Officials from all over the state arrived via bus at Los Altos High School last week to tour the school and its lauded environmental and wellness initiatives as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Strides Tour, which featured schools in Northern and Central California that received the Green Ribbon award in recent years.
Each year fewer than 50 schools nationwide earn the federal award, which honors schools, districts and postsecondary institutions for work to reduce environmental impact and costs, improve health and wellness, and offer effective sustainability education.
Los Altos High won the award in 2021 due in large part to efforts by the school’s Green Team, which spearheaded the application process. As the tour demonstrated, however, sustainability and wellness practices branch from all facets of the school, with students, staff, administrators and committees including the school’s Go Green Sustainability Committee working to address everything from curriculum to replacement of single-use materials at events, transportation infrastructure, energy use and building practices.
“Los Altos High School has long been a leader in environmental initiatives, focusing on all areas of our school operations, from purchasing to energy conservation to recycling to the generation of clean, green energy,” said Los Altos High principal Tracey Runeare.
Green Team members escorted local officials and leaders from the federal and state DOE around campus Sept. 20, stopping at various stations where staff and community partners explained the impact sustainability initiatives have made in given areas.
Mountain View Los Altos High School District trustee Thida Cornes was particularly struck by how the award included health initiatives and was happy to see the way the revamped mental health wellness center came together, noting that it was a “really welcoming space.”
Another highlight was the school’s science program, which boasts traditional science pathways, every Advanced Placement course and unique classes such as Agricultural Ecology and Biotechnology. The classes lend themselves to being taught from the angle of valuing environmental sustainability. Much work has been done on the school’s garden in the past few years, and students in this year’s Agricultural Ecology class are working on a permaculture project that will develop a multistep process to turn the school’s food waste into compost tea that will go back into feeding plants in the garden.
“I loved hearing what they’re doing in the curriculum and academics, because I think a lot of times there’s some resistance to teaching about sustainability and climate change,” said Jennifer Mutch, science coordinator with the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
Prioritizing sustainability
The tour also showcased efforts to encourage walking and biking to school, including implementing innovative – yet controversial – bike lane infrastructure that boosts safety for cyclists and discourages car drop-off. Construction of the new student services building eliminated some parking spots that administrators initially planned to reinstall after completion of the project but ultimately decided to drop altogether. The school also denies student parking passes to students who live within 1.5 miles of school to encourage walking, biking and/or carpooling. Since 2014, such policy changes and programs have led to a 58% increase in students cycling to school, and an estimated 26% of commuters riding to school on a bike, scooter or skateboard.
With all of the new construction underway on campus, school leaders focused on making each building as environmentally friendly as possible. From the building materials to the windows and insulation, both the new classrooms and the student services building are LEED certified. Additionally, canopy panels provide 55% of the school’s energy needs, and Silicon Valley Clean Energy supplies the rest.
The rigorous Green Ribbon application process began in 2019, and Los Altos High received the designation in 2021. Many of this year’s Green Team members were freshmen or sophomores when the award was bestowed and credit past generations of the club for the honor. No one is resting on their laurels, though – club members are currently working to build on past environmental efforts and pursue new ways to bring sustainability to campus.
“We’re really happy to have the award as a springboard for future initiatives,” said Green Team co-president Aarthi Venkatraman.
Later that day, the club sponsored a sustainable food tasting during lunch where other students could try out plant-based alternatives that leave less of an environmental footprint. Green Team co-president Kelsey Nguyen is spearheading an initiative to find more sustainable options for single-use items in the science lab.
For more information on the Los Altos High Green Team, visit instagram.com/lahsgreenteam.
