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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently announced that San Benito High School District is one of 14 school districts in the state to have earned a 2024 California Green Ribbon Schools award. This is the second consecutive year the district has earned the recognition for environmental stewardship and educational practices.
Superintendent Thurmond said California Green Ribbon Schools “stand as beacons of innovation that showcase pioneering approaches toward enhanced indoor air quality, the implementation of outdoor classrooms, and comprehensive environmental education initiatives. Within these institutions, students are not merely recipients of knowledge; they are active participants in addressing pressing global issues, such as climate change, alongside tackling local challenges like water quality, food security, energy conservation, waste management and emotional well-being. It brings me immense satisfaction to note that more than half of these commendable honorees hail from communities with the greatest need within our state.”
San Benito High School District’s Manager of Maintenance, Operations, Transportation and Facilities Kristy Bettencourt said, “To receive such an honor for a second year in a row is amazing. The growth that the District has made, while continuing to improve our sustainability, is due to actions such as commissioning an additional solar farm, using synthetic oil in the district-owned vehicles, which decrease the drain intervals, therefore increasing the life of the fluid and adding our first electric school bus to the fleet.”
The District’s electric vehicle fleet also includes an electric shuttle bus, electric carts for on-campus transportation and electric food carts.
Among the initiatives cited in Hollister High School’s Green Ribbon School application are the planting of drought-resistant plants and trees, campus recycling programs, bioswales to capture stormwater runoff and the addition of solar panels on the north and south sides of campus. San Benito High School District’s energy efficiency conservation and sustainability efforts, in partnership with Climatec and PG&E, have resulted in more than $2 million to date and are projected to reach or exceed $14 million in savings over the next 20 years.
The installation of solar panels in Baler Alley along with the addition of efficient HVAC and climate control systems have reduced electrical consumption by 8,082 megawatt hours, which equates to removing 523 cars from the road, preserving 61,181 trees from deforestation and powering 296 Hollister homes per year. Phase 2 included the addition of rooftop solar panels on the Career Technical Education Building and the ground mount solar farm in the southwest corner of campus, both of which went online this year and will increase the District’s energy savings.
The District’s environmental practices include Hollister High School students engaging with civic and community projects related to the environment, both through the campus Environmental Club and through Environmental Science classes. Outdoor learning environments are incorporated into the curriculum of chemistry and engineering classes.
Hollister High School Environmental Science teacher Ryan Shorey said, “We are happy and excited to have received the Bronze level of the Green Ribbon Award again this year. As we continue to push for higher levels of achievement, we have recognized the need to expand environmental and sustainability-related curriculum within the environmental science classes, but also out to the broader student body. Environmental science has participated in awareness campaigns, and introspective looks at students’ own lifestyles to help create positive change. The Environmental Club, advised by Mr. Chip Gauvreau and led by student Anisa Fitzgerald, also engages in numerous on- and off-campus activities that promote a sustainable lifestyle.”
The District’s Green Ribbon application also cited the utilization of electric vehicles and the district’s adopt-a-tree program, through which nearly 300 trees have been planted throughout campus in recent years.
San Benito High School District Superintendent Dr. Shawn Tennenbaum said sustainability and energy efficiency are hallmarks of the District’s efforts. “Our approach to environmental awareness inside and out of classrooms and around campus is something. The greatest investments we can make are in the youth and in our environment. These are among the highest priorities to ensure a better community and a better world for everybody.”