Be a Forward Thinker. Take the greenprint challenge.
Q: What is the "Greenprint challenge"?
Q. How do you create a Greenprint?
Q: How do you publish your Greenprint?
Q. What is the benefit of publishing a Greenprint?
Q. Will it take a lot of time?
Q: Are there suggested guidelines?
What is the "Greenprint challenge"?
The Greenprint challenge encourages your school to develop and publish a plan or "Greenprint" for earning the Green Ribbon Schools award each year. Your plan should address your school's current year's goals, actions, projects and a schedule for completing each project/goal.
How do you create a Greenprint?
It's simple. Check out the suggested Greenprint Guidelines and have your committee develop a plan for each GRS cornerstone. This is a great opportunity for your students to get involved (recycling/ecology club, wellness club, etc.). Working together you can create a healthier, happier campus.
Once completed, publish the information on the GRS website by November 1st, to qualify for the Forward Thinker Badge.
Before starting your Greenprint, check out these published Greenprint's from other schools for guidance:
- Schuylerville Central School District Greenprint Proposal (New York)
- Willis Lane Elementary's GreenPrint (Texas)
- Ascension Catholic School's Greenprint (Florida)
How do you publish your Greenprint?
To publish a Greenprint follow the steps below:
- Start your Greenprint Project:
- Login to the GRS website and click on the START NEW PROJECT button (on your MY PROJECTS page)
- In the Project Name blank type "Greenprint Challenge - your school name"
- Choose "Natural Classrooms -> Leadership" from the "Cornerstone: Category" pull down
- Choose "Greenprint" from the SUBCATEGORY pull down.
- Complete all of the other items on this page
- Build your Greenprint Results Page:
- On the Project Dashboard for your Greenprint project you will see the Results Builder near the bottom. Insert all of the details of your Greenprint in the Results Builder following the Greenprint Guidelines.
- Once you have entered all of your Greenprint information, as well as any supporting images and videos, click the SUBMIT PAGE button.
- Publish your Greenprint Results Page: (must publish for it to be considered complete)
- When you click the SUBMIT PAGE button in Step 2b you will get a pop up asking for a description of the project, which displays with your published project in the public search results. (Example Description: This project shows the Greenprint for School Name and how we plan to accomplish our GRS Award and sustainability goals this year).
- Teachers Only: Once you have entered the description, click the PUBLISH button and you are done! You can also PUBLISH results for this particular project in the PROJECT PAGES section of this Project Dashboard page. Locate the PUBLISH tab here in the PROJECT PAGES section, and then location the submitted page in the list and clicking PUBLISH in the Actions column.
- To see your published project in the public area of the site, locate your school name in the PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS list and click on it, or search "Greenprint School Name" using the SEARCH blank on the PUBLISHED PROJECTS page.
WHAT NEXT: Through-out the year, for each project you have planned in your Greenprint, you will Start a New Project on the GRS website, create a results page for it and then publish that results page. You will do this for each Greenprint project you achieve in the 4 cornerstones. Make sure to start your Projects under the correct Cornerstone, on the START PROJECT page, using your Greenprint as a guide. Also, make sure to add photos and video of your projects in their results pages, so they qualify for the Green Ribbon Schools award.
What is the benefit of publishing a Greenprint?
The first and most important step to accomplishing your goals is to develop a plan. By creating a plan you will be well-positioned for a successful year and accomplishing not only your GRS goals, but making your school a healthier and happier campus. Those schools who publish their plan by November 1st are awarded:
- The "Forward Thinker" Award, which includes a "Forward Thinker" badge next to their name on the Participating Schools page of the Green Ribbon Schools website, as well as a "Forward Thinker" badge on your school's profile.
- All schools who upload a completed Greenprint by November 1st will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card that can be used to help accomplish your Greenprint plan.
- Any school who includes the Healthivores Video Game Contest into their Greenprint, AND has one or more students publish a completed Healthivores Video Game, will be entered into a drawing for a free AMD powered Laptop.
Additionally, your plan can help encourage and lead other schools who may be struggling with goals and ideas. Those who implement their plans will also be considered for the Featured School section of the GRS homepage, GRS Blog, and GRS' Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages.
Not really. The majority of the time will be spent developing your plan. Once it's developed it should only take 15-20 minutes to publish the plan on the GRS website. After that, it's just a matter of implementing your plans, publishing your cornerstone projects and earning your GRS Award.
Are there suggested guidelines?
There sure are. You can download the Greenprint Guidelines word document HERE.
