We're tickled "Green!"
The U.S. Department of Education released their final plans for the new Green Ribbon Schools awards program last week. Through this program, the Department is seeking to recognize schools that save energy, reduce costs, and feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces, as well as protect health, foster wellness and impart effective environmental education.
What a great opportunity for schools, like PLT’s 1100 GreenSchools! to get recognition! Green Ribbon Schools will also encourage other schools to incorporate PLT or similar environmental education programs into their classrooms! Read our comments on the program here.
When the Department of Education initially released the program on September 14, we were excited about the opportunities in the program, however a few improvements were needed in the awards criteria. For one, the program promoted “tree-free fiber,” and the sole recognition of the Forest Stewardship Council’s forest certification and the LEED green building rating system.
We were tickled “green” to see that the Department now recognizes the American Tree Farm System® and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and has revised its building construction objective to include Green Globes. Unfortunately, the promotion of “tree-free” fiber remains.
Through PLT, students learn “how to think, not what to think,” about their world. The tree-free fiber option sends a “what to think” message, telling students that it is wrong to use products from our forests, when in fact there is so much more to the story. Our forests are a renewable resource and we need healthy markets to keep our forests healthy.
Markets give America’s family forest owners a chance to continue to invest in their land---replanting trees, controlling for invasive species, and using good management practices for clean water.
AFF is looking forward to the promoting the Green Ribbon Schools program with our PLT network and GreenSchools! What a great opportunity for more students to learn “how to think, not what to think,” about their environment.
Emily Marx is the Public Affairs and Conservation Coordinator at the American Forest Foundation.
Photo Credit: 2011 Stihl Tree Farm Photo Contest
