Sustainable Oregon Schools Topic Teams

Topic Teams

Topic Team Roles

Teams will have the following primary tasks:

Create a vision and definition of sustainability for that topic.
Develop sustainable criteria, with metrics, in that topic area. This will build on existing knowledge, if any, that already exists for that topic.
Identify and develop case-studies and best practices and other resources that will help schools meet these criteria.

These steps are further detailed in the following file.

TT Overview and Workplan 070618.pdf

Timeline

A schedule for the topic teams has been prepared, but could change due to topic team progress and the availability of financial and staff resources. Download a copy of the tentative Topic Teams schedule.

Join a Topic Team and Help Build the Initiative

You can choose to participate in one or more Topic Teams. Members will include topic specialists, school representatives and other stakeholder participants. The topic areas are listed below. It is anticipated that Topic Teams will have about 5 meetings over 2-3 months. Meetings will be in person or by conference call.

To join a team(s) or learn more about teams contact Lori Stole, 503-307-4067 or lstole@zerowaste.org.

Many areas impact school sustainability, some of which are listed below. The Sustainable Oregon Schools Initiative participants will develop these topics in-depth through topic teams.

Note: Topic Areas in Bold indicate that the team has been formed.

Category

Topic Area

Details

FACILITIES & OPERATIONS

Buildings/Facilities

New construction, building operations and maintenance

Landscaping

Landscaping design and maintenance

Indoor Environment/Toxics

IAQ (indoor air quality), chemical management (pesticides, cleaning, lab, other)

Energy

Amount and source of all energy used

Water

Water coming to and from facility, both piped and naturally.

Material

Waste prevention, recycling, product stewardship

SYSTEMS AND SERVICES

Food and Wellness

Choices and sources of foods, Wellness policies, food gardens, farm to school, fitness

Transportation

School vehicles, maintenance shop practices, alternative transportation options

Purchasing

Sustainability of goods and services, product stewardship, purchasing infrastructure; bulk and cooperative purchasing

Managing Sustainability

System and Framework to guide overall progress toward sustainability

COMMUNITY & CULTURE

Community Involvement

Community support to school, learning opportunities in community, partnerships, school outreach to community

Cultural Proficiency

Student and staff diversity, cultural understanding, language, communication

EDUCATION

Student/Teacher Sustainability Education

Formal (classroom), non-formal (outside classroom) and informal education (school environment), service learning

Sustainability Education for Non-instructional Staff

Opportunities and needs for sustainability education for staff (operations, administration)

School sustainability is also impacted by other areas including: school funding, school budget issues, land use planning, equity, non-sustainability-related curriculum, student performance, student readiness for kindergarten and more. Topic teams are not currently planned in these areas.