Green Team Wins "Outstanding Recycling Partnership" Award
The DMS Green Team won the Outstanding Recycling Partnership Award from the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) for their collaboration on the "Huge Recycling Event" that is held in our staff parking lot twice each year. The event is held in conjunction with the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club and Commodity Recycling Solutions. This partnership won because of the unique items that are collected and for the unique partnership between a school, a non-profit and a for-profit company. Items collected vary, but include electronics, textiles, bikes and extruded foam (AKA Styrofoam).
Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club
John MacFarlane, Chair
2104 Washington Ave
Fort Worth, TX 76110
February 13, 2019
Fort Worth Independent School District
Dr. Kent Paredes Scribner,
Superintendent
100 N. University Drive
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Dear Dr. Scribner,
Late last year, the Sierra Club, the oldest and one of the largest environmental non-profits in the country, rolled out a campaign entitled “Our Climate Resolutions-100% Renewable Energy”. The goal of this campaign is to transition our community and our country to 100% renewable energy. As an integral part of the Fort Worth community, the Fort Worth Independent School District (District) educates the majority of school-age children in Fort Worth and surrounding communities and includes 146 campuses, which represents a huge building footprint. Because of this footprint within our community and within every neighborhood, we believe there is a great opportunity for the District to support our community in its transition to renewable energy.
Currently, the North Central Texas region is experiencing the effects of air pollution on our health and the environment, and conditions will not improve without continued action by local communities. As you are aware, the air we breathe can be unhealthy due to high levels of ground level ozone, increasing levels of particulate matter and other pollutants like greenhouse gases. These conditions can place our residents, workforce and visitors at risk – particularly at risk are vulnerable groups, which include the elderly, children and those who suffer from chronic respiratory and pulmonary diseases. Currently, the DFW region is in moderate nonattainment for ozone and will soon be downgraded to serious nonattainment.
We are experiencing the effects of climate change in our community through increased frequency and intensity of heat waves, drought and flooding. This places our critical infrastructure and resources at risk, which includes our schools, roads, and water supply and threatens human health and properties. We feel the District can be a leader and can take more aggressive actions to mitigate these threats and to protect the health and future of our greatest resource, our children.
The Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club is recommending the below action items to help directly and indirectly reduce air pollution, combat the effects of climate change, and reduce impacts to our community.
Recommended Action Items:
- Develop and implement a District Sustainability Plan to support responsible stewardship of energy, water, and other natural resources;
- Adopt and adhere to green building standards, including LEED certifications, for major school renovations and new schools and other District buildings;
- Install or transition schools and other buildings to renewable energy production alternatives which may include solar, wind, geothermal, and others, where reasonable and feasible;
- Purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources and consortiums1 for all District electricity needs not met by on-site renewable energy production;
- Transition the District fleet to electric and hybrid electric vehicles and support electric vehicle infrastructure throughout the community;
- Support sustainability as an economic, environmental, and social priority to be taught and practiced throughout the District; and
- Roll out a District-wide tree planting campaign to plant new or replacement trees on all school campuses to mitigate the urban heat island effect.
We encourage the District and its partners to work together to reduce emissions of air pollutants and to encourage the District to improve energy efficiency and conservation. Working to create a more sustainable District will benefit the community for generations to come. In addition, these recommendations will have economic benefits.
Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club representatives would like the opportunity to visit with you and your staff to discuss how we can collaborate to increase sustainability and transition the District to renewable energy. We need your support to help implement these strategies, as we work together to make the Fort Worth Independent School District the most sustainable in the country and our community the most livable in the country.
Sincerely,
Chair, GFWSC
CC:
Art Cavazos, Chief of District Operations
Ashley Paz, District 9 Trustee
