Community Colleges
Resource Management
Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., was honored in the Resource Management category. The community college uses reclaimed water for irrigation on 95 percent of its campus, saving more than 30 million gallons of domestic water annually. Facility staff has also integrated a number of drought-resistant plants and native vegetation into the school’s landscaping.

Energy
The event’s Energy award was given to San Bernardino Community College District, which worked with an energy conservation management firm to reduce its electric consumption by almost 24 million BTUs. The Energy Star partner school also established several LEED-certified buildings and contains one of the state’s largest solar farms.

Curriculum
Established as an institute for workforce development in renewable energy and sustainability, College of the Desert’s Energy Enterprise Center in Palm Springs, Calif. received the event’s Curriculum award for its training in both utility-scale and residential/commercial-scale solar arrays, as well as wind turbine maintenance, advanced lighting controls and other programs. These programs have resulted in many employment and new career opportunities for the region’s unemployed workers.

Green Building
Coastline Community College’s Newport Beach Learning Center offers a variety of courses in a facility that uses the site’s mild climate and balances nature and technology. The building features a rooftop garden, natural ventilation, stormwater management, living walls and optimized daylighting, earning it LEED Gold certification.

Schools
Waste Management
The Oceanside Unified School District was the first in the nation to formally adopt a Zero Waste Schools Resolution, demonstrating both the district and students’ commitment to effective resource management and environmental stewardship. These efforts include sustainable and organic gardening, water and energy conservation, alternative energy projects and environmentally preferable purchasing, impacting approximately 20,000 students.

Water Management
Removing traditionally irrigated lawns and converting them into edible and learning gardens earned the Pasadena Unified School District the Water Management award. The district used the local water utility’s turf removal rebate to install low volume, point source drip irrigation systems throughout the district, with a commitment to making the effort district-wide, reducing both water dependence and the labor and gas needed to maintain turf.

Energy
The Campbell Union School District’s plan to reduce natural resource dependence by 80 to 100 percent earned it the Energy award. Presently, the district has established net zero energy facilities on eight campuses — the first being Blackford School in San Jose. That facility in particular requires no artificial lighting during school hours, and features automated windows and louvers to heat and cool the building. A solar “cool roof” and energy management system lower energy consumption while passive ventilation keeps the building comfortable.

Green Building
La Escuelita Education Center in the Oakland Unified School District is located on the district’s first grid-neutral campus and is a Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) certified facility. The inner city, mixed use K-5 school received one of the state’s highest CHPS ratings thanks to its solar photovoltaic arrays, maximized daylighting and ventilation, and rainwater collection system.

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The new wing of the school, called the Academic Village is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and is a net zero energy building — generating enough power to fulfill 100 percent of its yearly energy requirements.

“We’ve been in our new Gen7 classrooms a few months, and we’ve been saving energy from the very first day,” said Mike Riera, Brentwood School’s Head of School. “Our students are excited to not just learn, but to see and experience what a difference they can make. Gen7 empowers them to do more.”

Since April the Gen7 solar system produced 6.94 MWH of energy, enough to power 229 homes for a day. It offset 4.8 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of planting 123 trees. Over the course of the year, the Brentwood Gen7s are expected to reduce energy usage by 70 percent, while significantly lowering the school’s environmental footprint.
The environmental benefits are impressive but the students at Brentwood will also experience the benefits of learning within the Gen7 classroom.

“The Academic Village provides exactly the type of learning environment that inspires me to create new, engaging lessons for my students,” said Todd Ballaban, Middle Division Teacher.

The classrooms feature skylights along with new technology that allow students to interact virtually. The classrooms include big screen Smartboards that incorporate media into the students’ daily lessons as well as the “green button” that allows them to control the comfort level in the classroom.

“When pressed, the green button stimulates the active flow of natural air into the classroom, one of the incredible designs of the room,” said Ballaban. “Combined with the skylights, this natural airflow can keep students more awake and responsive in class. It’s closer to a fantasy world than any of us would have dreamed.”

The installation of the classrooms took American Modular Systems only 30 days to install. The company has also installed Gen7 classrooms in schools across the country and has received recognition for energy efficiency and sustainability achievements including the (California) Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) for Gen7 Schools.

Award recipients for the GEELA are chosen in 12 different categories based on their strength in eight specific areas including results, transferability, environmental impact, resource conservation, economic progress, innovation and uniqueness, pollution prevention, and environmental justice. Gen7 was one of only 16 winners at the event.

“American Modular Systems is a true leader,” said Secretary for Environmental Protection Matt Rodriquez. “They prove that you can support and promote environmental values without sacrificing your business objectives. They understand that going green can be a successful economic strategy that can also lead to sustainable growth and development.”

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