April 16, 2012 (Sacramento):  Fourteen student “green teams” from the Sacramento City Unified School District will showcase projects to make their campuses more eco-friendly at SCUSD’s first annual Project Green Showcase on Wednesday (April 18).

Viable projects are in line for $5 million in facilities bond money set aside for green school initiatives.

“Not only are we encouraging our students to think deeply about making our community a better place in the future, we are providing them with the funds to take their projects from concept to reality,” said SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. “This ‘real-world application’ has added excitement and encouraged buy-in from kids.”

Project Green started this year when campuses across the district formed student “green teams” supported by parents and staff and charged with conducting “green audits” of facilities. The teams then drafted recommendations for improvements ranging from replacing outdated windows to installing water-wise plumbing fixtures.

Students will present their recommendations to a panel of local experts from the fields of architecture, engineering, energy, land-use planning and water management at Wednesday’s event. The panel will judge the exhibits and award funds from a facilities bond measure approved by voters in 2003.

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.

“Our Project Green is a one-of-a-kind project nationwide,” McDill said. “When I tell people that Sacramento City Unified is allowing students to make decisions about capital improvements to green their school they are amazed. This is truly a unique venture and one that these students will gain from now and for the rest of their lives.”

WHAT:                 SCUSD’s first annual Project Green Showcase
WHEN:                 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18
WHERE:               The Met Sacramento High School
                                810 V St., Sacramento, CA 95818