District makes sustainability push

In recent months, SMMUSD has been putting forth goals to increase environmental sustainability at Samo and other schools in the district. These short term goals, which mainly focus on saving energy, waste management, water reduction and landscaping, are being set with the overall intent for Samo and other SMMUSD schools to become Green Ribbon Schools. The Green Ribbon Award is a highly regarded stamp of sustainability issued by the state that categorizes and recognizes many different aspects of sustainability in schools. While the district is aiming for all SMMUSD schools to someday be granted this prestigious award, this achievement is a long ways away and will probably take multiple years to come by. Therefore, small, immediate goals are being set for all SMMUSD schools to increase sustainability on school campuses. “Samo is a little behind in terms of basic sustainability, particularly concerning proper recycling and waste management,” Caroline Coster, SMMUSD Sustainability Coordinator, said. To that end, increasing sustainability at Samo and becoming a Green Ribbon School is going to be an extensive process. However, the district is already taking action and coming up with solutions to improve the campus. “We now have all new waste management bins, and we are focusing on getting new recycling bins for the Samo campus, incorporating recycling within education, bringing in waste sorting practices and having more student involvement,” Coster said. To help fix the landscaping on campus, Samo will be opening a tree nursery called Branching Out. This is going to be used as a student learning nursery, where students will be growing the trees that are going to be used to plant in the multiple campus upgrades. Not only will this program improve the aesthetic of the campus, but it will also be educational for students growing and taking care of the trees. In addition, the district is aiming to make Samo a more energy efficient campus. In particular, the innovation building will be getting solar panels and every single light fixture on campus will be replaced with LEDs, a more sustainable form of lighting. Samo also has a CEI program, which is a Continuous Energy Initiative that focuses on student behavior, as well as the faculty and staff. The program makes sure that campus members turn off the light, draw the shades, close windows and classroom doors and don’t leave HVAC (Heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems running. The goal is to keep the climate within the classroom sustainable, so energy and air aren’t being wasted. Essentially, Samo is working towards creating strong, comprehensive programs that will increase sustainability on campus. While the ultimate goal of this process, to become a Green Ribbon School, is many years away, it is one of the most important goals that the district is striving for. Therefore, all SMMUSD students, parents and staff must make a concerted attempt to adhere to the new sustainability programs. “Human actions have always impacted the environment,” Coster said. “Now is a time that every single person needs to start changing their behavior and make a difference.”