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SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL CAMPUSES

NATIONAL:
  • GREENSCHOOLS.NET
    Resources for teachers and students to create school projects.
  • U.S. GREEN SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
    Formerly Green Schools Initiative, packaged programs for teachers, parents, community leaders, students for greening schools.
  • BUILD GREEN SCHOOLS - USGBC
    The United States Green Building Council offers an online resource library for building green schools.
  • THE EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD
    This Berkeley, CA school-based organic garden and culinary program teaches connection to land and nutrition.
  • TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS - ENIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    This successful EPA program offers a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing indoor air quality problems.
  • MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS GREEN BUILDING
    This school district is a natural leader in using green school design to help students learn about sustainable design and principles of conservation.
  • PUBLICOLOR
    NYC school-based, after-school program that uses color, design, and the painting process to empower youth to transform their schools and community spaces.
  • GLOBAL GREEN USA - GREEN SCHOOLS
    Global Green USA, the American arm of Green Cross International, focuses on stemming global climate change by creating green buildings and cities. Their national green schools report summarizes the costs and benefits of green schools.
  • GO GREEN INITIATIVE
    Resources for starting a school-based recycling, compost, Earth Day, etc. projects.
  • THE GREEN SCHOOLS ALLIANCE
    The Green Schools Alliance works with schools worldwide to promote energy conservation and environmental awareness and responsibility.
LOCAL:
  • GARZA GREENS
    Offered through Garza High School in East Austin, Garza Greens is an interdisciplinary curricular offering that introduces high school students to careers in the field of horticulture, landscape design, and entrepreneurship.
Girl Smelling Flowers

GREEN JOBS

Career Support Building and Advocacy
NATIONAL:
  • GREEN FOR ALL
    This Oakland, CA based advocacy group is building a national movement to create a green collar economy with career opportunities for all.
  • LA GREENCORPS
    An Americorp program to involve youth in planning and implementing environmentally-focused service learning projects while teaching valuable 21st century job skills.
  • APOLLO ALLIANCE
    "The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers."
LOCAL:
  • AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS - CASA VERDE BUILDERS & E-CORPS
    American YouthWorks helps youth prepare for green careers through education, training, and service opportunities. In Casa Verde Builders, students build single family, affordable, energy-efficient homes in East Austin. In E-Corps, youth work ro restore and preserve public lands in Texas.
  • YOUTHLAUNCH - URBAN ROOTS
    Urban Roots uses sustainable agriculture to help youth develop career skills and environmental awareness while increasing access to healthy food in Austin, TX.
  • COOLAUSTINJOBS.COM
    Austin Community College (ACC), Capital Area WorkForce Solutions and the City of Austin launched this clean tech career support website. ACC offers classes in renewable energy.

GREEN BUILDING DESIGN

Career Support Building and Advocacy
NATIONAL: LOCAL:
  • AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM
    The first city-led green building program in the nation, this program is a first-stop shop for building green in Central Texas.
  • DESIGN˜BUILD˜LIVE
    Formerly known as the Sustainable Building Coalition started in 1992, this sustainable learning center educates its members and the general public about sustainable homes, buildings, and landscapes.

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Air Quality Color Psychology
NATIONAL:
  • ALLIANCE FOR HEALTHY HOMES
    A public interest organization that advocates for policy solutions and community capacity to prevent and eliminate health hazards in homes.
  • NATIONAL HEALTHY HOMES TRAINING CENTER & NETWORK
    This online training center offers practical, cost-effective methods for making homes healthier through the Seven Principles of Healthy Housing, recommended by public health and housing practitioners.
LOCAL:
  • UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
    UT's Indoor Enviornmental Sciences and Engineering Program is a national leader in indoor air quality research. It's interactive website provides tips to keep homes healthy and safe.
  • ECO-WISE
    Local business that sells eco-friendly building and cleaning materials for homes.

SUSTAINABLE (AND EDIBLE!) LANDSCAPES

NATIONAL:
  • BACKYARD WILDLIFE HABITAT - NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
    Certification program to turn your yard into a sustainable wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, frogs and other critters.
  • BACKYARD CONSERVATION - NRCS
    This Natural Resources Conservation Service program teaches how to implement home conservation practices such as composting, tree planting and pest management.
  • EDIBLE ESTATES
    The Edible Estates project works to inspire the transformation of the domestic front lawn into a highly productive, edible landscape.
LOCAL:
  • GREEN CORN PROJECT
    Helps Central Texans learn how to grow organic food gardens to make maximum use of land, water, and energy.
  • LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER
    This resource and research center works to increase the sustainable use and management of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes. The Sustainable Sites Initiative is developing a rating system for sustainable landscapes.
  • SUSTAINABLE FOOD CENTER
    Through urban gardens, farming and cooking classes, and farmers' markets, the SFC creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system. SFC's "Sprouting Healthy Kids" program helps increase use of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias, as well as sustainable food system education in the classroom.

GREEN COMMUNITY DESIGN

NATIONAL:
  • AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION
    This network of professionals and citizens works to advance "the art, science and profession of good planning - physical, economic and social - to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live."
  • SMART GROWTH NETWORK / SMART GROWTH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
    Smart Growth is committed to fighting sprawl and supporting vibrant, sustainable communities. These websites offers many resources and an overview of the 10 Smart Growth principles.
  • URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
    This network of real estate professionals "provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide."
  • SMARTe.org
    Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools - electronic, known as SMARTe, is a free, web-based, that helps you evaluate how to best redevelop land that may have been contaminated by prior uses.
LOCAL:
  • RHIZOME COLLECTIVE
    From rainwater harvesting to bioremediation, the Rhizome Collective designs and showcases ecological tools to build sustainable systems providing basic human needs: food, water, waste management, energy, and shelter.
  • CENTER FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL BUILDING SYSTEMS
    Established in 1975, this non-profit education, research, and demonstration organization specializes in life cycle planning and design of buildings that contribute to sustainability and human health. Open houses and tours of demonstraton projects are held monthly.
  • CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
    The CSD, within the School of Architecture at UT is a research and resource center for sustainable development.
  • AUSTIN COMMUNITY DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT CENTER (ACDDC)
    ACDDC provides sustainable design, planning and development services to low- and moderate- income individuals, families and neighborhoods.

WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING

NATIONAL:
  • CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO ZERO WASTE PROGRAM
    San Francisco's Zero Waste Program is a comprehensive waste reducation and reuse system and is the first city program in the nation to offer curb-side composting services.
  • EARTH911.COM
    "One-stop shop for all you need to know about reducing your impact, reusing what you've got and recycling your trash."
LOCAL:
  • ECOLOGY ACTION
    Austin's downtown recycling center offers drop-off and special even recylcing services, as well as educational tours and classroom visists.
  • CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
    Located at Hornsby Bend, CER is a center for research and education on urban ecology and sustainability. The 1200-acre Hornsby Bend site recycles all of Austin's sewage waste and yard trimmings and returns nutrients to the food chain. This site is one of the best bird-watching sites in Texas (over 350 species!) and produces Dillo Dirt - compost used in yards throghout Austin.
  • CITY OF AUSTIN - ZERO WASTE PLANNING
    Austin is working on a plan to reduce waste by 20‰ by 2012 and achieve zero waste by 2040.

YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM

NATIONAL:
  • GREENCORPS
    Field school for environmental organizing for college students.
  • ENERGY ACTION COALITION
    The Campus Climate Challenge leverages young people to organize on college campuses and high schools to win 100‰ Clean Energy policies at their schools. It also launched www.powervote.org.
LOCAL:
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