The Green Flag School Program

A Project of Childproofing Our Communities Campaign

The Center for Health, Environment and Justice

Helping you make Your School Safe Through Investigation, Education, Innovation and Action

What Is the Green Flag School Program?

• An environmental leadership program

• Advances leadership, exploration, public speaking, and team work skills

• Integrates environmental education into class subjects

• A great way to raise school pride

• Creates healthier schools!

How Does It Work?

• A national awards program

• Includes materials, technical resources, guidance and support

• Focuses on creating and improving environmental programs and policies

How Does It Work?

• Schools form a group • Investigate their school• Develop creative and proactive solutions to

environmental issues• Use materials created by the Green Flag

program and on their own• Educate their communities through example

Children Are More Vulnerable to Chemicals

• Children’s systems are still developing

• Children eat more food, drink more fluids, and breath more air per pound of body weight

• Children behave like children

• Chemical exposure regulations are based on the average healthy adult’s age, weight, consumption and activities

Preventable Health Risks in Schools and Homes

• Indoor air quality • Cleaning products• Art supplies• Science materials• Mold

• Pesticides, Herbicides and Fungicides

• Diesel fumes • Ventilation and air

circulation

What Sort of Issues Do Schools Work on?

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Integrated Pest Management

• Indoor Air Quality

• Non-Toxic Products

Each Issue Area Has Four Levels:

Level one:• Form a team, investigate the school environment, select an

issue area.

Level two:• Look closely at the issue area, make presentations to teach

others, and hold group meetings.

Level three:• Learn about the issue, develop and pass a program or policy

change.

Level four: • Support the new program or policy by publicizing it.

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Each Issue Area

Indoor Air Quality

Health Effects of Poor Indoor Air Quality

• Asthma• Respiratory infections• Learning disabilities• Difficulty concentrating• Stomach illnesses, nausea, dizziness• Kidney or liver damage• Sick Building Syndrome• Full effects still unknown

Clean Air Inside and Out!

Use odorless and non-toxic cleaning, maintenance and school supplies.

Use low VOC paint, and only apply when students are not in session.

Keep the school dry. Ventilate rooms well.

Prevent roaches and other pests.

Control dust and construction debris.

Eliminate exposure to tobacco smoke.

Create no-idling zones.

Asthma

• One in every 15 kids has asthma

• Asthma is the #1 reason for absenteeism from school

• Between 1982 and 1994 asthma increased by 72% among US children

• Asthma cases are projected to double by 2010

Actual Costs of Asthma

• Direct costs to state from 100,000 childhood asthma cases:• Annually: between $10 and $35 million• Direct costs plus estimated future costs:

between $14 and $50 million

Disproportionate Effects

• Asthma related hospitalizations are disproportionately higher, and growing faster in inner-city areas

• Minority communities suffer higher rates of asthma

• Severity of asthma attacks increases with poor indoor and outdoor air quality

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Each Issue Area

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management

• Pesticides are used to control unwanted pests, plants and fungus

• Pesticides are poisons

• Often used regularly, instead of in response to an actual pest problem

• Often applied when kids are in school and without notice

Integrated Pest Management

• Pesticides are breathed in when they are applied

• Chemicals remain on surfaces for a long time

• Children come into contact with these chemicals through daily activities

• 74% of households also use pesticides

Integrated Pest Management

• Chemicals in pesticides can cause cancer and learning disabilities, reproductive, respiratory and endocrine effects

• People should reduce exposure to pesticides wherever possible

• Integrated Pest Management is more effective to control pests

Integrated Pest Management Basics

a) Understand pest varieties and habits

b) Design appropriate and targeted pest control methods

c) Use mechanical pest control methods, such as blocking pest entryways or using traps and baits

d) Use least-toxic chemicals, if any

IPM Programs Are Kid-friendly

• Provide valuable science and math lessons

• Students learn cause and effect

• Have a positive role in the school program

• Learn to educate others

Example IPM School Program

• Los Angeles Unified Integrated Pest Management Policy

• Native plant gardens

• Student insect identification classes

• Incentives to keep school clean

• Four schools have won the Green Flag Award for RRR and IPM

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Each Issue Area

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Educational and kid-friendly

• Have immediate and visible benefits

• Can save and earn money for schools

• Models for success across the country

Example RRR School Program

• Herndon High School, Herndon, VA

• Earned over $250,000 since 1989

• Awarded over $175,000 in scholarships to over 150 graduates

• Recycled over 1,500 tons of waste

• Won 17 local, state and national awards

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Each Issue Area

Non-Toxic

Products

Non-Toxic Products

• Traditional cleaning products can cause:• Learning, speech, and motor skill problems• Cancer• Reproductive disorders• Respiratory diseases • Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation 

Reduce the Exposure, Reduce the Risk

• Commonly available, effective and cost competitive alternatives are available

• A non-toxic purchasing policy creates a healthier learning and working environment

• Non-toxic products improve the health of maintenance workers, and reduce risk to students and staff

Example NTP School Program

• Churchill High School, Eugene, Oregon• Students researched cleaning products,

MSDS sheets, and identified non-toxic alternatives

• Students educated their peers on the issue

• School replaced all cleaning products with non-toxic alternatives

Using What We Know

Improving Health Through Precautionary

Action

Chronic Diseases are on the Rise

• 17% of children under 18 in the U.S. have one or more developmental disabilities

• Cancer, autism, learning disabilities, attention disorders, and asthma incidences in children are all on the rise.

New Chemicals but Limited Information

• 85,000 synthetic chemicals in common use in the United States

• 2,000 new chemicals per year

• NO LAW requiring companies to test a chemical’s effects on human health

Illnesses linked to environmental toxins

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 3-6% of school children

• Some pesticides cause lifelong hyperactivity in rodents exposed to a single small amount on a critical day of brain development.

What Can We Do?

• Precaution and Education

• Proactively pass policies to protect children’s growing bodies

• Engage young people now, for the future

• Be on the cutting edge

State Initiatives

• Vermont Purchasing Policy for Non-Toxic Products

• NY, IL, CA, PA, RI Policies for Integrated Pest Management

• Minnesota and Vermont Policies establishing No Idling zones

• CA, NY, NH, MN, WA, VT – Indoor Air Quality Policies

• These are a few among many

Promoting Precaution and Preventing Harm• Discover the chemicals that are present in our

communities• Minimize our exposure in schools and homes to

prevent harm• Encourage policies that choose the least toxic

method of doing business• Spread the precautionary word!• Join other schools nationwide• Buy non-toxic for our own homes

The Green Flag Program

The Green Flag Program allows students and educators to investigate innovative strategies to make their schools healthier places to work and learn.

For More Information

• Contact the Green Flag Coordinator at The Center for Health, Environment and Justice

• (703) 237 – 2249

• stacey@greenflagschools.org

• www.greenflagschools.org