If former U.S. Vice President Albert Gore Jr. is correct, the United States and the other countries of the world need to sharply reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (mostly from burning fossil fuels) or risk catastrophic consequences of global warming. It is “An Inconvenient Truth” that Gore (2006) infers from strong scientific evidence that global warming is real, serious, and if unchecked, potentially disastrous. At the same time, Richard Heinberg (2006) has declared that “The Party’s Over”, urgently calling for action to prepare for the ensuing “Peak Oil” era. Despite supply constraints and increased costs, dependency on petroleum byproducts for foods, fuels, fertilizers, chemicals and myriad consumer goods remains largely uninhibited. He and others are raising questions about our collective readiness to live with less oil. The impacts of both conditions will truly be local and global at once. While slow progress is being made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, evidence of trends suggests that more robust measures are now required to stem the melt of polar ice, the rise of sea levels and the warming and slowing of ocean and air currents. How can we stop global warming with so much to learn and do? Where to begin?

Graphic of Bow River Basin & impacts of climate change Natural Resources Canada

The Cool Schools program is intended to mobilize K-12 schools like never before! Whether public or private, all schools can learn, teach, demonstrate and support needed low-energy, sustainable living capacities for children, adults and communities. What follows are suggested activities to expeditiously transform schools into veritable “sustainable living & learning centers” and so meet our era of complex energy and climate transitions with competence and confidence.

To begin, each school can design and use “applied curriculum” to deliver:

Integrated Systems for successful low-energy living: Food & Water & Energy Systems; Construction Materials & Appropriate Technologies; Sustainable Economic Systems Cooperative Teaching & Learning & Living Systems (for all ages).

Benchmarks of Benefit to gauge school performance: Resource Abundance (low-cost, high-value sufficiency and sharing); Economic Stability & Flexibility (generating and conserving wealth); Ecological Design Demonstrations (showcasing a low-impact, high-performance school facility that is educational, beautiful, healthy and fun); Curricular Relevancy for students, families and communities (ensuring that education lasts a lifetime, while meeting current needs).

1. Redefine “human resources.” Reveal the talents, skills, interests, hobbies, trades, professions, etc. present among your students & alums, parents, teachers, staff and throughout community. Everyone matters and every asset has value. Look beyond current roles and workday frameworks to mobilize and innovate. Expect high performance with less labor and tedium; more enjoyment and rewards for creative efforts.

2. Complete a Campus Resource Inventory (CRI). Involve students, staff, alums, community – everyone. Prepare a detailed list of all existing resources available on-site. Organize the data. Keen observation is key – practice these skills! Create and display Base Maps that show what and where your resources are. The data and maps will inform your eventual Master Design Plans. 
   

3. Grow as much Organic Food as you can – and then some. Urban, suburban or rural locales can all enjoy food abundance – embrace your context. Transform excess lawn and idle open spaces into habitats teeming with biodiversity, foods, pleasing aesthetics and prospective revenues. Keep necessary recreation and sporting facilities but design for high-performance! Take advantage of walls, fences, rooftops and parking lots; optimize for multi-purpose use. Save seeds and create a community seed bank. Grow bamboo and other useful plants & trees.

4. Rebuild “Vocational Arts”. Design a curriculum that focuses on, builds and maintains the infrastructure of the Cool School and community. Keep it real! Teach and demonstrate skills and practices of low-energy, non-toxic, community-engaged, resource-abundant living: how to grow and preserve food; how to generate and conserve energies; how to effectively communicate (interpersonally and technically) and collaborate; how to use, repair and maintain hand and power tools, etc. Teach by doing.

5. Use Renewable Energy Systems. Design for energy surpluses! Conduct and maintain an on-line energy audit. Optimize “smart energy” efficiency (i.e. CF light bulbs & timers, weatherization, "smart" thermostats, etc.). Put your vocational curriculum to work – build and maintain your precious improvements: design and use solar, wind and micro-hydro electricity; solar air and water heaters & driers; biodigesters for cooking and heating fuel; veggie-oil biodiesel systems for vehicles (and glycerin by-products for soaps). Have students maintain an “Energy Data Kiosk”.

6. Design and use Rainwater Harvesting Systems. This is a key asset for your curriculum, site performance and economic development efforts. Collect, use, and improve as much water as you can. Teach hydrology and watershed stewardship by (a) installing green roofscapes to cleanse storm water and cool your building; (b) make permeable your sidewalks, parking strips and other hardscapes to reduce storm flows; and (c) install native planting landscapes and build soil with your own compost to capture and utilize storm water on-site.

7. Collect, store, use and share (sell or trade) materials. When possible, select high-quality, non-toxic (used) building materials, efficient equipment, quality furniture & fixtures, etc.  Teach about ecological footprints, life-cycle analyses and demonstrate the 5 R’s of school purchasing: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, & Refrain. Plan to accept donations via preferred inventory requests (to avoid unwanted “gifts” and anonymous drop-offs). Doing so can diminish landfill streams, save money and give your school unique charm -- all at once.

8. Maintain Campus with Excellent Tools, Useful Animals and Natural Methods. Eliminate use of all chemical pesticides, fertilizers and petrol-powered tools. Authorize work crews to choose their favorite tools and show students how to use / maintain them. Demonstrate only best practices! Create a “Tool Library” for community use. Run or recharge electric tools with renewable energy. And, if possible, enlist the talents of large and small animals (i.e. horses, cattle, ducks and chickens, worms, etc.). Design & demonstrate abundant production of compost, vermi-compost (worms), mulches, “green” plant manures and organic fertilizer resources. Effectively manage, store and use products.

9. From School Store, Create a Community Cooperative. Grow your own sustainable economic engine. Identify prospective goods and services that can be reliably offered from existing on-site resources. Tap respective markets for them while teaching aspects of small business development, economics and money management. Grow and glean from your school grounds: organic fruits, nuts, vegetables, greens, honey, flowers, composts, worms, etc.; wood and bamboo materials; arts & crafts; guided tours & educational programs of school facility and production processes.

10. Integrate core curriculum into every system. Authorize teachers to use each system to bring their classrooms and content to life. Every subject has a learning niche to fill and flourish. Enlist your library to organize materials to support and expand topic areas.

Get going and have fun!