ST. PAUL, Minn.—Wold Architects and Engineers of St. Paul has a slate of school construction projects planned, both within the capital region as well as in cities throughout the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Wold is working on renovating older facilities as well as constructing new ones to reduce overcrowding.

Wold’s projects include White Bear Lake High School, to be located in the community also called White Bear Lake, as well as other high schools in Tartan, Oakdale, Owatonna and Mora.

Each of the schools designed by Wold will offer flexible learning spaces (the wisdom of which the covid-19 pandemic has made clear), learning studios and classrooms devoted specifically to technical education.

At White Bear Lake High School, Wold is renovating 285,000 square feet of existing educational space as well working on a 375,000-square-foot addition. When finished, the complement of students that the high school can comfortably house will be over 3,000. A three-story classroom will exist side by side with an 800-seat auditorium, athletics fieldhouse, student commons and specialty laboratories.

The new building, being built by general contractor Kraus-Anderson, will house technical and training programs to help students work toward potential careers in vocational and other courses. The addition is expected to be complete for the fall of 2024.

In addition to White Bear Lake High School, Wold is also working on renovations and upgrades to Tartan and North High Schools (ISD 622), Owatonna High School and Mora High School (ISD 332).

“As a local firm, we are proud to lead the design of these five high schools to ensure that the academic environment is positioned to help students, educators and faculty thrive,” Vaughn Dierks, partner at Wold Architects and Engineers, said in a recent statement. “Each of these school designs has been tailored to the goals of the district, and our team has worked hard to collaboratively create both functional and beautiful spaces that will help accomplish those goals.”

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Early in April, 1,000 attendees gathered in St. Paul, Minn., to celebrate the role of schools in fostering the next generation of sustainability leaders at the . The event, which is produced by the (USGBC), offered two days of educational sessions, case studies, hands-on workshops and lectures from today’s green school experts. For those that missed it, here are the top three highlights from the show:

��USGBC unveils new program for teaching STEM in K12 schools

The program is equipped with standards-aligned lessons about sustainability and a state-of-the-art online building management dashboard. It brings together a core team of school facilities personnel, educators and volunteer green building professionals to engage students in real-world energy, water, waste, transportation and environmental health investigations of their school.

Teachers, administrators and facility managers can . Schools can also “claim” their buildings to start using the digital dashboard for tracking sustainability performance.

The program builds on a that was conducted with a handful of schools and districts across the nation using the digital benchmarking tool . There are currently more than 110 schools using Arc to measure and teach school sustainability.

First student-led LEED v4.1 project in Minnesota achieves LEED Gold

Students and alumni of the in Apple Valley, Minnesota, celebrated the LEED certification of their school building with a plaque ceremony during the Opening Plenary. A cohort of 45 students led a multi-year effort, with the assistance of 25 local green building professionals. This is the first certified project to be driven by students in the state.

“The project overall has given a voice to students, inspiring advocacy and action,” said , senior vice president at USGBC, during the ceremony. “They are truly a shining beacon of what’s possible when you let students take the lead.”

Best of Green Schools, Green Apple Day of Service Award Winners Announced

For the second year in a row, winners of the 2019 Best of Green Schools and Green Apple Day of Service awards were recognized onstage during conference proceedings.

��The represent the best environmental efforts in schools across the country and highlight national leaders in school sustainability.��They are co-presented by USGBC’s Center for Green Schools and the .

“These honorees truly embody the value of stewardship,” said��, director, Center for Green Schools at USGBC in a release. “The work they have done to advance environmental literacy and the quality of the spaces where learning takes place, is so impactful. Youth everywhere are inspiring what the future of our world should look like and we are committed to supporting them in that effort.”

Best of Green Schools honorees include:

• Ambassador Award:��, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (Madison, Wisconsin)
• Business Leader Award:��(Houston, Texas)
• Collaborator Award:��, Florida Atlantic University (West Palm Beach, Florida)
• Higher Education Institution Award:��(Lincoln, Nebraska)
• K12 School Award:��(Baltimore, Maryland)
• School System Award:��(South San Francisco, California)
• Student Leader Award:��Ella Culton,��(West Greenwich, Rhode Island)
• Transformation Award:��(Ithaca, New York)
• Policymaker Award:��, Albuquerque Public Schools (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

The recognize outstanding K12 sustainability service learning projects and leaders. The winners are:

• Deep Impact Award: ��(Guatemala City, Guatemala)

• Creative Approach Award: ��(New Haven, Connecticut)

• Broad Engagement Award: ��(Rome, Chieti and Pescara, Italy)

��The location of the 2020 Green Schools Conference and call for proposals will be announced soon. Learn more at .

Amanda Sawit serves as the Communications Manager for the USGBC.

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Minnesota and the entire Midwest is an emerging leader in the green building movement, and the local community is embracing schools as the future of sustainable leadership in the region. Minnesota alone has more than 30 LEED certified K-12 schools, totaling more that 3 million square feet of space. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world.

At the conference, attendees will be able to participate in dozens of informative education sessions that will cover buildings and health, sustainability in the classroom, climate-centric solutions, sustainable collaboration and more. In addition, the conference will host a luncheon to announce the recipients of the Best of Green Schools and Green Apple Day of Service awards. The and below is a preview of the events taking place during the conference about which we’re most excited!

Inspiring Keynote Speakers

This year’s keynote speakers will share unique stories about how they are helping to reinvigorate communities and the way people perceive sustainability in the age of climate change.

Emmanuel Pratt, co-founder and executive director of the��, will kick off the GSCE conference on April 8. The Sweet Water Foundation is a Chicago-based organization that transforms vacant spaces and abandoned buildings into economically and ecologically productive and sustainable community assets. Pratt’s professional and academic work has involved explorations and investigations on such topics as architecture, urbanization, race and identity, and gentrification. Most recently he has focused on advancing community economic development through food security and sustainable design.

Zaria Forman, who will provide the keynote speech at the joint GSCE and IMPACT plenary on April 9, documents climate change with . She travels to remote regions of the world to collect images and inspiration for her work, which is exhibited in venues around the world and acts as a visual representation of the natural world we stand to lose as a result of climate change. She has flown with NASA on several����missions over Antarctica, Greenland and Arctic Canada, inspiring her art.

Women in Green Power Hour

Celebrating the “Culture of Courage,” this year’s on April 8 will invite discussion around leadership and overcoming the challenges women face in the workplace today. Featuring Dr. Tara Kulkarni, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Global Resilience and Security at Norwich University, Women in Green will explore how women in the green building and education fields can lead with purpose and drive a culture of courage, creativity and progress in the workplace.

Best of Green Schools and Green Apple Day of Service Awards Luncheon

Every year, GSCE recognizes and celebrates schools from across the country that show exceptional leadership in education and sustainability at the Best of Green Schools awards, as well as those that participated in exemplary service projects to advance sustainability in their schools with the Green Apple Day of Service awards. The joint awards luncheon will take place on April 8.

USGBC’s CEO Shares the Latest Green Building Research

Perceptions of sustainability are constantly changing. To tackle this and determine the best way to communicate the importance of green building to different audiences, including students, USGBC has commissioned to conduct independent nationwide research on the public’s view of the environment. During the GSCE and IMPACT joint plenary on April 9, USGBC President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam, along with ClearPath Strategies founder David Bluestone, will discuss the ongoing research and initial findings regarding the public’s feelings and perceptions on sustainability and how we should be telling our story.

Expo Hall and Education Sessions

Featuring over 50 unique exhibitors, the GSCE x IMPACT Exhibit Hall is the place to meet with industry leaders. From the Networking Lunch to Happy Hour in the Hall, there are ample opportunities to meet with fellow experts dedicated to the sustainable development of schools. The Exhibit Hall will also feature the��GBCI��Certification Work Zone, where an expert will be on hand to discuss specific projects and answer questions about��LEED.

The conference will feature 59 thought-provoking education sessions for attendees to select between, including topics on student-driven sustainability leadership and incorporating whole school sustainability, among others. Attendees can also participate in��, which are short, 20-minute sessions encourage focused discussion of critical issues related to sustainability.

There’s still time to register for the conference, so , and join us for two days of education, networking and inspiration!

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