Going Green at South Middle School in Arlington Heights Illinois
Our 8th grade students have really been impressive in their effort to help the school district save money along with seeking out ways for the school to use more sustainable energy. Last year’s students were originally presented with a problem to look for ways to reduce energy use and cost in our school. One of their solutions was to use energy-saving lights. Thanks to an administration that listens to students and the generous support of the Lutron lighting company, our classroom is now fitted with a balance LC system that measures the sunlight coming in the room to determine the amount of electric light needed. That system has resulted in a 50% savings in energy use and is part of a new Lutron program involving schools nationwide called Greenovation. (For more information about Greenovation you can visit www.lutron.com/greenovation).
The students were also interested in capturing solar energy. We had Mr. Jay Bingaman from Thomas school visit to explain how their solar array worked and the process he went through to get funding from Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The ambitious group of students followed up by writing a grant for South. Again with the support of administration we were able to receive the grant and enjoy our new array. This year’s students have been inspired to follow in the path of the previous class. They are currently working on an application for the Ecozone Contest for $100,000.
CBS News Chicago did a report on our entry process. (To see a copy of the CBS piece go to
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=52486@wbbm.dayport.com).
Since both our panel and lighting system will be connected to a web site, we can monitor both energy use and production. Our students will be monitoring each sustainable effort to make appropriate decisions in regards to changes we will make in the future. We will also be planning our Solar Celebration for April 9.
Our students are having a tremendous impact in reducing our school’s carbon footprint as they show leadership and creativity in their efforts.
April 15th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I’m working on a project called the Smart Cities Initiative, which will be a multimedia website tracking progress being made today toward smarter, more sustainable cities tomorrow. This is a non-profit project, and the website is being hosted by a prominent national environmental group (not permitted to release info at this point). We are seeking certain images of the top-ranked U.S. cities that demonstrate the progress they have made toward urban benchmarks such as clean air and water, green spaces, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation.
We will be doing a section on Arlington Heights, and I was wondering if we you might have a photo of the students’ environmental efforts which we might use?
Thank you so much,
Jody Potter
August 6th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
good read