Don’t despair! The next generation isn’t going to ruin everything. A few days before writing this, I was feeling like a crotchety old man. You know the type – he walks around grumbling about the do-nothing generation of kids these days. To be fair (and to the relief of my daughter) however, my pants were not pulled up to my chest.
Well, I needn’t have despaired.
On November 30th, my spirits were lifted by a great conference hosted by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) at Bucks County Community College. It was titled the “Green Your School Workshop.” Four different schools from the area reported on what they are doing to make their schools more sustainable, i.e. “greening” their school.
In addition, there were a couple of interactive exercises aimed at giving the students an impetus to do more. The workshop was attended by 180 students from the region and about 70 school administrators, teachers, and other interested adults.
The part that I really enjoyed was that the adults got out of the way, and let the students be the ones to present what they’ve been doing.
The activities were as varied as the students. Energy efficiency training and watershed education are built right into the curriculums at Bucks County Technical High School and Radnor Middle School. Truman and Bristol High Schools have a Green Jobs Club that constructed an outdoor classroom and performed other service projects.
Lisa Grayson, the chairman of the Bucks-Mont branch of the DVGBC, was thrilled with the level of participation from so many schools – both in attending and presenting their programs and success stories.
According to Lisa, “The event exceeded our expectations and we plan to keep the momentum moving forward so we can reach more schools and students with more programs similar to this!”
For more information on the DVGBC and the great things they are doing, check out their website, www.dvgbc.org.
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by Mark Bortman