Greening of our schools is a hot topic in many school districts today. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) National organization has put Green Schools high on its list of priorities. With nearly 25% of the U.S. population in school, from grades K-12 to colleges and universities, providing healthy learning environments is an essential step in advancing education and society overall. Over the past ten years it has been shown that "high-performance [green] schools result in high-performing students."

Whether newly built or renovated, Green Schools are proven to be energy efficient, provide lower utility costs, reduce waste, conserve resources and preserve surrounding habitats. As school districts recognize the long term benefits, many are willing to allocate the additional upfront time to plan and the possible higher intial costs to have a Green School.

USGBC National has created the Center for Green Schools (www.centerforgreenschools.org) as a dynamic resource to advocate and educate for greener learning environments. To learn about Green Schools in Central and South Texas, check out our Chapter's February 2011 newsletter.

To contact the Chapter's Green Schools committee, please e-mail greenschools@usgbc-centraltexas.org. Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are available.