June 2, 2008

Fifteen elementary, middle and senior high schools in Miami were honored May 29 for their sustainability efforts and reducing their environmental footprint. The schools are participants in Dream in Green’s 2007-2008 Green Schools Challenge. Dream in Green, a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting environmental and energy sustainability, has partnered closely with Conference of Mayors Vice-President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz to promote climate protection, and is a member of the Miami Green Commission created by Diaz in 2006 to promote and enable the greening of Miami. Diaz has led efforts to embed environmental sustainability practices in city operations and throughout the city.

Students, teachers, parents, administrators and facilities staff at each of the Miami schools receiving awards worked together to save energy and water, reduce waste, recycle and plant trees. The schools integrated learning about climate change and environmental sustainability into their curriculum and translated that learning into hands-on action at their schools, student homes and in the community. In total, the 15 schools conserved over 600,000 kilowatt hours in electricity, recycled over 87,000 lbs of paper and planted more than 540 native trees. These accomplishments are reflected on each school’s “Greenometer” dashboard, which measures a school’s progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“The greatest grassroots movement of our time has inspired our youth into action” said Diaz “We honor these students for removing over one million pounds of CO2 by greening their schools, making our world a better place to live”.

Each of the schools was presented with an additional 10,000 kilowatt hours in renewable energy credits, representing roughly 13,630 lbs of carbon dioxide (CO2) offsets by Dream in Green, the nonprofit organizer of the Green Schools Challenge, and Alterna Corp., a program sponsor. The grassroots effort has combined to reduce, sequester, and offset close to 1.2 million pounds of CO2 emissions; an amount equivalent to taking 100 cars off the road for an entire year or the average electricity required to power 72 homes annually.

“These significant accomplishments are the result of the creativity and motivation of the students, teachers and staff of these schools,” said Jane Gilbert, Executive Director of Dream in Green. “The Green Schools Challenge is a great demonstration of the public concern and commitment to conserving our precious environment for future generations.”

For more information about the Dream in Green and the Green Schools Challenge contact Jane Gilbert, Executive Director of Dream in Green at janegilbert@bellsouth.net or 305-778-2999.