"GOING GREEN" - A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

St. Martin's Lutheran School is "Going Green!"  Being part of a Green School is important to our families and students.  Prospective families are looking for Green Schools.  In fact more than 24 Anne Arundel County public and private schools are now "Green Schools."   In order to win our "Maryland Green School" certification, we must file an application with the State, in April 2010, demonstrating that we:

Provide our students with opportunities at all grade levels and across all disciplines to learn about, study and address environmental issues in the classroom, on the school site and in the local and regional community.

Provide our staff and faculty with professional development and other training that enhances environmental awareness and literacy.

Implement best practices in operation, design, and maintenance of the school building and grounds by

• Practicing water conservation: putting "Bay starts here" stickers on our faucets, installing rain gardens, practicing erosion control and storm drain stenciling.
• Practicing energy conservation, using reminders to turn out the lights, calculating our carbon footprint and finding ways to reduce that footprint, and conducting an energy audit.
• Recycling, participating in collecting cell phones and ink cartridges, and sponsoring a "no waste" lunch day.
• Improving and restoring its habitat by having a native plant garden, or by establishing a butterfly garden or rain garden.
• Using green building structures or components to enhance environmental learning and improve habitat including bluebird houses, signage on gardens, pervious walkways, and outdoor classrooms.
• Promoting carpooling, walking, biking, and public transportation.
• Purchasing environmentally friendly products.
• Develop partnerships with the community to address environmental issues.
• Celebrate St. Martin's best practices and model those practices and its relationship to the ecosystem to the larger community.

WHAT THE BOARD CAN DO

1. Adopt "Going Green" as its theme for the 2009-2010 school year. Tie "Going Green" to the St. Martin's identity.
2. Ask our Communications/Fund Raising Committee to engage our school families and church family in "Going Green."
3. Ask our Plant/Safety/Health Committee to partner with the church and the Spa Creek Conservancy to work to improve, restore and maintain the natural local habitat.
4. Authorize an energy audit - if funding is required, authorize the school to identify corporate partners to conduct the audit.
5. Ask our Communications/Fund Raising Committee to tie-in the annual giving campaign - perhaps "Green for Green."
6. Ask the Communications/Fund Raising Committee to work with the School and the PTO to identify parents, alumni and grandparents with special "green" skills and talents to share (landscape architects, architects, engineers, plumbers, contractors, gardeners, many, many others).

WHAT THE SCHOOL CAN DO

1. Roll-out "Going Green" theme at "Back To School" night.
2. Have a "Going Green" Day.
3. Put "Bay Starts Here" stickers on faucets.
4. Provide professional development related to the environment.
5. Use environmentally-friendly products and incorporate green products into the school facility.
6. Expand recycling efforts.
7. Have a "no waste" lunch day.
8. Investigate an outdoor classroom.
9. Have students calculate the school's carbon footprint and suggest ways to reduce it.
10. Look for corporate sponsorships and grant opportunities to expand effort.
11. Create a "buzz"...use publicity and advertising to attract new families.
12. Work with the Board and the PTO to identify parents, alumni, and grandparents with special "green" skills and talents to share.

WHAT THE CHURCH CAN DO

1. Partner with the school in "Going Green."
2. Ask the gardening club to plant native plants, butterfly gardens, and rain gardens.
3. Create pervious walkways.
4. Use environmentally friendly products.
5. Recycle - Sunday church bulletins.
   

WHAT THE PTO CAN DO

1. Carpool
2. Turn-out for general "work days" to maintain church/school grounds.
3. Sign-up to work with the church in partnership with the Spa Creek Conservancy.
4. Work with the Board and the School to identify parents, alumni, and grandparents with special "green" skills   and talents to share.
5. Possibly incorporate a green theme into the Bulldog Bash.

WHAT THE TEACHERS CAN DO

1. Infuse environmental studies into the curriculum.
2. Identify opportunities for students to engage in environmental study outside of the classroom.
3. Communicate what we do to the School Board so that the Board can publicize our successes.
4. Participate in professional development opportunities related to the environment.