June 5, 2012 (Sacramento):  Fourteen student “green teams” from the Sacramento City Unified School District will learn on Thursday how much money they are getting to see their dreams of greener campuses come true.

SCUSD’s first-ever Project Green Allocation Awards will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday (June 7) at Rosemont High School, 9594 Kiefer Blvd. At the event, kids will learn how much money their school will receive for green initiatives – projects developed by the kids themselves.

“This is what authentic learning is all about,” said SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. “We challenged our students to do the hard work and figure out ways to make their campuses greener. Now they’ll see the pay-off of that work when their schools are awarded funding.”

SCUSD launched Project Green this year to add a real-world application to classroom instruction about the environment and sustainable living. Campuses across the district were encouraged to form student “green teams” to conduct “green audits” of school facilities. With the help of teachers, parents and staff, the teams then drafted recommendations for green improvements ranging from replacing outdated windows to installing water-wise plumbing fixtures.

Students presented their recommendations to a panel of local experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, energy, land-use planning and water management in April. The panel judged the exhibits. Awards from a 2003 facilities bond measure will be announced on Thursday.

Project Green was spearheaded by Farah McDill, the district’s Center for Green Schools Fellow. SCUSD is one of only two school districts in the country to be awarded a fully-funded Green Schools Fellow by the Center for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council.

“We are so excited to recognize and reward the innovative ideas of these students,” McDill said. “For the rest of their lives, these students will be able to point to improvements on these campuses and say ‘I did that!’ ”

WHAT:                 SCUSD’s first annual Project Green Allocation Awards
WHEN:                 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 7
WHERE:               Rosemont High School
                                9594 Kiefer Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95827