‘Green’ school produces all the energy it uses

AT Discovery Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, the building isn’t just a place where learners learn. It’s something they learn from.

Discovery, which opened in 2015, is what’s called a “netzero” school. That means it was designed and built to produce as much energy as it uses over the course of a year.

It’s doing that thanks in part to the people inside.

“We didn’t just want to be a ‘green’ building, we wanted to be a ‘green’ school,” principal Erin Russo said. “I have been so impressed with the learners.”

One way the school has got children interested in the school’s “green” focus is the Eco-Action Team. About 75 pre-school children through to Grade 5 attend monthly meetings, not only about saving energy but about recycling, gardening, healthy living and consuming less.

“I like that our school is always helping the environment,” said team member Maya UmerovTodoroki, a Grade 5 learner. “It becomes kind of like a hobby.”

“Or even a game,” added classmate Maddy Mangi, also a member of Eco-Action.

“We had a blackout day where we tried to use the least amount of electricity,” she said.

At lunch, the learners take recycling to a level not seen in most schools. Between rows of tables in the dining area, there are seven bins for sorting food waste, trash and recycling, including one bin just for squeezable fruit and yoghurt.

“It was a little confusing, but then I saw the pictures,” Harper Spotts, a Grade 5 learner, said of bin labels that are especially helpful for learners just learning to read.

The school also donates uneaten food to the Arlington Food Assistance Center and produces some of what is served at lunch.

“In our class, we’re growing radishes and lettuce,” said Liam Campbell, who is in Grade 3. The effort is also a science lesson on how plants can grow without soil in what’s called a hydroponic garden.

Even those learners who are not on the Eco-Action Team can’t help but notice that their school environment is all about the environment. The grade levels each have a theme related to the Earth or sky. As pre-schoolers they are Backyard Adventurers, and they reach Galaxy Voyagers by Grade 5. Related signs are everywhere.

This schoolwide focus on the environment is unusual, even for schools that aim to save energy, according to

Anisa Heming, director of the Center for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council, an organisation that helps people construct buildings that are good for humans and the planet.

“That is something we wish every Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified (LEED) school would do, but it’s not always the case,” Heming said. “But they are a shining example.”

There are about 2 000 schools in the US that have some level of certification. Discovery is the first school and third project to receive the council’s highest honour, LEED Zero Energy certification.

“Often a school leader and teachers are put into a school building they didn’t know much about,” Heming said.

But Discovery staff and learners were on board from the beginning. The school has become a showpiece, and many educators, architects and builders have come to tour the building. The energy-saving features are not all easy to spot.

One that is obvious are large windows that let natural light pour in, reducing the need for electric lights (all of which are LED). From the upper level, it’s possible to see some of the solar panels that cover the roof. They power classroom interactive whiteboards and warm water for the cafeteria, among others. – Washington Post

PICTURES: WASHINGTON POST MADDY Mangi, left, and Maya Umerov-Todoroki give a tour of an area with solar panels at Discovery Elementary School in Arlington, Vrginia. The girls are part of the Eco-Action Team at the school, which was designed and built to produce as much energy as it uses. That’s called ‘net zero’. Inset: Learners explain which bins in the school’s dining areas are for which kind of waste.