Environment Matters: Autumn 2003

In This Issue...

• Unified Education Strategy Grants

• Waste Tire Track and Other Recreational Surfacing Grants

• Worm Bins and Compost Teas

• School DEEL Desktop Reference

• Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Professional Design Trainings

• Truckee School Features Sustainable Design

• In the Next Issue...

• Subscribe Now!

Unified Education Strategy Grants

On May 14, 2003, the Board approved funding for the following 12 school districts to receive a competitive Unified Education Strategy (UES) grant: Anderson Valley Unified, Belmont-Redwood Shores, Beverly Hills Unified, Chico Unified, Emery Unified, Etna Union Elementary, Hawthorne, MIT Academy, Pacific Unified, Petaluma City, San Carlos, and Los Angeles Unified (to include local districts A, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I). Mariposa County Unified School District will also participate in the UES thanks to a grant from the State and Consumer Services Agency.

The principal goals of the Unified Education Strategy, as described in the legislation, are to:

• Coordinate instructional resources and strategies for providing active pupil participation with on-site conservation efforts.

• Promote service-learning opportunities between schools and local communities.

• Assess the impact to participating pupils of the Unified Education Strategy on student achievement and resource conservation.

The grants are based on a two-cycle funding allocation. Cycle one, currently in progress, is for the districts to audit their campus resources, such as waste, energy, water, and air systems, and develop implementation plans based on their audit findings. Cycle two funding, to be disbursed in May 2004, would help the districts to implement their plans. The dollar amount per district is up to $27,000 in cycle one and up to $38,000 in cycle two.

Waste Tire Track and Other Recreational Surfacing Grants

The Board is offering the Waste Tire Track and Other Recreational Surfacing Grant Program for fiscal year 2003–04 to encourage the reduction of landfill disposal and stockpiling of California waste tires. The CIWMB will award grants on a competitive basis. Grant funding shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for any jurisdiction. Public entities that operate and manage public recreational facilities in California may apply. Applications are now available. You may request the application by calling CIWMB's Grant Hotline at (916) 341-6441, or you may  download the application. The deadline for the application is Monday, November 3, 2003.

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Worm Bins and Compost Teas

Kalamazoo, MI. Compost teas are one of the hottest things going out on the west coast, ranging from California to Alaska. These brews are full of beneficial microbes that can put life back into soil that has had its life-giving qualities removed by excess applications of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.

Gardeners, organic growers, and large-scale farmers alike are finding that spraying compost tea as a foliar spray and as a soil drench improves crop yields at the same time it reduces or eliminates fertilizer and pesticide use.

A common belief in the twentieth century was that all bugs are bad. That's not true. The majority of bacteria and protozoa, fungi, and nematodes are beneficial. We want them in our soil. Compost teas are the best way to get these microorganisms back into the soil where they can make nitrogen available and release other nutrients plants require as they need them.

Compost tea is something you can brew yourself with a minimum of effort. We're talking about aerated teas, those that have oxygen actively introduced into the brewing solution so that the only microorganisms that reproduce are the aerobic ones. This can be done with an aquarium aerator or more powerful pump.

You place good compost, that is, compost known to have millions of bacteria, high biomass of fungi, thousands of protozoa, and a few beneficial nematodes into liquid in a container with various food sources to support their growth. Worm bins are a good source of these organisms that multiply thousands of times in this favorable environment.

After 12–48 hours, depending on the brewer, you strain the liquid and spray the tea, coating leaves and soil with these beneficial organisms. Biological processes multiply their effects. Protozoa eat bacteria, releasing nitrogen that plants can use. Fungal hyphae (strands) grow out and bring in nutrients plants need. The beneficial organisms coat leaf surfaces so that pathogens can't find a place to land and take hold.

When you use a worm bin to process your own food discards, you can generate a diverse and local source of beneficial microorganisms to make a superb compost tea to restore and enhance fertility in your soil. What else can you ask for?

Mary Appelhof is the author of Worms Eat My Garbage and has been working with worms for over 30 years. Visit her Web site and subscribe to her free WormEzine.

©2003 by Mary Appelhof

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Desktop Reference

The School DEEL Desktop Reference assists California school districts in researching information about waste, water, air, and energy resource conservation. Web links related to school facilities, functions, and departments are located in one easy-to-find page. You’ll find useful information, including school survey data, model school waste reduction programs, and school district policies to implement and sustain your school district’s resource conservation program. By achieving your district’s overall environmental objectives, your district will have efficient facilities for teachers and staff while realizing cost savings. Check it out!

Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Professional Design Trainings

The FREE all-day Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Professional Design Trainings are tailored for project managers, architects, engineers and the general public. The goal of this training is to educate all attendees about the benefits of high performance school construction as defined by CHPS.

The training will give those involved in school construction the tools and resources to design and build educational facilities that are safe, healthy, efficient, and provide the amenities for a quality education. The training will begin with a general overview that identifies a CHPS classroom and the benefits of utilizing the design guidelines and provides case study examples.

This will be followed by a panel of experts who will present a breakdown of design strategies that are defined in Volume II of the CHPS Best Practices Manual. Case study examples will be provided and time will be allotted so that attendees may ask questions. Each attendee will also receive a free set of the CHPS Best Practices Manual. Six hours of Continuing Education AIA Credits will be provided.

Truckee School Features Sustainable Design

Truckee Middle School is expected to be 25 percent more energy-efficient than California standards and yield approximately $17,000 in savings annually. It is one of many Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) demonstration school projects in the state. With an estimated completion date of August 2004, the 87,000 sq. ft. project has a total budget of $24 million ($275 per sq. ft.) and is designed to serve 1,000 students in the sixth- through eighth-grade levels. The new middle school will be an energy-efficient building with a ground-source heat pump for heating and cooling, feature recycled-content and low-emitting materials, and recycle at least 50 percent of the construction waste generated.

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In the Next Issue...

In the winter 2004 issue of Environment Matters, look for more exciting news for schools!

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Last updated: April 04, 2008