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<\/a><\/p>\nBut according to Tim Cole, the school division\u2019s sustainability officer, sustainability is much more than just building environment-friendly schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe standard definition of sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. But for us, we are looking at how do you balance, social, economic and environmental outcomes as part of the decision making process.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, the former Navy Seal who worked for an architectural firm where he managed development of the National Weather Service\u2019s first LEED-certified building before joining the school division 17 years ago as a project manager, recalled that he himself at the time thought of sustainability as only \u201can interesting concept.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an outdoors person and that makes sense to me, but I still wasn\u2019t looking at it from a \u2018we can change the world\u2019 sustainability perspective,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
That changed when he was called back to active duty shortly before the construction of Hermitage Elementary.<\/p>\n
Sitting outside of Baghdad shortly after midnight and going through his routine of calming his mind before being inserted into an operation, he recalls focusing on the larger picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mind just settled on big picture thoughts; like why are we here, the consequences of our actions, and then my mind focused on sustainability,\u201d he said. \u201cI came to the realization that we can really have a much more significant impact on people if we take a much broader approach that extends beyond the built environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was at this moment that he developed the school division\u2019s three sustainability goals:<\/p>\n
- \n
- develop a sustainable building infrastructure;<\/li>\n
- integrate sustainable practices throughout the school division; and<\/li>\n
- educate the public about sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Fast forward and VBCPS is now a nationally-recognized leader in sustainability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe really nice thing about us being a large public entity is that we can drive these initiatives forward,\u201d Cole said, referring to making LEED part of the required process \u2013 something that he says many construction firms and design teams were not familiar with when Hermitage was built.<\/p>\n
That is no longer the case since VBCPS School Board policy now calls for all of the division\u2019s schools to be designed and constructed according to LEED standards.<\/p>\n
As part of the construction process, contractors now have to do more than just specify the materials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey also have to tell you the amount of recycled content in the metal stud or carpet tile or specify the [volatile organic compounds] VOC content in paint,\u201d Cole said. \u201cBy us coming on board and saying \u2018this is how we want to do business,\u2019 it has a large impact on our region right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"alt=""\"](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_6794-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe school division\u2019s departments have also adopted environmentally-friendly practices that have received national recognition. For example, VBCPS was recently recognized with the 2018 Green Cleaning Award<\/a>, a 2017 Certified Green School Division<\/a> honor, and the ENERGY Start Partner of the Year<\/a> distinction for the second consecutive year for reducing its energy use by 27 percent while increasing its building space by nine percent.<\/p>\n
Cole also cites the \u201cChasing the Custodian\u201d program, which calls for custodians cleaning as team so that only certain parts of the building are lit at one time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt saves energy but [custodians] also work in teams and this provides a safer working environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to saving energy, the school division is also saving money through performance contracts work where companies conduct energy audits of older buildings and replace lighting and heating and air conditioning units. Those companies are paid through the savings generated.<\/p>\n
VBCPS also conducted an emissions study in 2011 \u2013 the first K-12 school division in the country to do so at that time \u2013 to inventory its carbon footprint and put an emissions reduction plan into action by looking at energy, recycling efforts, fuel and other contributing factors. Again, departments are contributing in many ways, including through reduced vehicle emissions. Currently, 26 VBCPS buses now run on cleaner fuels and the division has been successful in securing additional funding<\/a> to purchase newer, more fuel-efficient school buses.<\/p>\n
But for Cole, it\u2019s the impact on future generations that is ultimate goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way that we are going to create this exponential change that we need is if we can have this impact on K-12 schools,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know we do a really good job of teaching students the academics, but where we can make a difference is in preparing them for the future that we set them up to inherit.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"alt=""\"](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_8929-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEvery school in the division now has a sustainability liaison and many have teaching gardens, environmental clubs and partnerships with organizations such as Lynnhaven River Now, the Elizabeth River project and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that are actively working with students to teach about the importance of the ocean, watersheds and other environmental factors that impact planet Earth every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be successful in the teams you need to be able to embrace risk, adapt to change and most importantly, lead by example,\u201d Cole said. \u201cHere in Virginia Beach City Public Schools, we intend to lead by example.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Governor\u2019s Awards were presented April 5 and the VEEPSP were announced May 1. For more information about either of these programs, visit the DEQ\u2019s website<\/a>, or to learn more about the division\u2019s sustainability movement, visit vbschools.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) was the only K-12 school division recognized as a 2018 Governor\u2019s Award for Environmental Excellence honoree. These awards are presented annually by the Virginia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-connections","category-sustainable-schools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7837,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836\/revisions\/7837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}