Our future is in their hands – and that makes me feel great. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the kick-off for Dream in Green’s (DIG) Green Schools Challenge at MAST Academy. As Nicholas Gunia of DIG said at the end of the presentation, "it’s only fitting that the science magnet school for Miami-Dade County kick off this project." And what a great job they did.
The presentation was done entirely by students – The Power Rangers. Broken into teams such as the Energy Awareness Team, Energy Management Team, Public Relations Committee, and Research & Development, you can probably already tell that these guys are organized.
In fact, they’ve already measured the temperature of every room in the school (over a two week period), and the average temperature came up at 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 F). They’ve also identified leaks and cracks where A/C goes out and warm air comes in.
The students made a comment that a comfortable temperature is 25 C (77 F), and that it is ridiculous that everyone needs to come to school with sweaters and jackets in Florida. And it’s true! As seen in this picture, most of the students were bundled up!
Raising the temperature in the classrooms, recycling boxes in the classrooms, shutting off the lights in the cafeteria when not in use, and holding an Energy Awareness Week (including a wear green day) are some of the no-cost measures that the students plan to implement.
They are also seeking funding for their larger projects such as tree plantings, butterfly gardens, solar water heaters, window tinting, wind power, and desiccants – which was a brand new word to me.
These kids, led by Principal Tom Fisher and Solar Energy Professor Dr. Wafa Khalil, are on the right track and should be an inspiration to us all. If you’d like to make a donation towards their efforts, contact Co-Founder & Executive Director of Dream in Green, Nicholas Gunia.
2 Responses to “MAST Academy Launches Green School Challenge”
I have it on good authority that more schools will soon be joining in on the challenge. It’s a great thing to get kids involved in.
Hi,
As a Florida native who went to public schools just north of Miami my entire life and an environmentalist, I’m so proud of my fellow Floridians to take such bold moves.
You should also be aware that paper consumption is also an important part of protecting our environment. Make sure that your paper purchases are at the highest post-consumer recycled content as possible and you do not purchase from companies that are not making all their paper products ancient forest friendly.
Thanks and keep up the great work!!
Renee