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Sustainability action process – Step 2
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Shade provided by trees and vegetation can reduce heat in the surrounding area.
Explore actions and behaviours that students and teachers can adopt to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality whilst reducing energy use.
Record your ideas, proposals and reflections in your learning journal.
Generate ideas and explore options for actions
Generate ideas and explore options for actions
- What have other schools done to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality in a sustainable way?
- What types of action do we want to take?
- How will we know if the changes we make have been successful in using energy more sustainably?
Opening windows enables natural ventilation. Unsplash | Public domain
Passive heating and cooling
- Find out how trees and other green cover reduce urban heat, provide shade, cool surfaces and clean the air.
- Read the article 'heat island' effect.
- Read chapter two in Environmental design in schools to find out about showcase examples of passive strategies and environmental design in schools.
Closing blinds can help keep indoor spaces cool.
Energy saving at school
- Read case studies of how some Eco-schools have approached energy and sustainability issues.
- Explore energy saving tips.
- List innovative ways to manage thermal comfort and indoor air quality sustainably. Try a silent debate to collect reactions.
Environmental design of schools can help manage the thermal comfort of its occupants.
Design comfortable, healthy, sustainable spaces
- Use Minecraft or Sketchup to design a school building based on environmental principles and passive design strategies as described in chapter one of Environmental design in schools.
- Brainstorm some environmental design adaptations for your existing school buildings that will improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Refer to chapter three of Environmental design in schools for suggestions.
- Identify actions that enable natural ventilation, such as opening windows on opposite sides of a space for cross-ventilation.
A traffic light system is a visual way to sustainably manage air quality and thermal comfort in a Cooler Classrooms school.
Cooler classrooms program
- Discuss how the idea of regulating thermal comfort using the traffic light system can be expanded beyond the schools that are part of the Cooler classrooms program.
- Read the Spotlight on sustainabilty for NSW schools to learn more about passive heating and cooling.
Identify resources and constraints
Identify resources and constraints
- Who might be available to help us?
- What time and finances are available for the project?
- What might limit our actions?
- Who might be available to help us?
Create a project mind map
- Map out different aspects of your project, the information or knowledge you need and the people or locations that can provide support.
List people who can assist
- List your team and those in the school that will help and provide advice. Remember your school's Parents and Citizens (P&C) Association, local businesses and local council.
- Collate responses from your item in the school newsletter calling for parent helpers. Were there any teachers interested in helping?
Identify costs
- Do you have a budget or have you worked out any costs?
- Check to see if there are any grants available you could apply for to help your project.
- Create a spreadsheet listing actions with corresponding costs and resources needed.
Identify opportunities and issues
- Consider and list issues that may arise that could affect your plan.
Investigate funding options
- Identify grants and funding sources such as Environmental Trust grants.
- Public schools can also access Schools Infrastructure sustainable school grants.
Select ideas for action
Select ideas for action
- What type of actions in our school will improve thermal comfort and reduce the energy we use?
- How can we select a great idea?
- What will we do?
Seek advice about sustainable options.iStock
Determine ideas
- In groups, plan and draw a few different ideas for sustainably managing thermal comfort at school. Try Google Jamboard as a tool to collate ideas and impacts.
- Learn how to make decisions in your project planning. Being able to suggest, argue and agree on an idea or plan is an important part of planning.
Work together to describe your proposal.
Select best options
- Select the best option using a decision-making tool such as the decision matrix analysis. How can your team rank a proposal if you don’t all agree?
- Work together to describe your team's proposal. Use systems thinking tools or flow charts to refine your understandings of impacts of the proposal.
- Write your brief or agreed action in your learning journal.
Have you now decided your team's proposal?
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