Architecture - Winter/Spring 2009 - (Page 34)

Sustainable Schools Penny’s green lane to sustainable schools By Christopher Guly SHEILA PENNY, FRAIC, has many steps to take in reaching her goal to have Toronto’s public schools leave behind a zero carbon footprint PHOTO: MARGARET KENT 1 2 3 As executive officer of the Facilities Services department for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the 51-year-old, Winnipeg-born architect is responsible for 650 buildings, of which 558 are schools. That amounts to a real estate portfolio of 48 million square feet (about 4.5 million square metres). Most of that space, or 43 million square feet (about 4 million square metres) of it, is used for teaching. Penny’s challenge is to make all of those schools green. Shortly after the Ontario government amalgamated seven municipalities in 1998 to form the new mega-city of Toronto, the TDSB passed an environmental policy that would link how schools were run to what students learn in them. The program was called EcoSchools and 264 schools in Canada’s largest public school system have since received bronze, silver or gold certification under the LEED®-like initiative. “EcoSchools has two principal objectives for facilities: they have to conserve energy and minimize waste,” says Penny, who also oversees a staff of about 3,300 employees. The target is for every school to reduce the amount of waste sent to a landfill site by 30 per cent and decrease the use of electricity and natural gas by 12 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. Already, the program has resulted in significant declines in both consumption and spending. For instance, between 2002 and 2005 the school board’s gas consumption dropped by 7.8 per cent while electricity use declined by 5.3 per cent, resulting in about $5 million in savings. Just by promoting recycling, an EcoSchool at the secondary level can save almost $60,000 a year while a certified elementary school can cut annual spending by nearly $35,000, according to Penny. She points out that cost reductions are sometimes realized in relatively small ways. For instance, by simply putting its estimated 60,000 computers on stand-by mode when not in use, the TDSB can save 11 per cent on the cost of running its network, or almost $4 million annually. The school board is now piloting a more comprehensive program called Project Shut Down, through which all computers would be completely turned off overnight, on weekends and during holidays. Other energy conservation standards are in place. When rooms are not in use, or there’s enough natural light, lights are to be turned off. Windows and curtains need to be closed at the end of the school day. Since its inception in Toronto a decade ago, EcoSchools has been implemented in 540 schools in 26 school boards and conservation authorities throughout Ontario to promote waste minimization, energy conservation, school-ground greening and ecological literacy. A total of 31 school boards are at various stages of implementing EcoSchools. “From an educational perspective, EcoSchools fosters leadership and teamwork, and offers curriculum opportunities for kids that help them understand how to conserve, how to minimize waste, how to be responsible ecologically,” says Penny. 1 Sheila Penny | 2 Thomas L. Wells Public School exterior with light shelves | 3 Thomas L. Wells Public School, composite image | 4 Thomas L. Wells Public School classroom | 5 Thomas L. Wells Public School gymnasium/multipurpose room | 6 Thomas L. Wells Public School kindergarten courtyard | 7 Thomas L. Wells Public School library | 8, 9 & 10 Brookside Public School www.raic.org / 2009 34 ■ THE ROYAL ARCHITECTURAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA / L’INSTITUT ROYAL D’ARCHITECTURE DU CANADA http://www.raic.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Architecture - Winter/Spring 2009

Architecture - Winter/Spring 2009 Contents From East to West, Architects are Designing High-Performance Schools D’un Océan à l’autre, les Architectes Conçoivent des Écoles à Haute Performance Penny's Green Lane to Sustainable Schools La Route Verte de Sheila Penny pour des Écoles Durables Art in Architecture Cross-Curricular Teaching Tool Reaching the Future through the Past L'outil d'enseignement Transversal Art en architecture S'inspirer du Passé pour Aller de L’avant It's Ultimately All about the Students! Au Bout du Compte, Ce Sont les Élèves qui Importent! Index to Advertisers

Architecture - Winter/Spring 2009

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