from the ground up - The Tyee

How Green School Buildings Help Children GrowStudents and teachers are more healthy and productive in sustainably-builtschools, research shows.By Katie HyslopArticle first published on February 9, 2011 by TheTyee.ca.When the provincial government decided all newschool buildings must meet the LEED Gold standardin 2008, the motive was making B.C. theprovince with the first carbon-neutral governmentin Canada, with the added benefit of saving schooldistricts some energy costs.But new avenues of research into the effects of schoolbuildings on human health and productivity are producingevidence that the government’s move towardsgreener schools could be producing healthier, moreproductive and more environmentally aware students.A tale of a green DickensThe new Charles Dickens Elementary School was thefirst to achieve LEED Silver status in the VancouverSchool District when it opened in May 2008; however,the government wasn’t enforcing LEED Goldcertification then, so the district had to use their ownfunds to reach their goal.*Some of the green features include an undergroundrainwater cistern for non-potable water, geothermalrods that mine the earth’s heat to warm and cool thebuilding, and electronic sensors that monitor thenumber of people in the room to determine how muchlight and heat is required.But while the custodial staff estimates significantenergy savings in comparison to the old buildings-- as much as 50 per cent less gas than previouslyrequired -- there is little more than anecdotal evidencethe building is producing healthier, more productivestudents and teachers.“I think the air quality is definitely different, I noticedthat right away from all the buildings that I’ve workedin,” says principal Kathy O’Sullivan.“And we do have some sickness, colds and the occasionalflu, which is during certain seasons, but I don’tsee a high absenteeism due to illness, so I think that’sa positive thing. I do see less dust and dirt.”Researchers in Canada and the U.S. want to turnanecdotes into hard facts by monitoring the affects ofnatural light, air quality, and acoustics on children’sability to learn, and as a result are discovering manyrequirements of sustainable structures are meetingthe educational and health needs of children far betterthan traditional buildings can.Let there be (natural) lightWhen Dickens was under construction, the Ministryof Education required at least 10 per cent of classroomwalls to be windows. But the designers at Stan-55