An environmentally friendly, energy efficient school?

Question

I'm a Junior at an alternative school, and when I grow up, I want to be an architect. Later in life, I want to come back to this school, rebuild it and make it better. I want it to be energy efficient, money saving, and environmentally friendly. Got any ideas or tips as to how I can do this? What should I include in "my" school?

Answer 1

encourage recycling. I don't know anyone who does that.

Answer 2

I think your heart is in the right place to improve your school.

Please consider these ideas.

Build a huge sundial somewhere that students can marvel at it's uniqueness.  Make sure you register it with the North American Sundial Society.   You might want to see their website for ideas.

You can also design several thermosiphon solar hot water heater system for the cafeteria and locker rooms.  It has no moving parts and needs no electricity.

Design a plant nursery on campus for live potted plants.

"Common indoor plants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings.

NASA research has consistently shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several toxic chemicals from the air in building interiors. You can use plants in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work - where people feel better, perform better, any enjoy life more."

Answer 3

Funny you should mention this, because I've read that others have tried it.

IIRC, the effort I saw built a passive-solar school building with straw-bale walls, daylighting throughout, and a host of other touches I can't begin to remember.  I most likely saw it in Solar Today or Home Power Magazine.

If you were going to do this, I'd suggest adding rainwater harvesting, anaerobic digesters for the toilets, and solar hot water heating/preheating.

Answer 4

My favorite way will be:

You should also make bus parking for school buses.

1. Install environmental friendly lightbulb.

2. At school parking, purchase Hybrid Bus or CNG Bus and paint that to yellow to school bus.

3. For every classrooms and offices, put recycle bins.

A. White or Green Bins for papers only. Make sure to drill the lid to container, so student wouldn't throw the cans/bottles in there.

B. Blue bins should be place by cafeteria, teather's cafeteria.

C. Battery Recycling- use unused cardbox or cotainers you don't use at home.

D. Clothes Recycling- put unwanted clothes into unused landry bag.

E. Ink Cartridge Recycling- Same reason as C.

4. Switch computer to wireless.

5. Restroom should be replaced by environmental friendly bathroom.

Answer 5

Look up LEED. Most energy companies have classes on better technologies HVAC, Solar, Motors, EMS, Skylights, lighting....

Answer 6

I'd prefer schools which simply studied pollution and the environment  period.  I consider it much more urgent than most folks.  I would use tanks to contain human waste which did not need water.  Everything would be solar and wind powered.  Food would be dispensed in reusable containers-keep as much trash out of the system as possible.  Consider a closed off campus that used ways of transportation that were eco-friendly too.  Air powered cannisters to send information to other classes (like they use at the bank).  Even rely on the old ways such as horse and buggy.  Use solar heaters and improved temperature regulated buildings with emergency backup power supplies.      By making an extremely energy efficeint campus you will provide a role model for the green concsious folks in America and the World.  The gratitude you would receive would be untold.  You would help save the futures of the children......

Answer 7

You should do some research on UC Merced. It's currently the greenest campus in the San Joaquin Valley and its designed to be the greenst campus in California when it is fully completed. The link in the source has some information on its design.