Building Sustainability Curriculum in Schools

In March 2012, CGBF received $1000 in funding from the Community Festival (ComFest) Grants for a new program to educate Middle School students about Sustainable building practices through STEM based learning. Teachers at Starling Middle School had requested assistance with integrating STEM based learning concepts in the Middle School curriculum through education on Sustainable building practices.

CGBF collaborated with American Institute of Architects (AIA)’s Pads for Paws program to provide knowledge to middle schoolers on sustainable building strategies such as clean energy alternatives, energy conserving practices and sustainable community planning and design. CGBF’s Meera Parthasarathy and AIA’s Marcia Conrad volunteered their time on this project.

They met with the Starling MS teachers and students on numerous occasions from November 2011-June 2012. The method of education was interactive hands-on sessions, videos, classroom discussion and Q&A sessions aimed to engage the students. In the months from April-June, the students designed and physically built full-scale dog-houses that integrated sustainable features including the purchase and use of recycled materials.

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