The U.S. Department of Education has recently launched its Green Ribbon Schools initiative. The program is aimed at fostering the growth of sustainable indoor and outdoor environments in addition to promoting the integration of environmental curricula into the education stream.
Developed in conjunction with the USGBC and the National Wildlife Federation, the program will begin accepting nominations this fall, culminating with the first awards on Earth Day 2012.
With an underlying emphasis to improve and provide healthy environments that students inhabit, the hope is that physical upgrades such as efficient HVAC systems and building envelopes will serve as hands-on learning tools that will complement science education and environmental literacy.
Standards for the fledgling program are still in development, with an anticipated release this fall. For more information see the Green Ribbon Schools website.
