Pacific Elementary is a Certified Green School

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Pacific received recognition for our Green School efforts.
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Two students ready to pick up trash, with the Green Business Certification behind their heads.
Overview
Pacific School has been a leader in environmental education for decades through our Life Lab (school garden) and FoodLab (school cafeteria/meals) programs, among many other initiatives. In recent years, our activities in this area have expanded considerably. We are a certified green school through the California Green Business Network. 

Here is a video made by students about Pacific being a Green School: https://vimeo.com/713548420. And here is one students made about the Ocean Guardians and recycled art program: https://vimeo.com/713507314.

Below is an overview of our current and recent green initiatives:
Water
  • Faucets and fixtures have been upgraded to low-flow. Additional upgrades will be made during the summer of 2024.
  • The lawn and garden sprinkler systems are turned off in the winter and adjusted to minimize water use and evaporative loss in the summer.
  • Fruit trees on campus are watered using efficient drip lines.
  • In 2023, in collaboration with a class at UCSC, we completed a water audit of the Life Lab garden and discovered a previously unknown leak, which has since been addressed.
  • Planter beds around the school require little or no water.
Energy
  • Skylights in main rooms reduce the need for electric lighting.
  • LED lighting is in use throughout the school, with motion-detecting and automatic-off features in appropriate locations.
  • Solar panels have been installed which offset much of the school's electricity use.
  • Computers and other appliances have been set to conserve energy when not in use.
  • Computer charging carts are designed to conserve energy and charge only those computers that need it.
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Students carrying buckets of food scraps to be delivered to a local farm for chicken or hog feed.
Food Systems
  • FoodLab uses a very high percentage of organic food, including milk, produce, and meat.
  • FoodLab uses locally sourced ingredients as much as possible, including a large proportion of hyper-local (within 15 miles) produce and meat.
  • Vegan options are available to students, and meat-free meals are served at least weekly.
  • Food scraps are collected and donated to a local farm to be used for chicken or hog feed.
  • The FoodLab program uses and washes dishes, cups and silverware. We do not use disposable food containers, plasticware, or single-serving milk containers.
  • A small amount of school food is grown in the Life Lab garden.
Solid Waste
  • ​All classrooms and office areas have and use recycling bins. Cardboard is flattened and recycled regularly. Teachers specifically train and encourage students in recycling.
  • We encourage reuse of single side copied scratch paper.
  • Garden waste is composted on site through compost piles and worm bins, or through the county's composting program.
  • Office paper, paper towels, bathroom tissue, and napkins have high recycled paper contents. The kitchen uses reusable rags and aprons.
  • "New" furniture is usually donated or purchased used.
  • We donate, rather than send to the landfill, unwanted items whenever possible.
Transportation
  • We encourage use of the Santa Cruz Metro bus service for transportation to and from school. In 2024, the Metro expanded their route offerings to make transportation available for students from Davenport back to Santa Cruz in the afternoons. They were able to add this new route partly because of the high use of the morning route by Pacific School students.
  • Carpooling is encouraged and both staff and families carpool.
  • Office and art supplies are purchased from a local company whenever possible.
Pollutants
  • ​We do not use herbicides or pesticides in our Life Lab garden or on our school grounds.
  • The custodial and other staff use green cleaning products.
  • We pick up our own trash regularly and schedule multiple community beach cleanup days each year to reduce plastics entering the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Habitat
  • ​Parts of the school grounds have been converted to native plants, which reduces the need for water and increases pollinator habitat.
  • The Life Lab garden grows an abundance of flowers year-round, which attracts pollinators and birds.
  • Birds are common throughout the school campus. We've had dramatic sightings including an osprey and a bald eagle, as well as more frequent visitors and residents such as hawks, cormorants, gulls, blackbirds, doves, hummingbirds, and many more. Fence lizards are also commonly seen.
Student Engagement
  • We have a student-led green team committee that takes on a green initiative each year and seeks to create change in the world.
  • Students routinely volunteer to use trash grabbers and magnets to pick up and properly dispose of waste on the school grounds.
  • Teachers include topics about environmental issues, ecology, and sustainability in their curricula. For example, the sixth grade class hosts a recycled art contest yearly, and the fourth grade class completes a unit about native plants.​
  • Teachers and staff teach and encourage environmentally responsible habits, including recycling, reducing waste, turning off lights and water, etc.
"​One thing that I noticed on my first day of working is how committed Pacific Elementary School is committed to composting. I found it awesome that students know how to compost and why it is so important; this is something my primary and secondary schools never did." - New Classroom Aide