This is a guest post by Kristina von Hoffmann, Southern California’s Senior Educator for ACE.

A green school is a happy school. In fact, it’s been shown that student performance can improve up to 25% when special attention is given to the design and lighting of a school campus.[i] Green schools are also healthier schools, reducing the risk of asthma and respiratory disease caused by unsafe ventilation and the use of toxic products. Add that to the fact that buildings in the U.S. (including schools) consume 42% of the nation’s energy, and you’ve already got three great reasons to green your campus.[ii]

Global Green USA’s Green School Makeover Challenge wants to help your school become a safer, sustainable place to be. They’ve got $65,000 up for grabs (plus $65,000 more in technical assistance) for the school with the best plan for renovation. Nice! In addition, three runners-up will be awarded $2500 towards their plans for a cleaner, greener campus.

There’s endless ways to improve your school. Global Green has some great ideas to get you started:

A SCHOOL GARDEN – A 5,000 square foot plot can be transformed into a fruit and vegetable garden, an insect garden, a compost garden, or just a general planter area. Students can explore the solar energy, water, plant and soil cycles on a daily basis to truly experience a living system. By investigating the many aspects of gardening and agriculture in a garden, students benefit from knowledge in scientific methodology, math and measurement skills, and appreciation for the balance of nature.

WATER CONSERVATION – Water saving bathroom fixtures and low sink aerators can help preserve water. Install a Living Machine, a diversity of microorganisms which treats wastewater before returning it to the watershed, which is gentler on the environment and provides a learning resource for students.

GREEN ROOF – Capture water and cool down buildings by planting densely packed plants on classroom roofs.

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY UPGRADES – Reduce asthma and other respiratory triggers by replacing current indoor materials with formaldehyde-free acoustical ceiling tiles made from newsprint, recycled-content carpet with low VOC emissions and adhesives, thermal insulation made from recycled glass, and more.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES – Install new Energy Star HVAC systems, replace all incandescent light bulbs with high-efficiency, and more.

At ACE, you know we love spending quality time in schools as much as we love curbing CO2 emissions and saving resources. If only we could apply…

To do so, the deadline is September 30^th – that’s right around the corner! So get started today and enter to win the chance to win some green to go green. Click here to learn more: http://tinyurl.com/greenschoolcontest

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[i] http://www.globalgreen.org/greenurbanism/schools/

[ii] http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/13/317310/reinventing-fire/