The Future for Green Schools is Bright!

Posted On: May 05, 11

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the creation of the Green Ribbon Schools program. This program will be run by the Education Department with the support of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Preparing our children to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work any of us can do,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “It’s work that will serve future generations and quite literally sustain our world.”  Through the Green Ribbon Schools program, the Education Department, the EPA, and CEQ will recognize schools for energy conservation, creating healthy learning spaces, and teaching environmental literacy. The application for the program will be released later this year with the first group of “Green Ribbon Schools” to be announced in 2012.

The Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance (HEEA) is working with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hawaii Department of Education to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan. The Hawaii Environmental Literacy Plan (HELP) completed a series of community meetings on the four main Hawaiian islands in the month of March, with Hawaii Island providing the greatest response.  If you were unable to attend the meetings and are interested in providing input on the Hawaii Environmental Literacy Plan, please go to the online survey. Your input is vital to this very important document. Responses to the survey are being checked regularly as we enter the writing process. Please encourage friends and colleges to submit their thoughts as well.  It’s important for the community to be invested in this plan and know that their thoughts and concerns are valued.

The mission of the Hawaii Environemtnal Education Alliance (HEEA) is to promote and develop high quality Environmental Education by building relationships to improve networking and professionalism throughout Hawai’i. We encourage you to visit the HEEA website and register your school or organization.