One-of-a-kind environmental education experiences for youth (Green Schools Program)

One-of-a-kind environmental education experiences for youth (Green Schools Program)

santa cruz county, ca

How you can benefit

‬This county program helps K-12th grade schools save money, train students to be zero waste monitors, conduct water and energy audits, and evaluate a school's carbon pollution footprint.

Why it's a leading program

The program provides unique partnerships and hands-on learning experiences. For example, the O'Neil Sea Odyssey, founded by the inventor of the wetsuit, takes students to remove from the ocean toxic plastic microbeads from personal care products. And at Pacific School in Davenport, students work in the organic garden, and grow food and make lunch for each other.  

Schools often do not have time to be a certified green business which includes incentives and training for staff, pollution prevention, energy and water conservation, and zero waste. This program is unique because when schools finish the Green Schools Checklist, they can get a Green Business Certification.

Goal

To educate youth on how to conserve resources, prevent pollution from storm water runoff, and achieve zero waste.

Who can take action

All schools in the county, including private and charter schools.

Outcome

Santa Cruz County reports having a high participation and demand from its citizenry for environmental programs. Several schools finished the Green Schools Checklist, which earned them a Green Business Certification.

Contact

Ana Maria Rebelo, Environmental Education Program Coordinator, Public Works, Santa Cruz County, (831) 454-2636, dpw124@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

Last Updated

October 29, 2015

Portland Urban Growth Boundary

Planning for housing and job growth (Urban Growth Boundary), 1979

PORTLAND, OR

Mayor of Tualatin Lou Ogden discusses the urban growth boundary.

HOW IT CAN BENEFIT YOU

Portland’s urban growth boundary (UGB) meets the needs of the community and attracts companies to move there because it plans housing for population growth, creates walkable and bike-friendly paths (including to nature), and protects land for farms and forests.  A UGB is an invisible line that separates the city from natural areas.  Every Oregon city is required to have one.  The law requires cities to predict how much housing and job growth a city is going to have for 20 years, and figure out how both can fit in the UGB or re-draw the UGB.  The UGB causes density.

Between 1979 and 2007, the Portland Metro area had to expand the UGB onto areas with the poorest soil quality, which most people agreed did not work well.  So in 2007, Oregon granted the Portland region a one-time ability to set aside high-quality farmland for future development.

WHY IT'S A LEADING PROGRAM

Portland is the only place in the country, and one of the few in the world, to have a single UGB that crosses 25 cities in the region.  The UGB is administered by the Metro Council, the only directly-elected regional government in the United States.

GOAL

To create a comprehensive plan for growth.

WHO CAN TAKE ACTION

Local governments.

OUTCOME

The boundary has been expanded dozens of times over the years, but still looks similar to its original boundaries.

CONTACT

Craig Beebe, Planning and Development Communications, Metro Council, 503-797-1584, Craig.Beebe@oregonmetro.gov

LAST UPDATED

September 19, 2015

Marin Sustainability Tracker

Interactive map of which cities are greener (Sustainability Tracker), 2015

Marin County, CA

HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT

Before 2015, you could not easily see and compare how green each city is in Marin County.  So in 2015, Marin created a map so anyone could see progress made since 2005, and tips to green your home, business or city. 

WHY IT'S A LEADING PROGRAM

Similar tracker websites are not as user-friendly or do not show as much data.

GOAL

To create friendly competition between cities, make it easier for anyone to see progress over time and meet sustainability goals.

WHO CAN TAKE ACTION

Anyone.

OUTCOME

While Marin County made excellent progress to reduce waste, the tracker helped them see they need to address the fact that household energy use hardly dropped since 2005. 

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:

Dana Armanino, Marin Climate and Energy Partnership, 415-473-3292, DArmanino@marincounty.org