The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council recently announced the first ever Green Apple Day of Service, a global call to take real action in support of healthy, sustainable schools.
On Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, the Green Apple Day of Service will engage students, teachers, parents, business leaders, elected officials and others in volunteer activities at schools and campuses in their communities.
The Green Apple Day of Service was announced last week at Green School in Bali, Indonesia, the Center’s selection as the “2012 Greenest School on Earth.”
The international school offers a child-centered and holistic education with a strong focus on sustainability and the environment. Green School’s structures are built from local, renewable bamboo; the campus runs primarily on solar energy sponsored by the Akuo Foundation and utilizes bio-intensive organic farming; and among other noteworthy projects hosts a breeding sanctuary for endangered local birds, including the nearly extinct in the wild Bali Starling.??
?More than 700 million children are enrolled in primary education worldwide according to the UNESCO 2011 Global Education Digest, and 25 percent of Americans walk into schools and colleges every day. The Center is anticipating at least 2,500 service projects taking place with more than 20,000 volunteers around the world. The Center for Green Schools was established to drive the transformation of all learning environments into safe, engaging and comfortable facilities that enhance a student’s ability to learn and a teacher’s ability to teach, and the Green Apple Day of Service is a tangible way we are working to further advance our mission of green schools for everyone within this generation.
Early support from USGBC chapters, policy makers, K-12 and higher education institutions as well as global corporate partners, including the Center’s founding sponsor United Technologies Corporation, Interface and Haworth, have already signed up to have their employees participate in acts of service on Sept. 29.
To learn more about how you can get involved, sign up for service projects in your area, connect with other volunteers and share ideas around the Green Apple Day of Service, visit mygreenapple.org. BD+C
Related Stories
| Apr 12, 2011
Long-awaited San Francisco center is music to jazz organization’s ears
After 28 years, SFJAZZ is getting its first permanent home. The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to advancing the art of jazz through concerts and educational programs, contracted local design firm Mark Cavagnero Associates and general contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie to create a modern performance center in the city’s Hayes Valley neighborhood
| Apr 12, 2011
Entrance pavilion adds subtle style to Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
A $13 million gift from the Otis Booth Foundation is funding a new entrance pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. CO Architects, Los Angeles, is designing the frameless structure with an energy-efficient curtain wall, vertical suspension rods, and horizontal knife plates to make it as transparent as possible.
| Apr 12, 2011
BIM Grows Up: Separating Hype from Reality in a 3D World
While BIM adoption still lags in both design and construction, some enterprising owners, architects, and contractors are unlocking the potential of this dynamic technology.
| Apr 12, 2011
Metal cladding: Enhancing design with single-skin panels, MCMs, and IMPs
Single-skin metal panels, metal composite panels, and insulated metal panels can add both aesthetic and functional value to your projects, if you use them correctly.
| Apr 12, 2011
American Institute of Architects announces Guide for Sustainable Projects
AIA Guide for Sustainable Projects to provide design and construction industries with roadmap for working on sustainable projects.
| Apr 11, 2011
Wind turbines to generate power for new UNT football stadium
The University of North Texas has received a $2 million grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to install three wind turbines that will feed the electrical grid and provide power to UNT’s new football stadium.
| Apr 8, 2011
SHW Group appoints Marjorie K. Simmons as CEO
Chairman of the Board Marjorie K. Simmons assumes CEO position, making SHW Group the only firm in the AIA Large Firm Roundtable to appoint a woman to this leadership position
| Apr 5, 2011
Zaha Hadid’s civic center design divides California city
Architect Zaha Hadid is in high demand these days, designing projects in Hong Kong, Milan, and Seoul, not to mention the London Aquatics Center, the swimming arena for the 2012 Olympics. But one of the firm’s smaller clients, the city of Elk Grove, Calif., recently conjured far different kinds of aquatic life when members of the City Council and the public chose words like “squid,” “octopus,” and “starfish” to describe the latest renderings for a proposed civic center.
| Apr 5, 2011
Are architects falling behind on BIM?
A study by the National Building Specification arm of RIBA Enterprises showed that 43% of architects and others in the industry had still not heard of BIM, let alone started using it. It also found that of the 13% of respondents who were using BIM only a third thought they would be using it for most of their projects in a year’s time.