Welcome to the
Department of Sustainability
Welcome
Sustainability Office News:
The DPS Sustainability Office was host to the spring 2013 educational event, “Growing the Future: The DPS Garden and Greenhouse Forum”. “Growing the Future” took place on Saturday, February 23rd from 9 am to 2 pm at Fairmont Elementary School.
We designed this FREE one day interactive workshop for teachers, parents, students and interested community members. Participants learned the basic skills they will need to design, develop, enhance, and maintain a school garden and/or greenhouse. Topics included garden design, soil preparation, seed starting, season extension and alternative gardens as well as building a support network, linking to academic content standards, program planning, grant writing and a garden to cafeteria training.
Attendees met and learned from local experts and garden-based educators, enjoyed breakfast and lunch, participated in hands-on workshops and took home loads of useful resources!
Panels:
Starting a School Garden
|
Speakers: Shannon Spurlock (Denver Urban Gardens) |
|||
|
Laurie Schneyer (Slow Food Denver) |
|||
|
Sydney Karpowich (The Kitchen Community) |
|||
|
Kristy Sawyer (Samuels Elementary) |
|||
|
Laurel Mattrey (DPS Sustainability) Integrating Gardens into Schools
|
Show me the Money
| Speakers: Abbie Harris (Denver Urban Gardens) |
| Lee McClure (Bradley Elementary) |
| Sharon Wilkonson (Whole Foods) |
| Barbara Chapman (Red Apple Recycling) |
Greenhouse 101
|
Speakers: Malcolm Mulroney (DPS Planning) |
| Coby Gould (GrowHaus) |
| Jim Dunn (Sprout City Farms) |
Alternative Gardens
|
Workshops
Developing a Garden Plan
Leaders: Annie Chensoff (DPS Garden Intern) & Shannon Spurlock (Denver Urban Gardens)
Garden to Cafeteria Training
Leaders: Anne Wilson (DPS Food and Nutrition Services) & Andy Nowak (Slow Food Denver)
Apply for a Grant
Leaders: Laurel Mattrey (DPS Sustainability) & Barbara Chapman (Red Apple Recycling)
Seed Starting and Indoor Grow-Labs
Leader: Judy Elliott (Denver Urban Gardens)
Check out pictures below!
Starting a School Garden
Integrating Gardens into Schools
Show me the Money
Greenhouse 101
Alternative Gardens
John Paul Maxfield of Waste Farmers delivered an inspirational speech during lunch, which was sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill.
DPS Energy Challenge: ELEMENTARY EDITION Has Launched!!
Click here for more information and to apply.
DPS Sustainabilty Office 2011 Green Awards
For the first time ever, Denver Public Schools' Sustainability Office has recognized individuals for their outstanding contribution to the greening of classrooms, schools and the district.
The Sustainability Office has named the following as the 2011 Sustainability Award Winners:
Green Award – Facility Manager: Arthur Vigil, Montclair Elementary
Green Award – Principal: Kyle Gamba, College View Elementary School
Green Award – Teacher: Joshua Vinlove, George Washington High School
Green Award – Student: Carson Byerhof, Denver Center for International Studies
Each recipient embodies the mission of the Sustainability Office and has actively worked to engage others to support the mission. To the awardees, "In recognition of the sustainable work you do, we thank you!" - DPS Sustainability Team
"Green Award- Principal" 
Mission and Goals
The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to reducing the consumption and waste of resources and taxpayer money through the creation and implementation of goals, strategies and tools that promote sustainability across the district. We will accomplish this through actions that reduce resource use, establish clear information, guidelines and accountability, and promote district-wide involvement and ownership of sustainability as a model for everyday education and business.
The DPS Sustainability Team operates according to the following goals:
- The DPS Sustainability Team will increase savings to the District through a variety of reduction and efficiency strategies by 20% by 2020.
- The DPS Sustainability Team will increase the amount of energy used (renewable energy portfolio) by the District from renewable sources to 20% by 2020.
- The DPS Sustainability Team will develop and implement a district-wide conservation and education plan focusing on education, efficiency, effective reporting/accountability, and exceeding building and environmental standards.
- The DPS Sustainability Team will develop an integrated, concise, district-wide set of sustainability guidelines for all employee groups and students.
Areas of Commitment
The DPS Sustainability Team focuses its resources around 7 commitments:
- Acquisition. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to reducing costs wherever possible through collaboration with our resource vendors.
- Conservation and Renewables. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to replacing non-renewable resources with renewable resources whenever possible and practical.
- Education. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to the promotion of district-wide involvement and ownership of sustainability as a model for everyday education and business
- Efficiency. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to putting resource efficiency and cost savings first in district decision-making around maintenance, procurement, development, design and upgrades.
- Environmental Impacts. T he DPS Sustainability Team is committed to mitigating the district’s impact on the environment whenever and wherever possible.
- Partnerships. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to developing partnerships for collaboration and sharing of resources with government agencies, NGOs, and community groups around sustainability issues.
- Actual and Projected Savings. The DPS Sustainability Team is committed to pursuing cost savings for the district through better decision-making, procurement, rebates and increased efficiency.
DPS Sustainability Office
2800 West 7th Avenue
Denver, CO 80204
