From Kindergarten through high school, a typical child spends up to 15,000 hours in the classroom. A survey by the U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that over 46 million students attend schools with unsatisfactory environmental conditions — poor ventilation, toxic materials, and inadequate natural lighting.

In the last few years, a movement toward green schools has begun. The reason?   Research has shown that classrooms with poor air quality, that are too cold, too hot, too noisy, or too dark, detract from instruction. Green schools are built with the goal of creating clean, healthy, quiet spaces, suffused with natural light, that become ideal learning environments.

Sustainable buildings are healthy buildings with good indoor air quality and lighting. They are energy-efficient, use natural resources in an efficient manner, and are operated and maintained in an environmentally friendly fashion. Sustainable buildings utilize non-toxic options for finishes/materials, cleaning supplies, pest management, and grounds maintenance.

Michigan has a number of colleges, universities and high schools which have built green.

Forest Hills Eastern High School was built to comply with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards set by the U. S. Green Building Council. Energy efficient features include building envelope insulation that meets or exceeds industry norms, a white roof to minimize thermal heat gain, the use of natural light with shading devices to control thermal gain, gas-filled insulated glass, an irrigation retention pond, concrete instead of asphalt paving, the use of a constructed wetlands instead of a public sewer connection, energy efficient lighting and controls, and an energy recovery system.

Eastern Michigan University Everett Marshall building is a one-of-a-kind building created by Dr. Louise Jones, the college's interim associate dean for facilities and planning, and professor of interior design. Jones, who has a doctorate in architecture, created a building where everything is made of recycled or renewable materials. "The building was designed to provide a healthy environment for learning without negatively impacting the environment," Jones said.

Already the building is serving as a model for other new construction. "Having a one-of-a-kind building is not enough, though," King said. "Our hope is that what we've done at Eastern Michigan encourages others to go beyond our efforts, so that we are not one-of-a-kind for very long."

Albion College is in the process of renovating Palenske Hall, Putnam Hall, and Norris Center along with the construction of Kresge Hall, a new four-story laboratory building bringing all five science departments into one complex.  This complex is designed to achieve “Green”-certified designation by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) organization.  Albion College hopes to become a model for “sustainable” or “green” design, while attracting talented new students in the sciences.

Related Link

Building Green Schools Resource List