Willow Glen Resident
News
Go Green conference prepares students, schools for the future
By Gloria I. Wang
Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not easy being green"--but San Jose schools want to show that it is.
On Oct. 14, the city of San Jose formally kicks off its Go Green schools program with an environmental resources conference. Attendees will learn about how to increase environmental awareness in their schools and discover ways the city can help.
To be part of the Go Green program, schools can do anything from starting gardens to going on hikes to analyzing chemicals used on campus, said Deb Bogart, San Jose associate environmental services specialist. The city acts as the "tissue" that connects schools with the resources and potential funding available, and schools then can choose which measures they want to take.
Leland High School is the poster child for being green in the San Jose Unified School District, Bogart said. The school is exploring installing solar panels and has an active environmental club that initiates tree planting and recycling programs. Additionally, staff members at Leland look for ways to minimize energy costs and integrate students into those efforts, leading the Alliance to Save Energy to consider it a Green School.
But San Jose's District 1 Councilwoman Linda LeZotte, a driver of the city's Go Green efforts, said schools needn't have such extensive activities to be part of the Go Green program. An English teacher in Pleasanton took her students on a field trip to look at trees while the class studied Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees," LeZotte said.
Go Green "is a program that lends itself to the creativity of teachers," LeZotte said.
"The real goal is environmental stewardship for the new generation of K-12 students," Bogart added.
To that end, the Oct. 14 conference at the Camden Community Center will be open to teachers, parents, school staff, students and anyone else in the community for a cost of $10.
"We hope that not only do students adopt habits and practices, but that they adopt environmental values," Bogart said.
Camden Community Center is at 3369 Union Ave. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
For more information about the Go Green schools program, visit www.sanjose ca.gov/esd/schools. For more information about the Go Green Initiative, visit www.gogreeninitiative.org.
