals. The fourth grade's focus on salmon and water conservation was woven into their technology project when students produced Salmon Conservation Public Service Announcement videos with iPads. The school manages a food garden on site, which supplies food for the cafeteria and other community resources.

The Northwest School (2019 school honoree) @NorthwestSchool
Meet for tour at 1415 Summit Ave., Seattle, WA
Tube-style solar collectors on the rooftop of The Northwest School gym and dining hall building provide energy for hot water. All are encouraged to use the lowest carbon transportation possible. Waste stream receptacles throughout campus occur in groups of three: compost, recycling, and garbage. An Environment Team tracks waste by weight each week. In the dining hall, leftovers are transformed into soup or salad bar offerings or donated to food banks. Kitchen scraps are worm composted on campus and other organic by-products are composted by the city. The Dining Hall has no single-serving packaging and serves on durables. Three times a week all 600 students and faculty work in more than 90 teams under the leadership of seniors to clean and care for the school and surrounding areas. In addition to this physical work, teams discuss weekly environmentally related prompts on topics from climate change impact to microplastics, food systems, and environmental justice. More than 300 students worked together to design and build an over 3,000 square foot campus farm and garden including 30 planter boxes, over 20 types of crops, a greenhouse, composting systems, picnic tables, and a geodesic dome seating area. Each year, Northwest offers 10-12 outdoor trips, including hiking, snowshoeing, igloo building, backpacking, kayaking, and cycling.  Nearly all of Northwest’s two-week intensive classes have some connection to the environment, and about a third directly relate to environmental education, including Summits on the Duwamish River, urban agriculture, history of the cedar tree, food justice, landfill philharmonic, and a course on cooking, chemistry, and community. Northwest’s endowment has been transferred to 100 percent environmental, social, and governance screened investments. In 2016, the school created a Director of Environmental Education & Sustainability position.

Discussion and Networking event at Northwest School's adjacent building, 401 East Pike Street, Seattle Register by October 14th - Join us to learn from panelists representing the US Department of Education, McKinstry, Washington Green Schools, the Tahoma School District, Green Gables Elementary School, and Oak Harbor Public Schools. Visit informational booths from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Wildlife Federation - EcoSchools, Pacific Education Institute, King County Green Schools, Washington State Department of Agriculture, GRuB, and Environmental Protection Agency.
 
Bethel School District (2016 district honoree) @BethelSD
Meet at Transportation/Central Kitchen, 5625 192nd St. E, Puyallup, WA Transportation will be provided within the district
Bethel School District (BSD) has avoided paying an additional $7.2 million dollars in electricity, natural gas, and water, a 28 percent reduction in costs. Over several years, BSD received $1.2 million in state energy grant money. All of BSD’s 27 eligible schools are ENERGY STAR certified, with an average score of 93. In 2012, the school district was recognized with two ENERGY STAR Leader awards.  BSD uses both Portfolio Manager and EnergyCAP software to track resource use.  BSD collaborates with other local government agencies to teach sustainability concepts.  Students participate in collecting, sorting, and weighing material.  They conducted a weeklong analysis of Styrofoam lunch trays, later presenting to the school board how purchasing and washing reusable trays would pay for itself.  BSD’s agricultural program teaches students how to balance green techniques and concerns with actual business practices.  Students learn how to run a full-scale commercial greenhouse operation, cumulating in a spring plant sale.  They also learn to take care of a large campus and are involved in state fish hatchery projects.  Students are able to perform walk-around building audits with the resource conservation manager, who also promotes the green jobs of the future at the annual career fair.
 
Weyerhaeuser Elementary School (2018 school honoree) @EatonvilleSD
Meet at 6105 365th Street East, Eatonville, WA Transportation will be provided within the district
A grant-funded upgrade of the Weyerhaeuser Elementary School (WES) included a comprehensive energy audit and new HVAC system with occupancy controls.  All WES classrooms have doors that open to the outside and large, energy-efficient windows that let in natural light. Students and staff employ refillable water bottles, implement a food-sharing program in the cafeteria that donates excess to a local agency, and recycle extensively. WES is active in a farm to school network sponsored by the state department of agriculture. WES participates in the Fuel Up to Play 60 nutrition and offers a morning mileage club. Students partake in a full 60 minutes of recess daily and engage in brain breaks in the classroom. WES is served by its own well, which is regularly sampled and tested for contaminants.  Students are outside daily in Wildcat Woods, the Weyerhaeuser outdoor education area.  Two seasonal freshwater streams flow through the campus, providing students with the opportunity to participate in water testing; studies of rocks, minerals, and macroinvertebrates; and streamflow observations. The Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest and Mt. Rainier National Park are nearby opportunities to engage in hands-on learning about forest ecology, sustainable forestry, and glacial and volcanic activity. 
 
Eatonville Elementary School at the GRITS farm (2018 school honoree) @EatonvilleSD
44019 Kjesltad Road E., Eatonville, WA Please do not drive to this site. Participants should use transit provided by the district from Weyerhauser Elementary. Contact Elizabeth.Schmitz@k12.wa.us if you need special accommodations for travel to this site.
The Eatonville Elementary School (EES) renovated building is equipped with lighting and HVAC occupancy sensors for security and long-term energy savings. EES makes use of both a share table and a share refrigerator to reduce food waste. Eatonville focuses on student health in many ways. Students enjoy a full 60 minutes of recess daily. The custodial staff implements a green cleaning program. The school participated in a community visioning plan with a nonprofit partner to build a 3.2-acre farm. The farm is a major asset for the students at EES, and especially its outdoor kindergarten. It includes a resident barn owl for organic owl pellet discovery, and a newly made trail for educational purposes. Environmental concepts are integrated into the school's literacy and math program. EES has a library fully outfitted with environmental resources, including books and videos and hands-on examples of plants/animals (fur, bones, et cetera), and multiple art projects in the school that are based on STEM NGSS principles. Water testing data that students collect as part of the Nisqually River Education Project is shared with environmental organizations to aid in decision making regarding the health of the watershed. Students participate in tree-planting, salmon tossing, and help to build rain gardens.
 
Columbia A-Crest STEM Academy (2016 school honoree) @CC_STEM_School @EatonvilleSD
Meet at 24503 SR 706 E. Ashford, WA Bus will return to Weyerhauser Elementary at approximately 3 pm.
Columbia Crest A-STEM Academy (CCASTEM) underwent a transformation from a kindergarten through fifth grade school to a kindergarten through eighth grade applied STEM (A-STEM) academy, doubling its population two years, part a deliberate effort to capitalize on early educational opportunities for students in an outdoor place-based educational campus.  CCASTEM was built in 1952, yet the building is now equipped with lighting and HVAC occupancy sensors for security and long-term energy savings.  Students have lobbied for and received water bottle filling stations. Students have outdoor labs for stream bed investigations using water flow meters and salmon raising tanks.  The CCASTEM library is fully outfitted with environmental resources including books, videos, and hands-on examples of plants and animals. All staff receive training in Terracycle, building worm bins, worm bin composting, recycling, and insect education. Students are involved directly with Pierce County environmental educators, national park staff, University of Washington Pack Forest employees, and teachers for sustainability and conservation efforts. Students experience the river, forest, and mountain as a system of cycles by documenting river flow, glacial melt, and turbidity using current tools as well as long-term investigations. The results of climate change, river flows, lahar concerns, and glacial health are tangible and visible with Mt. Rainier only eight miles away.