2/24/2009 9:50:55 AM

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By Dawn Schuett
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

HOUSTON -- From recycling to installing solar panels, schools throughout Minnesota are looking for ways to trim costs while becoming more environmentally conscious.

	Greener schools "Healthy Sustainable Schools: Guide for Change," which is available online at www.healthyschools.state.mn.us, lists many things that schools can do to become greener. Here are a few simple suggestions from the guide: • Turn off computers at the end of the day and on weekends. • Start a waste-free lunch program. • Use products made out of recycled materials. • Compost food scraps and other organic solid waste. • Establish a green cleaning program, using supplies that are biodegradable and non-toxic. • To reduce the use of paper, print on both sides. Reuse student handouts when possible or switch to electronic publication.

Many, like Houston Public Schools, have already made changes meant to benefit the bottom line, as well as the health of students and staff. Several years ago, the district was a pilot site for the Healthy Schools initiative of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Richard Bartz, elementary school principal and the district's community education director, said it was the combination of saving money and conserving energy that prompted Houston Public Schools to get involved.

The district implemented a recycling program that in one year kept 8.3 tons of recyclables from the waste stream. An energy control system was installed to adjust heating and ventilation depending on building occupancy, and staff started turning lights off in classrooms when not in use. The district switched to non-toxic cleaners and began purchasing recycled-content paper towels.

Bartz said he doesn't know how much money the district has saved so far, but its next steps are to use less paper and install energy-efficient lights.

Every school can adopt sustainable practices, although it isn't always easy to make them stick, Bartz said.

"It has to be a mindset change," he said.

Due to a lack of funding, Healthy Schools didn't become a program but it led to the "Healthy Sustainable Schools: Guide for Change," which is available through the MPCA. The guide is full of resources for schools and steps they can take to conserve water and energy, build green facilities, improve indoor air quality and reduce, reuse and recycle.

"I'm happy to say some communities are running with it," said Linda Countryman, principal planner in the Prevention and Assistance Division of the MPCA.

Numerous state and national programs exist to help schools become greener, such as Schools for Energy Efficiency, a program created in 2002 by a Minnesota engineering firm, and Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon, a joint program of the Clean Energy Resource Teams, MPCA and Minnesota Office of Energy Security.

Mike Vennewitz is the coordinator of the Minnesota Retired Engineers Technical Assistance Program that offers free assessments to schools, businesses, churches and municipalities to prevent pollution and reduce energy consumption and waste.

Some recommendations, like changing out a boiler or replacing windows, can be expensive, Vennewitz said. Others are simple, low-cost measures, like turning down the thermostat at night and "delamping" a room where fluorescent lighting is too bright.

Dawn Schuett is a Farmington freelance writer.

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