Green Building United leads the Delaware Pathways to Green Schools Program
Green Building United (GBU) is accepting applicants for our Delaware Pathways to Green Schools Program. The program was renewed for an eleventh year thanks to the continued support of Energize Delaware! For questions and more information about the program, reach out to Karen Igou via email (kigou@greenbuildingunited.org) or phone (215)-399-5789.
The Pathways Program provides building energy assessments to help schools identify how they can lower their energy costs and be more energy efficient. We can also help you find funding to implement the recommendations that are found through these energy assessments. We have a mini grant program (up to $6000) to support students, teachers and school clubs with projects related to energy efficiency and sustainability, including outdoor spaces. We work closely with the National Wildlife Federation and support schools involvement with their Eco-Schools and Schoolyard Habitat programs. We also support schools who are working towards national recognition through Eco-Schools USA and the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools award and hold workshops throughout the year for “clock hours” and to nurture our teachers and school staff.
Participating schools work toward achieving certification and national recognition through the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools and NWF’s Eco-Schools awards. We would love to help your school work towards one of these awards!
Benefits to participating schools include:
- Networking with like-minded educators
- Opportunities to attend roundtables and workshops
- Free building energy assessments (for qualifying schools)
- Access to sustainability resources, activities, and lesson plans
- Eligibility to apply for an annual mini-grant program
- One-on-one support and guidance
PAST AND CURRENT PATHWAYS SCHOOLS
Below are the schools participating in the 2024 school year Pathways Program!
Academia Antonia Alonso | AI Dupont High School | Appoquinimini High School | ASPIRA Academy | Brandywine Springs Elementary | Caeser Rodney School District | Conrad School of Science | Etta J. Wilson School | Freire Charter School | John Dickenson High School | New Castle County Votech: Hodgkin | North Star Elementary | North Star Elementary | Odyssey Charter School | Stanton Middle School | Welch Elementary
Check out our list of prior participating Pathways schools!
Air Base Middle School | Academia Alonso Charter School | Albert Einstein Academy | Allen Frear Middle School | Appoquinimink High School | Archmere Academy | Brandywine High School | Brandywine Springs Elementary | Caesar Rodney High School | Christ the Teacher Catholic School | Christiana High School | Conrad School of Science | Cooke Elementary | David E. Robinson Elementary | Delcastle VoTech High School | Delmar Middle and High School | Douglass by Providence | Eastside Charter School | First State Montessori Academy| Forwood Elementary | Fred Fifer III Middle School | Hanby Elementary | John S. Charlton School | Kirk Middle School | Lancashire Elementary | Las Americas ASPIRA Academy | Linden Hill Elementary School | Magnolia Middle School | Milford High School | Mt. Pleasant Elementary School | Mt. Pleasant High School | Nellie H. Stokes Elementary| Newark Center for Creative Learning| North Star Elementary| Odyssey Charter School| The Pilot School | Postlethwait Middle School | Sanford School | Seaford Central Elementary School | Serviam Academy | Shue-Medill Middle School | Smyrna High School | Springer Middle School | St. Andrew’s School| St. Anne’s School| St. Anthony’s School| St. Mary Magdelen School | Star Hill Elementary| Stubbs Elementary | Sussex Academy | Sussex Tech High School | Talley Middle School | The Independence School | The Jefferson School | The Tatnall School | UrbanPromise | Ursuline Academy | Warner Elementary School | W.B. Simpson Elementary| Welch Elementary | West Park Place Elementary School| Wilmington Friends School | Wilmington Montessori School | W. Reily Brown Elementary
2024 MINI GRANT AWARDEES
When executed, all projects will have a positive impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and will help to cultivate a generation of good stewards of the environment on K-12 school campuses throughout the state.
RESOURCES, TOOLS, AND MORE
Eco-Schools USA
Eco-Schools USA is framework for implementing and measuring sustainability initiatives and progress. The Eco-Schools program helps students, schools, and the larger school community better understand what it means to be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Through Eco-Schools, students learn more about environmental issues and explore ways in which they can apply that learning to lead more sustainable lives and improve sustainability practices in the classroom and beyond.
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools
The aim of U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is to inspire schools, districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to strive for 21st-century excellence by highlighting promising school sustainability practices and resources that all can employ.
The Center for Green Schools
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council offers resources and a certificate program, free to participating Pathways teachers. These include Learning Lab, an online platform with over 600 hands-on lessons from respected K-12 sustainability curriculum designers and educators, and the Green Classroom Professional, a certificate to guide teachers and school staff in supporting healthy and sustainable learning spaces.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
EPA’s online energy management and tracking tool enables you to measure and track the energy and water performance of any building over time.
Ready Rowhome Climate Education Kit
These models help engage Delawareans young and old in climate change issues. Activities can be done in virtually any setting, and the time can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of users.
Climate change means Delaware is getting hotter; so much so that scientists predict we could experience as many as 3 additional weeks of days over 90° by the 2020s. And with scientists predicting increased heavy downpours due to climate change, one might ask, what does this really look like, and what can be done about it? In these activities, participants simulate heavy downpours and extreme heat on a model block to see how traditional methods of dealing with weather events may no longer be sufficient. Participants are then given the opportunity to design the block, seeing how the materials we used to build with can lessen the impact of a changing climate.
Requests need to be made two weeks in advance.