Green Apple Day of Service
Courtesy of Green Apple
A quarter of all Americans walk through the doors of a school every day. Yet instead of walking into places of opportunity, millions enter buildings where the air they breathe is filled with toxins and mold, where classrooms are poorly lit and overcrowded, and where resources are limited and outdated. Too many of our children are learning in buildings that are compromising their health and ability to succeed.
Our kids deserve better. Where they learn matters.
Green Apple gives individuals, companies and organizations the opportunity to transform all our schools into healthy, safe, cost-efficient and productive learning places. The Green Apple initiative is powered by volunteers who participate in community-based efforts; promoted by media partners, like-minded NGOs and high-profile ambassadors; and funded by corporate partners who contribute a portion of proceeds or make a substantial sponsorship donation and receive the right to use the Green Apple mark to show their association with and support of the Green Apple initiative.
About the Day of Service
The second annual Green Apple Day of Service will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Registration is now open – be sure to check out project ideas, read last year’s highlights, and register your project today!
About the Center for Green Schools
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the organization behind the Green Apple movement, working to ensure that every student has the opportunity to attend a green school within this generation. The Center provides the resources and support to elevate dialogue, accelerate policy and institute innovation toward healthy, high-performing schools and campuses. The Center works directly with staff, teachers, faculty, students, administrators, elected officials and communities to drive the transformation of all schools into sustainable places to live and learn, work and play.
What Tucson is Doing!
Stop by some of Tucson’s schools on Sept. 28, and you’ll find students, teachers, parents and community volunteers planting gardens, installing water harvesting systems, painting murals and doing more to make local schools healthy and productive places for students to learn. The local volunteer projects are part of the second annual Green Apple Day of Service, a global event.
Last year, Presidio Schools was one of two Tucson schools that participated in the first Green Apple Day of Service. The community came together for a block party to build a tortoise habitat and break ground on a garden. The students decorated pavers for the garden. This year Presidio is hosting workshops on water conservation, a competition for students to design a human-powered water pump for their rainwater harvesting system and other activities.
Erin Foudy, Presidio’s director of campus conduct and the co-coordinator of Presidio’s Green Apple project, says that one of best things about last year’s block party was that it brought the school’s community and the community at large together to pitch in and do something good for the students at Presidio. She adds, “We’re really excited to do it again this year.”
What is your school doing? Let us know! We’d love to share it with our readers!