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Missouri Green Schools Honors 17 Schools for Sustainability Strides

Missouri Green Schools Honors 17 schools for their commitment to improving the health and wellness of students and staff, lowering their environmental impact, and providing place-based education. We’re thrilled to announce the 2022 Missouri Green Schools (MGS) honorees.

“By achieving Sprout, Seedling and Sapling level recognition these Missouri schools are embracing green and healthy practices within their campuses, curriculum, and culture,” said Hope Gribble, MGS co-director.

MGS is a state level recognition and support program co-managed by the U.S. Green Building Council – Missouri Gateway Chapter and the Missouri Environmental Education Association. MGS annually recognizes schools for initiatives ranging from designing accessible gardens to establishing diverse Green Teams which foster Whole-School Sustainability.

Sprout

Bermuda Primary (Ferguson-Florissant)
Bridgeway Elementary (Pattonville)
Brittany Woods Middle (University City)
Central Primary (Ferguson-Florissant)
City Garden Montessori Elementary & Adolescent Education Center
Crestwood Elementary (Lindbergh)
Hixson Middle (Webster Groves)
Holland Elementary (Springfield)
Marvin Elementary (Ritenour)
Patrick Henry Downtown Academy (St. Louis Public Schools)

Seedling

Chaminade
Flance Early Childhood Center
Forsyth School
Herculaneum High School (Dunklin R-5)
Principia
St. Francis of Assisi School

Sapling

Sunrise R-9 School

Read comments from Missouri Green Schools honorees on why they’ve committed to this whole-school sustainability journey.

Sprout schools are honored for involving school administration, beginning to benchmark and track improvement, and setting goals towards further advancement of green and healthy practices. Seedling schools additionally document a sustainability-related achievement in at least one educational program. Sapling schools additionally document their long term impacts, such as reduction of energy or water usage over a 1 to 3 year period.

Missouri Green Schools will continue to support these 17 schools as they track achievements, set new goals, and strive to make a difference in the lives of their students and staff and in their communities.

Interested in learning more about becoming a Missouri Green School or assisting schools in the program? Visit MissouriGreenSchools.org or contact program directors Lesli Moylan (moylan@meea.org) and Hope Gribble (hope.gribble@mobot.org).

Building Energy Exchange St. Louis Director, Malachi Rein!

WELCOME: Building Energy Exchange St. Louis Director, Malachi Rein!

We are excited to welcome the new Building Energy Exchange St. Louis Director Malachi Rein! Welcome to the Green Buildings Are Better community and Missouri Gateway team, Malachi! To help get to know Malachi (Mal-uh-ki) our Engagement and Outreach Committee asked a few Member Spotlight questions. Here’s Malachi…

My name is Malachi Rein and I have a B.S. in Architectural Engineering which means that I have the technical capacity to understand buildings through design, construction, and operations. I have also studied communications which I hope will help our message resonate with everyone we interact with. My work experience brings a Facilities Management/Owner’s Representative perspective as the Building Energy Exchange St. Louis Director.

So much of our work is with people, pure and simple.

We can sustain our health and planet while lowering operational costs. We can connect resources that are often desperately needed to people and communities. This work will create a lasting investment that frees up capital and creates healthier, happier lives. Ultimately, we need a continuation of the paradigm shift in the built environment to bring sustainable building principles to the hearts and habits of our society.

Our goals require buy-in from building owners and managers. Our success is built on qualified expertise from design, construction, and operations teams. We have our work cut out for us, but it is such positive, tangible, and impactful work.

Sustainability Passon:

Buildings are so much to people. At a base level they shelter us and provide a safe haven. They also serve as a place of self-expression from the small and personally important details we surround ourselves with to their place as the background fabric of our communities.

We spend our lives in and around buildings with many of our most defining memories and experiences attached to these places and the people in our lives bringing them alive.

Our buildings also have great capacity to hold us back when they impact our health and wellbeing. Difficulties in life can be made so much harder when the bills are too much or the solace of our space is broken by unforeseen events. It is a delicate balance. The good news is, we can invest in our buildings so that more of our lives exist around what we want to love and appreciate. In equal measure we can also sustain the ability for our children and beyond to live healthy and meaningful lives.

Most meaningful experience with USGBC & the built environment:

I was able to participate in a number of trainings and certificate programs that I greatly enjoyed with USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). These provided transferrable skills and perspectives that enriched not only my professional performance, but that of those I worked with and the tasks we worked on together. My green building certificate and training programs also brought me closer to some of the staff and partners I now have the great privilege of working with in the role as our new Building Energy Exchange St. Louis Director.

What will most impact the future of green building:

Passion and community. There is a future where we don’t get the work done. That is not a future that any of us will enjoy. There are so many good, smart, and talented people in this community that, together, we can chart a path of building energy solutions that work for everyone.

Favorite LEED Project:

I had the pleasure of spending some time in the Y2E2 building at Stanford (LEED Platinum®, awaiting performance data). It felt as though they put their efforts behind their principles while maintaining the architectural form and balance of their existing aesthetic.

Favorite place in the Gateway region

The viewing platform of the Compton Hill Water Tower, which is currently closed until it can be repaired. At the top of 198 stairs, the windows provide a cross breeze and a panoramic perspective that has been static for a century and a quarter; a stone in the river of time as the water that is Saint Louis flows around it.

Get on our 2023 Education Calendar!

Call for Proposals 2023 – Buildings As Climate Solutions

Call for Proposals 2023: Are you a change maker in your industry? An advocate for climate protection, racial equity, and community? “SHOW ME” your Green Building SOLUTIONS. We can build our way out of climate change disasters. Review our Call for Proposals and get on our 2023 Education Calendar!

Learn more

Your local U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter is now accepting 2023 PROGRAM PROPOSALS presenting immediate solutions to our communities’ immediate problems. Having the latest green building education is an ongoing feature of Missouri Gateway events. Are you taking actions beyond commitments? Then, you are ready to SUBMIT HERE to get on our 2023 CALENDAR BY: Monday, January 2, 2022 @ 5:00 pm CT. Together, we can transform our built environment.

Engaging, interactive approaches to enhance learning are desired!

Do you know a project or professional that is addressing immediate solutions to our communities’ immediate problems? Share this SUBMISSION APPLICATION by using the URL, https://bit.ly/ShowMeYourSolutions

Submit a Proposal

In order for us to maximize collaboration with green building professionals and communities, and ensure our exchange of information benefits from the diversity, talent and expertise of our Missouri Gateway region*, preference will be given to educational content of a 200 – 300 level addressing:

1.) What needs to change with the way we build today? (Or don’t build?)

2.) Specific examples of Climate Adaptation & Resiliency

3.) Connecting Green Building and Environmental Sustainability Governance (ESG)

4.) Adaptive Reuse of our Buildings and Built Environment

5.) Shifting from Energy Efficiency to Carbon Reduction

6.) The national focus on Infrastructure – How do Buildings fit in?

The climate crisis is now, and resiliency in our built environment cannot be true without equity in our built environment. The “pandemic, high heat, flash floods, and electrical outages taught us that we need each other. We have solutions, we need public will; and public policy,” says USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter committee member Susan Armstrong MS, PE. Our Green Buildings Are Better community is asking, do you have the engineering and architectural solutions? Then,

“SHOW ME” your Green Building SOLUTIONS.

Program Proposal Application

*USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter territory covers the St. Louis metropolitan area, Southern Illinois, mid-Missouri and southwestern Missouri. Cities within Missouri Gateway’s territory also include Columbia (MO) and Springfield (MO).

Energy Efficiency & the Split Incentive Problem

Energy Efficiency & the Split Incentive Problem: Reframing Investment in Energy Efficiency for Building Owners and Tenants

LIVE recording, July 12, 2022 – Solving The Split Incentive Problem presentation and panelist discussion.

AUGUST PROGRAM: Building Decarbonization

On the evening of July 12^th, 2022, U.S. Green Building Council—Missouri Gateway Chapter hosted our monthly educational program with Building Energy Exchange St. Louis, a project of Missouri Gateway Chapter, at Rockwell Beer Company. Fueled by delicious appetizers and an open bar, the 53 attendees of the event listened to speaker Aaron Michels, Director of Operations at Energy Resources Group, Inc., discuss energy efficiency and energy inefficiency. Michels’ presentation first defined for us what the split incentive problem is, before going into consequences, case studies, and potential remedies of the issue. As defined by Michels,

the split incentive problem is when landlords lack the appropriate incentives to implement energy efficiency measures, not only costing their tenants money, but also negatively impacting the environment by releasing more pollutants than necessary.

Michels also highlighted how low-income tenants face energy poverty or a higher energy burden, meaning they allocate significantly more of their household income to energy expenditures than other renters. Since tenants have little power in the rental arrangement, this is a difficult situation to absolve.

Photograph of audience in beer brewing event space. Attendees, sitting at high top tables, foreground, and in chairs with presenter and presentation screen in distance. — July 12, 2022 evening educational program attendees at Rockwell Beer Company while Aaron Michels presents, “Solving The Split Incentive Problem – Reframing Investment in Energy Efficiency for Building Owners & Tenants.”

However, Michels did provide some ideas for eliminating the issue. First, he proposed a need for increased awareness, education, and outreach among owners, tenants, and the brokerage community about the value of green leases. A green lease, in simple terms, is

a rental agreement whereby a tenant shares the cost burden of sustainability initiatives with the building owner¹.

These initiatives include expenses such as water and energy conservation, waste reduction, and recycling. Initially these investments will likely infer a cost on the parties, but will ultimately lead to savings down the line, as energy bills can be greatly decreased.

Another remedy could be energy efficiency mortgages (PACE financing)—externally funded loans attached to the property. A benefit of this action is that capital improvements can be done at one time but paid off in installments. A third solution is on-bill financing, where capital improvements are tied directly to utility company payments and for large residential; increased incentives to counter the split incentive. On a more macro level, green building codes can be stricter, which has the potential to benefit all new housing developments, including buildings for low-income tenants. An additional policy response that has the potential to be effective is a weatherization assistance program, engaging tenants to help improve their leased space.

Photograph of 3 panelists and 1 presenter sitting at a table, inside a beer brewing event space, while attendees, 4 people pictures crowd the table for conversation. Five, large silver beer cellar tanks in background. — *Speaker far right in blue, Aaron Michels and panelists from right to left; Tristan Walker, Jon Nichols, and Kevin Bryant with program attendees after Q&A at Rockwell Beer Co.*

After we had a clear and comprehensive perspective on the split incentive problem, members had the opportunity to ask questions to a series of panelists who are experts in their field. The panelists included:

Kevin Bryant, Executive Founder, Developer & President of Kingsway Development
Jon Nichols, Director of Sustainability at Antheus Capital & Mac Development
Tristan Walker, Principal of Heritage Properties St. Louis

There were multitudes of questions ranging from “how can landlords/management companies be incentivized to improve energy efficiency” to “what can individuals do if they have a short-term lease, but still want to improve energy efficiency.”

It was clear from the diversity and number of questions that the audience was engaged and excited to learn about the tangible changes that can be made to improve our energy footprint. I believe it is fair to say that every attendee left the program with new ideas and hope for a more equitable and environmental future. If you were not able to attend this event and would like to see what you missed, view the July 12, 2022 program recording, Solving the Split Incentive Problem – Reframing Investment in Energy Efficiency for Building Owners & Tenants.

LIVE recording, July 12, 2022 – Building Energy Performance Standards Info Session & Building Energy Exchange St. Louis presentation.

AUGUST PROGRAM: Building Decarbonization

Sources:

Bird, S., & Hernández, D. (2012, September 1). Policy options for the split incentive: Increasing energy efficiency for low-income renters. Energy policy. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4819331/

Building Energy Performance Standards Info Session – Building Energy Exchange St. Louis, City STL. YouTube. (2022, July 23). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://youtu.be/2i8cK095ZL8

YouTube. (n.d.). Usgbcmogateway YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMyElVIJligezzBnnIOsORw

A reflection post of the July evening educational program, “Solving The Split Incentive Problem – Reframing Investment in Energy Efficiency for Building Owners & Tenants” with resource links and live event recordings; written by Avery McCammon, Washington University in St. Louis undergrad student, summer 2022.

USGBC Product Solutions Showcase

Join USGBC for a three-day dynamic and interactive event to learn about sustainable products that reduce carbon emissions, energy, water and waste consumption while also enhancing health, resiliency and circularity AND improve LEED performance and process. Win – Win – Win!
Plus earn continuing education credit!

Learn more or register!

WHEN:
July 26 – 28, 2022
12:00 pm – 2:30 pm CT each day

WHERE: Online!

COST:
If you are a current USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter member, you can attend for FREE. E-mail emily.andrews@mobot.org for the promo code to attend for free. Not a Missouri Gateway Member? JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW!

USGBC Community Members – FREE
Student / Emerging Professional – $5.00
Non Member – $10.00

TOPICS:

Tuesday, July 26 – Energy & Carbon
Wednesday, July 27 – Waste & Circularity
Thursday, July 28 – Water & Health

USGBC PRODUCT SOLUTIONS SHOWCASE

Nominations Open for 2023 Board Members!

Be a part of the green building movement & help us make every building a green building!

USGBC-Missouri Gateway is currently seeking nominations for At-Large seats on our Board of Directors. All terms begin in 2023. Nominations are due by 5 pm Central Time on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Self nominations are accepted and encouraged. Nominees must be a member in good standing with USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter and must currently serve or have previously served on a Chapter committee or as a Chapter volunteer. The online nomination form, can be found here.

For more information, please see:

In 2015, USGBC-Missouri Gateway shifted our board nomination and election process, and no longer hold general elections. Nominations are accepted from the membership. The Governance Committee collects nominations and ensures eligibility of nominees. The committee then consults a matrix of leadership needs to determine a slate to present to the board for approval. The committee expects to present a slate to the board for discussion at the September 2022 board meeting.

Building Energy Exchange STL – Hiring it’s next Director!

We are hiring!! We are searching for our next Building Energy Exchange STL Director!

View Job Description or Apply!

The Building Energy Exchange St. Louis (BE-Ex STL) is a project of USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter. BE-Ex STL (pronounced ‘B’ ‘X’ STL) aims to advance building energy performance by mobilizing the professional expertise, funding, and technical resources our local real estate industry needs to address affordability, improve the health and comfort of residents, and position St. Louis as a resilient and carbon neutral region. Now that this new local energy hub supporting high performing buildings is up and running, we are seeking an ambitious and passionate candidate to accelerate the growth and success of Building Energy Exchange STL.

This is a full time position with a full benefits package – APPLY NOW!

Thank you to Cara Spencer, the inaugural BE-Ex STL director, for setting us up for success. She has recently resigned and we have named Jessica Deem, NCARB / LEED AP BD+C as interim director as of June 27, 2022.

APPLY NOW

Winners of the 2021-22 Green Schools Quest

We applaud each school/mentor team that participated in the 2021-22 Green Schools Quest and worked hard over the past six months to plan and implement a sustainability project at your school!

31 schools and 28 mentors participated (see who!) and, according to the numbers in their final reports, 1,788 students and 118 faculty and staff were directly involved, and an additional 10,672 students, staff, and community members were impacted through the projects this year! Additionally, our Connect on the Quest included a total of 143 participants: 85 Speaker Series attendees & 58 YouTube Channel views.

Learn more about all of the 2021-22 GSQ participants’ projects by watching the 2021-22 GSQ Project Showcase & Winners video!

This year, we are honoring 3 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high school projects as division winners. Each will receive a trophy and $300 prize. Additionally, five Spotlight Awards are presented across the age divisions. Spotlight Awardees receive $100 each. Congratulations to our winners!

Elementary Division Winners

Bryan Hill & Columbia Elementary Schools for Surviving, Not Thriving: A Quest for Justice – The pandemic exposed the health and wealth inequities many students are living with. Bryan Hill & Columbia focused on the immediate needs of their students, improvements to support health and wellbeing of their communities such as repairing and repainting walls to cover lead paint and re-vamping their outdoor learning spaces, as well as the need for systems-level sustainability solutions.

Carman Trails Elementary School for Reducing Landfill Waste – Two 3rd grade students wanted to reduce waste sent to the landfill, so they created a video and games to teach how to correctly sort waste. They measured the results and saw a substantial reduction.

Sunrise R-9 School for OINK! – Sunrise’s new “Feed The Pigs” program takes waste diversion to a whole new level! Food waste from lunch is collected in the “Feed The Pigs” bin, then hauled to a local farm and fed to pigs. Students named three of the pigs and watched them grow over the year. These pigs were then auctioned off to school families for their consumption. The program emphasizes multiple sustainability principles and has reduced lunch waste by nearly 31%.

Middle School Division Winners

Brittany Woods Middle School for U City Schools Pollinator Squad! – The Brittany Woods Pollinator Protection Squad knows humans need to value and protect pollinators. Through problem-based learning, students identified one of their first steps needed to be removing the stigma associated with stinging insects. Squad members educated fellow middle schoolers and PK-1 students on the benefits of pollinators using an old van they rehabbed called the Pollinator 3000 as a backdrop to build their Squad’s visibility.

Nipher Middle School for A Year of Growth: Sustainability in Homeroom – Nipher students set out to improve existing outdoor spaces that are part of their sustainability initiatives. Four Homeroom classes collaborated to raise funds and implement their plans, improving areas with chickens, vegetable gardens, native plants, and beehives.

High School Division Winner

Ladue Horton Watkins High School for Student Action for a Greener Earth – Ladue’s existing environmental club focused on long-term sustainability, devoting significant energy towards underclassman recruitment in addition to larger projects which included looking at the school building itself to find ways to reduce energy, stream cleanups, and honeysuckle hacks.

Spotlight Award Winners

Rookie of the Year:
St. Paul’s Lutheran ECC for Caterpillars Compost! – Pre-K students researched, raised money and bought a compost tumbler, then designed compost buckets for other classrooms. Students retrieved the buckets and composted the material inside. They also started a worm bin.

Judges’ Choice:
Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School for Tikkun Olem: Repairing the Space – Students worked to revitalize a garden, centering Tikkun Olem, or healing the world. Garlic and rye are being grown now, and students of all ages are now using the garden and other outdoor spaces year round.

Innovation:
Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School for MRH Pollinator Problem (and Solutions) – Using data they collected, MRH students identified the decline in native pollinators as a problem and set out to make habitat improvements on their campus. They created several products from beeswax to raise money for the improvements. They also developed a series of lessons for elementary school classes and performed pollinator raps in the STEAMaster rap battle.

Sustainability Champion:
Sunrise R-9 School for OINK! – Sunrise’s new “Feed The Pigs” program takes waste diversion to a whole new level! Food waste from lunch is collected in the “Feed The Pigs” bin, then hauled to a local farm and fed to pigs. Students named three of the pigs and watched them grow over the year. These pigs were then auctioned off to school families for their consumption. The program emphasizes multiple sustainability principles and has reduced lunch waste by nearly 31%.

Focus of the Year: Health & Wellness:
Bryan Hill & Columbia Elementary Schools for Surviving, Not Thriving: A Quest for Justice – The pandemic exposed the health and wealth inequities many students are living with. Bryan Hill & Columbia focused on the immediate needs of their students, improvements to support health and wellbeing of their communities such as repairing and repainting walls to cover lead paint and re-vamping their outdoor learning spaces, as well as the need for systems-level sustainability solutions.

Winners’ Submission Materials

Each school submitted a digital presentation and written report detailing their projects. You can access each winner’s full final submission material here.

Some schools posted their digital presentations on YouTube. We’ve created a playlist with these videos, which you can access here.

Event Recording: 15th Annual Green Schools Event

Students from Carman Trails Elementary, Brittany Woods Middle, and Ladue Horton Watkins High School shared about their GSQ project experience during our 15th Annual Green Schools Event. If you missed the event – or would like to watch it again – you can access a recording here.

Thank you GSQ Green Mentors!

Our volunteer Green Mentors play a huge role in this program – supporting schools in a variety of ways, from helping with project ideas, providing technical expertise, connecting schools with community resources, or simply lending an ear and helping with timeline reminders. Thank you to all of our Green Mentors for their service!

Interested in participating next year?

We hope so! Registration is now open for both schools and mentors for the 2022-23 school year. Mentor registration is open through August 31 and School registration is open though September 15. Visit www.GreenSchoolsQuest.org for more details on the program and to register!

October Member Spotlight – Cara Spencer

Help us welcome Cara Spencer to the USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter! Cara is Director of the new Building Energy Exchange STL (BE-Ex STL) which will expand existing local resources for energy efficiency and building performance resources and services; a force multiplier for climate action and local economic development.

“Financing and Affordable housing. Giving property owners access to the capital they need to improve efficiency is key to making retrofit projects happen.”

Cara Spencer on a Missouri river, USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter October 2021 Member Spotlight

Cara Spencer, Director, Building Energy Exchange STL & Alderman, City of Saint Louis
USGBC-MGC Member since 2021

Sustainability passion: I love growing my own food. Right now our figs are producing nicely and we eat them right off the bush. Nothing beats home grown tomatoes and basil in the summer and I’m a year round micro-green enthusiast.

Most meaningful built environment experience: I’d have to say the O’Fallon Commerce Bank. Its just a regular, everyday bank building but its the first LEED certified banking facility in MO. What’s most meaningful about it is just its everyday-ness. That a bank made the community conscious decision to lead with LEED certification is incredibly inspiring.

What will most impact the future of green building: Financing and Affordable housing. Giving property owners access to the capital they need to improve efficiency is key to making retrofit projects happen. This is especially important in the affordable housing space where energy savings are not experienced by the property owners but by tenants for whom energy savings greatly impacts quality of life.

Favorite Sustainability Project: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. People often (erroneously) confuse sustainability with boring. But the Crystal Bridges building is absolutely stunning and architect Moshe Sadie’s attention to detail is impeccable. It incorporates so much of its natural environment in its construction materials and in its landscape design. Walking through it, the visitor gets the sense of being in and outside all at once – a truly magical experience.

Favorite place in the St. Louis region: The arch. It just never gets old. I am there most mornings on a run or bike ride and I never tire of seeing it. The museum renovation is phenomenal and I love the native plantings on the north side, the trails throughout and the energy pulsing through the many daily visitors.

Cara Spencer is a native St. Louisan who studied math at Truman State University. She loves hiking, cycling and as of late – paddle boarding on MO rivers. She has a 10 year old son who loves drawing and Legos. Together they love eating breakfast outside and bike commuting most days to school and work. Cara is looking forward to helping reduce our community’s carbon footprint. Being a resource to our developer community in achieving energy efficiency goals and helping make St. Louis a climate ready city with a global sustainable reputation that can attract new residents and new employers.

2021 USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter Membership Survey

2021 Membership Survey

Start your 2021 Membership Survey!

We appreciate the time and consideration you will put in to enhance the growth and development of your USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter experience, needs, and programs. The 2021 Membership Survey should take about 15 minutes with thoughtful responses. Thank you!

During our annual joint Board and Committee Chair meeting in September 2021, we will review the results of the 2021 Membership Survey and how we can incorporate your opinions and suggestion into:

Fostering Green Building Leaders of the Future
- Green Schools Quest
- Missouri Green Schools
Advancing Buildings As Climate Solutions
- Education
- Advocacy
Maintaining Organizational Sustainability

We are excited to hear your feedback about being a member of USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter! Thank you for being part of this Green Buildings Are Better community. We could not do this without you.

When you complete this Membership Survey you will be entered into a drawing to WIN A YEAR-LONG CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP and fun Chapter swag (a baseball cap + pint glass). Three winners will be drawn at random after August 11, 2021.

2021 Membership Survey