• View ecochildsplay’s profile on Facebook
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Twitter
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Instagram
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Pinterest
  • View Jennifer Lance’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on YouTube
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Google+

Eco Child's Play

Live a greener, healthier life!

  • Environment
  • Pregnancy
  • Food & Recipes
  • Health News
  • Parenting
  • Green Toys
  • Beauty & Beauty Products
  • Green Home & Cleaning
  • Contact

Green Family Values: What's Your Child's School's Carbon Footprint?

How green is your child’s school? Chances are, if your child attends a public school like my daughter, it is not a very green place, especially if it is an older facility. Kelli has already written about ways to make your individual child a greener student in "Think Green For Back to School" and Chris Baskind offered Green Options readers "Five Ways to Green Your Child’s Classroom." But do you know your child’s school’s carbon footprint? Does the school district’s board of trustees know this information? Do you include your child’s share of the school’s carbon emission when figuring out your family’s impact on climate change?

Recently, I discovered a tool for calculating a school’s carbon footprint that was developed by students at Irvington High School with the help of DriveNeutral. This tool is an Excel worksheet that takes into account many factors, such as the student population and the number of days school is in session. It asks what percentage of the student ride in a car to school, the school’s electricity usage, methane from waste disposal, etc.. The table ends with questions regarding solutions, such as offsetting and recycling.

The questions asked by the SchoolNeutral tool are not easily answered by a parent, child or teacher, but research is required and a manual is available to download. This tool was designed by high schools students for high school students, but it could be modified for usage in earlier grade levels. In addition, it would make a great senior project for a high school student to help an elementary school class figure out their school’s carbon footprint. As World Changing notes, "What makes the SchoolNeutral calculator stand out is that it has been designed to help high school students calculate emissions generated by a large group of people (the first version focuses just on student population) who work together at a large complex (the high school). Most carbon calculators focus on the individual or household carbon footprint, but SchoolNeutral shows how to calculate much larger, collective footprints."

Knowing a school’s carbon footprint may be the first step in promoting change. Faced with such staggering statistics, school boards are more likely to make decisions that will reduce carbon emissions, and children will be motivated to do what they can in their own classrooms. Parents can easily be involved in the process, and fundraisers could be held to purchase offsets. Furthermore, schools can make the necessary changes to lower their own carbon emissions and students can be involved in offsetting carbon emissions on the school campus by planting trees and switching light bulbs, for example. In fact, you may even be able to get a carbon credit company to take on your child’s school on as a project.

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • WhatsApp
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe!

« SCHIP Update: Our Children's Health
Daily Tip: Plant an Organic Winter Garden »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Content

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

Contact Eco Child’s Play

It’s Time to Quit Plastics and How to do It

Reduce Plastic Waste with re-brush Eco-Friendly Toothbrush

More from the archives!

Fabien Cousteau Joins the Lexus Eco Challenge to Inspire Young Minds

Outdoor Kid Gifts: Princeton Tec Bot LED Head Lamp for Children

FDA Agrees with Rep. Markey to Ban BPA in Infant Formula

Hank D and the Bee: Keeping Only non-GMO Candy

Cut Your Energy Bills: Fire Your Dryer

COVID Back to School: Helping children cope with uncertainty

covid19 pregnancy

Does the Coronavirus Attack the Placenta and cause 2nd Trimester Miscarriages?

Information

  • About & Contact
  • Archive
  • Blog
  • Consulting Services
  • Disclaimer, Disclosure, & Sponsored Posts
  • Privacy Policy
logo
Food Advertising by

Beware! USDA Organic Baby Foods Contain GMO DHA and ARA

Seasonal Allergy Relief For Kids – The Natural Way

Children’s Literature: My Bag and Me!

Autism and vaccines

Green Parent Round-Up (Formerly Known as Around the Green Parenting Web)

Etsy Finds for Baby: Handmade, Eco Friendly and Fabulous

Popular Categories

  • Breastfeeding
  • Health News
  • Natural Childbirth
  • Parenting
  • Education
  • Product Review
  • Green Toys

Get our posts via email

Please stay in touch!

You might also like to read…

Refrigeration

reading

The Gift of 30 Minutes

TV Shows for preschoolers

5 Really Sweet TV Programs for Preschoolers

Hank D and the Bee: Bees Dying…Not Funny.

Astonishing Sell Out of Garden of Life to Most Hated Food Company

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoPrivacy policy