WASHINGTON, March 2, 2016 - A researcher at
the University of Missouri finds
that students who attend school in buildings specifically designed to be
“green” exhibit higher levels of knowledge about energy efficiency and
environmentally friendly building practices, which, in the future, may lead
them to own and operate buildings that are green.
Laura Cole, an assistant professor of architectural studies
in the MU College of Human Environmental
Sciences, examined five middle schools from across the country ranging from
older, energy inefficient designs to new buildings architecturally designed as
“teaching green” buildings.
Daily exposure to these energy efficient building designs at
school, along with a sustainable school culture fostered by educators, allows
students to inherently learn and appreciate the importance of green buildings, Cole
said.
The study found that students from the ‘teaching green’
schools had much higher levels of knowledge about environmentally friendly
practices than students who attended school in more energy inefficient
buildings. The students also had much higher levels of environmentally friendly
behaviors while at school, such as recycling and turning off lights when a room
is not in use.
“Anything educators can do to utilize existing space can
help their students’ green building literacy,” Cole said. “Our children will
soon be the people buying and constructing homes, offices and other buildings.
Learning and translating that knowledge into future green building design will
play a huge part in solving our environmental problems.”
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