“The Boulder Valley School District is committed to becoming a leader in environmental sustainability by creating healthy learning environments, while providing students with the skills to address the systemic challenges faced by the world in this new century.”
- greenBVSD Mission Statement

The Boulder Valley School District is building on 20 plus years of environmental stewardship and embracing environmental sustainability at a new level. The district hired a Sustainability Coordinator in the summer of 2008 and created a Sustainability Management System in the 2008/2009 school year. In doing this, BVSD is better coordinating existing efforts, as well as defining goals and visions around sustainability at a district level for the first time. 

Two of BVSD’s longest standing green programs are the district-wide recycling program, run by Eco-cycle, and the award-winning alternative transportation program. Eco-cycle offers educational presentations and field trips on numerous environmental topics and provides on-site collection for recyclables and compost. 

Green Events!

• Click HERE to see a list of the third annual Earth Day Superintendent's Honor Roll winners.
• Click HERE to see a summary of the 2012 Green Schools National Conference and Boulder Valley School District's pre-conference tour.
  

Other program highlights include:

• Learn more about BVSD’s switch to multi-function devices for printing and copying needs and other green printing tips by clicking here.
  
• A wind turbine was installed at Nederland Middle/Senior High School. The 2.4 kW turbine will power lights and science curriculum. Read the full press release here.
• The BVSD School Board approved a power purchase agreement that will provide 16 BVSD schools with Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Energy. Read the press release here.
• Click the "Turn Off the Juice" sticker (at right) to get stickers for your school or office.
• February 2011 was "Green Month," a month in which all BVSD high schools were encouraged to compete to reduce energy consumption. The idea of "green month" was inspired by students on SAAC (the Student Accountability Advisory Committee) and supported by the Board of Education. Click here to see results and more information about the contest
• The S.U.P.E.R. Summit (SUPER=Students Understanding Personal Environmental Responsibility) held on November 11 was a great success (click here to watch the S.U.P.E.R Summit YouTube video). More than 70 students and mentors, representing eight high schools, gathered at Casey Middle School to collaborate, celebrate and plan around sustainability at their schools. Click here to read more about the event! 
• Check out Casey Middle School! Casey was designed to the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, making it one of the greenest schools in the nation! Click here to learn more about the green features at Casey and to see live data from the building. 
• BVSD was recognized as one of Xcel Energy's top four 2010 Efficiency Partner award winners.
• We completed a report detailing green design in our phase I bond projects. Find the press release here and find the report in its entirety here.
• We were able to divert from landfills much of the furniture coming out of our schools (due to bond upgrades) for reuse and recycling through partnerships with Resource and our incredible warehouse staff. We received some positive press on these efforts which you can read about here. Channel 9 news also did a story on our successful efforts to reuse and recycle furniture.
• Thanks to a partnership with and funding from Boulder County and the City of Boulder, we are thrilled to announce a pilot staff Eco Pass at no charge to employees at nine schools. The district will contribute a small portion of the cost as part of our on-going wellness efforts. This has been a long sought after benefit by many district employees and is a great opportunity for staff at participating schools. It is also an opportunity for the district to learn how our employees might utilize and benefit from having an Eco Pass.
• We have had two schools, Superior Elementary and Ryan Elementary, partner with the American Lung Association to run pilot anti-idling campaigns (CASEO). Both schools showed successful results in reducing the amount of parked vehicles with idling engines and we are working to find another pilot school this year.  We hope to use lessons learned from these schools to eventually extrapolate district-wide.  Thanks to parent volunteers from the schools and the American Lung Association for their support of this program.
  An Xcel Energy grant to participate in a retro-commissioning study, or energy “tune up," at Centaurus High School. 
• BVSD has been selected by Xcel as a primary participant in Xcel’s new Smart Grid program. Xcel will be placing smart grid meters on all BVSD schools in the City of Boulder. This will give us more accurate billing data, and very timely information about how our buildings are using electricity, which will be invaluable for future energy education campaigns.
• BVSD is partnering with the Center for Resource Conservation’s “Renew our Schools” Program to award, via a grant application process, solar arrays to BVSD schools in Boulder County. Two buildings, Aurora 7 (High Peaks and BCSIS) and Arapahoe Ridge, were awarded free 10kW photovoltaic (PV) systems in the 2008/2009 school year. Three buildings, Fireside Elementary, Flatirons Elementary and Monarch K8, were awarded free 10KW photovoltaic (PV) systems in the 2009/2010 school year. Click here to see live data and learn more.
• A transition to the use of green cleaning products in all schools
• A switch to paperless distribution of newsletters and documents in many departments
• Use of greener business practices in daily operations
• Selection of BVSD as a pilot school district for Integrated Pest Management practices
• A pilot education campaign in partnership with New Vista High School. We are working with an enthusiastic group of students and teachers at the school, and have the support of their Principal, Kirk Quitter. Click here to find out more about New Vista's Earth Task Force. Stay tuned for more news on this project, which we hope to expand to other BVSD schools in the coming years.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments on this initiative, and look for the green BVSD logo to signify efforts that fall under the umbrella of environmental sustainability.