Characteristics of Green Schools: Observations of Award-winning Green Preschools in Bali,Berkeley and Hong Kong

Methodology

ERS-SDEC Results

Preschool A in Bali: In the category of Social and Cultural Responsibility, Preschool A received a rating of 7. Teachers and children in the observed classroom of Preschool A (Bali) came from different nationalities. The head teacher was a mixed-race woman from Brazil, and the assistant teacher was a native Balinese-Indonesian woman. The 16 students came from various countries such as Italy, America, Indonesia, Germany, Russia and many others. Students in Preschool A (Bali) were encouraged to share their ideas and knowledge of their own and other cultures during group sharing time. The morning circle in Preschool A was conducted in several languages with the two official school languages being Indonesian and English. The head teacher greeted students in English and asked students to sing and dance using several different languages. Cultural differences were discussed all the time, especially through reading children’s stories, primarily folk tales from different cultures. Mealtimes (snacks and lunch) were conducted outdoors in a designated area, near the vegetable garden, mud pit and play area, with many loose parts. Students, teachers and parents sat together on large bamboo benches, facing a rectangular bamboo table that enabled them to interact freely in a natural setting. The meal started with reciting a Balinese prayer to greet the gods of the Earth, led by the Indonesian teacher, and children ate after repeating the prayer.

In the category of Economic Sustainability, Preschool A received a rating of 7. Children in Preschool A were also introduced to the hidden costs and benefits of a range of products that explained sustainability. Teachers showed students the cost–benefit of eating fresh corns from organic gardens versus eating canned corns from the supermarket, with the reasoning that canned corn produces waste materials that are difficult to recycle. Teachers explained that if children ate fresh corns, then waste materials such as cornhusks and corncobs could be recycled as pigs’ food. Preschool A often invited parents to share their knowledge on sustainability or to be involved in different sustainability projects. Preschool A used e-mail for all communication in order to reduce wastage of paper. It provided scholarships for local Balinese children from low-income households and 20 per cent of students in Preschool A would receive scholarships.

In the category of Environmental Sustainability, Preschool A received a rating of 7. Preschool A’s curriculum incorporated Green Studies, and the building had been constructed using sustainable material (treated bamboo for the structure and reed for the rooftop). Throughout the day, children were constantly reminded about the importance of living sustainably, and this was integrated into all aspects of curriculum and not segmented to one particular section. A few examples are as follows: (a) children’s activities in exploring the composite school complex gave them the opportunity to observe different plants and fruits grown in the school’s organic garden, the pet animals that the school owned and various student projects such as the solar panels that primary students built in the midst of rice paddies; (b) children were taught about the life cycle of plants and animals not solely from books but from real-life examples since the school premises was located in a natural setting and (c) children were taught recycling through a classroom activity to create toys from used boxes brought by the head teacher. This approach enabled children to switch their mindset to see the value of trash recycling.

Preschool B in Berkeley: In the category of Social and Cultural Sustainability, Preschool B received a rating of 3. Teachers and students in Preschool B came from diverse cultural backgrounds, although most of them were born in America. The head teacher was of Japanese descent, the morning teacher was of Caucasian-European descent and the afternoon teacher was of Mexican descent. The students were all born in the United States, but they were different ethnically consisting of: Chinese descent, European descent and Indian descent. Preschool B adopted emergent play-based learning, and problem-solving was its teaching approach. For instance, children were encouraged to discuss differences whether in inequality or in environmental problems. During an outdoor activity of walking around the block near the preschool, the first author observed that a four-year-old child expressed her dislike of seeing trash on the street by screaming out. Apparently, this child’s favourite book was about the consequence of trash that goes to the ocean. Teachers addressed this child’s concern about the unclean environment by encouraging her to write a letter of petition. This incident was a valid example that early literacy on environment protection is effective to encourage children to think and take action on this matter.

In the category of Economic Sustainability, Preschool B received a rating of 2. Preschool B’s children were taught to recycle and to use recycled materials. However, they were rarely taught about money or about saving money.

In the category of Environmental Sustainability, Preschool B received rating of 3. Children in Preschool B had weekly walking activities around the campus. Children often collected plants and rocks while walking. The collected materials were turned into a poster that was displayed in the classroom.

Preschool C in Hong Kong: In the category of Social and Cultural Sustainability, Preschool C received a rating of 1. Teachers and students of Preschool C in Hong Kong came from the same culture as native residents of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the first author did not see any indication of books or toys that introduced cultural diversity in the classroom. Teachers also did not seem to foster understanding about social and cultural responsibility. Teachers introduced children how to live a sustainable life, primarily through projects such as using recycled materials to do artwork and by planting flowers.

In the category of Economic Sustainability, Preschool C received a rating of 1. Preschool C provided identified trash cans to sort through plastic, glass and paper, but the children were rarely given the opportunity to talk about money, saving and/or the need for economizing. Furthermore, there was little reference made to paper, electricity and water consumption in the setting.

In the category of Environmental Sustainability, Preschool C received rating of 3. Environmental teaching materials were limited to creating artwork utilizing recycled materials and growing plants. The recycled materials artworks were displayed in the Preschool’s Lobby Wall and also on the classroom walls. They also made an effort to organize an occasional field trip to a nature park (once or twice a year). During data collection, the first author joined such a field trip, where she observed that children were equipped with magnifying glasses, pencils and notes during their nature walk.

Simplified LEED Rating Explanations

Preschool A in Bali: Preschool A received an average rating of 4.25 in the category of Sustainable Site. In the following subcategories of: (a) transportation—it received a rating of 1 because the site was difficult to reach, and there was limited public transportation to the site; (b) site selection—it received a rating of 2 because the site was far away from public transportation; (c) site design and management—it received a rating of 7 because the site had good selection of native materials, and/or adaptive planting in their organic garden, with superb on-site irrigation system; (d) storm water management—it received a rating of 7 because it created a system to harvest and recycle rain water for internal irrigation. Preschool A received an average rating of 7 in the category of water efficiency. In the following subcategories of (a) indoor water use—it received a rating of 7 because it installed compostable toilets, which normally required less water than regular toilets; (b) irrigation water—it received a rating of 7 because it used non-potable water to irrigate plants and vegetable; (c) processed water—it received a rating of 7 because its buildings were purposely designed to reduce the amount of water used for operation and industrial purposes.

Preschool A received a rating of 7 in the category of Energy and Atmosphere, considering that all four subcategories: energy demand, energy efficiency, renewable energy and ongoing energy performance received a rating of 7. Its building did not need much energy for operation because there were no air conditioners, fans or artificial lighting. The building only had a skylight, where natural light could penetrate the structure from morning until late afternoon. The building was left dark at night, which means that it saved energy. Preschool A installed solar panels and windmills nearby, generating enough energy to support the school building, which is considered to be superb use of renewable energy.

Preschool A received a rating of 7 in the category of Material and Resources. Both subcategories in sustainable materials and waste management received a rating of 7. It deliberately used treated bamboo in its building construction that had been manufactured by a nearby bamboo factory, and it used reed for its rooftop structure. Bamboo is considered a natural and renewable resource that is capable of rapid growth. Its hollow tube section also gives it nearly twice the strength of a solid wood beam. In addition, Preschool A had an excellent waste management system because it composted almost everything, from leftover food to withered plants.

Preschool A received an average rating of 4.25 in the category of Indoor Environmental Quality. In its following subcategories: (a) indoor air quality—it received a rating of 7 because the facility used low-emission materials that reduced off-gassing of harmful contaminants; (b) thermal comfort—it received a rating of 2 because the design did not allow occupants to control their environmental conditions; (c) lighting—it received a rating of 7 because the project used bamboo scaffolding for its skylight, which allowed ample natural light to penetrate the room and (d) acoustics—it received a rating of 1 because the facility had no walls or door, which means there was no separation between the indoors and the outdoors.

Preschool A received an average rating of 7 in the category of Innovation in Design. In the subcategories of: (a) innovation in design—it received a rating of 7 because its design is considered to be unique with an interesting shape of the building and furniture, and (b) exemplary performance—it received a rating of 7 because it showcases an excellent example of green building through the usage of bamboo materials and through generating renewable energy on site through solar panels.

Preschool B in Berkeley: Preschool B received an average rating of 5.5 for the Sustainable Site category. In the following subcategories of: (a) transportation—it received a rating of 7, because the site was close to public transportation such as the Berkeley Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and bus stop that were both about 10 minutes walking from the school; (b) site selection—it received a rating of 7 because the site was close to existing infrastructure, such as grocery stores, theatres, restaurants, libraries, museums and educational institutions; (c) site design and management—it received a rating of 4 because the site had minimal natural landscaping and utilized a typical way for irrigation and (d) storm water management—it received a rating of 4 since they did not use any special way to manage storm water.

Preschool B received an average rating of 5 for the Water Efficiency category. In the following subcategories of: (a) indoor water use—it received a rating of 5 because its building was designed to reduce 40 per cent of interior water consumption (this design is considered to be above average to save water; however, it is still below Preschool A’s water efficiency); (b) irrigation water—it received a rating of 5 with 61 per cent reduction landscape water consumption and (c) processed water—it received a rating of 5 because it used double-flush toilets to manage processed water.

Preschool B received an average rating of 4.5 for the Energy and Atmosphere category. In the subcategories of: (a) energy demand—it received a rating of 5 because the building was designed to allow plenty of daylight to penetrate through big windows; (b) energy efficiency—it received a rating of 4 since its building reached 26 per cent greater efficiency as compared with Title 24 (California Building Energy Efficiency Standards) for its annual energy savings; (c) renewable energy—it received a rating of 3 because the building did not have any solar panels, windmills or other renewable energy features and (d) ongoing energy performance—it received a rating of 5 because the building had suitable maintenance in terms of ongoing energy performance.

Preschool B received an average rating of 5 for the material and resources category: It received a rating of 5 for its use of sustainable materials. Its carpet had 15 per cent post-industrial recycled content that met the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus standards, ensuring that low-emission criteria were satisfied for 13 chemicals. The interior walls were coated with Eco Spec paint, which contained less than 10 grams of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) per litre. Preschool B’s interior also utilized materials that were both safe for children and environmentally responsible, such as the SkyBlend Particleboard cabinetry made from 100 per cent post-industrial waste wood fibre. Formaldehyde emissions from this product are less than 0.01 ppm, the same level as outdoor ambient air. In addition, the architect carefully considered its toddlers’ vulnerability to toxins because of their higher metabolic rates as compared with adults (Berkeley Early Childhood Education Center, 2006). In terms of waste management, its building was composed of 96 per cent construction waste diverted from a landfill and for this effort it received a rating of 5.

Preschool B received an average rating of 5 for the Indoor Environmental Quality category. In the subcategories of: (a) indoor air quality—it received a rating of 5 because of low toxicity of its selected green materials such as Eco Spec paint for interior walls and carpet that met the Green Label Plus standard, automatically enhanced indoor air quality, which in turn improved occupants’ health (Berkeley Early Childhood Education Center, 2006); (b) thermal comfort—it received a rating of 5 because the occupants had some control in adjusting the room temperature with the option of opening or closing the windows or using fans to reduce the heat. At the same time, the elimination of air conditioning was considered to be positive for the environment; (c) lighting—it received a rating of 6 because of its large windows and skylights that allowed plenty of natural light to penetrate into the building; (d) acoustics—it received a rating of 4 because the room did not use floor-to-ceiling partitions, which often caused minor acoustics problems, such as the cries of infants and toddlers in one room that could affect the other room.

Preschool B received an average rating of 4.5 for the Innovation in Design category. In the subcategories of: (a) innovation in design—it received a rating of 4 because its architecture was considered to be typical for a building in the Berkeley neighbourhood and (b) exemplary performance—it received a rating of 5 because its design purposely promoted an eco-lifestyle, such as the accessibility of bicycle storage at school as a feature to encourage stakeholders to bike to school.

Preschool C in Hong Kong: Preschool C in Hong Kong received an average rating of 4.25 in the category of Sustainable Site. In the following subcategories of: (a) transportation—it received a rating of 7 because it was near the Mass Transit Railway station; (ii) site selection—it received a rating of 7 because the site was close to two large shopping malls; (c) site design and management—it received a rating of 1 because there was no planting on site and exterior lighting design was minimal and (d) storm water management—it received a rating of 2 because the site did not have any special features devoted to rainwater harvesting.

Preschool C received an average rating of 1.33 in the category of Water Efficiency. In the following subcategories of: (a) indoor water—it received a rating of 2 because it used a normal flush for its toilets; (b) irrigation water—it received a rating of 1 because there was no system to use irrigation water for other means and (c) processed water—it received a rating of 1 because the school did not have a unique way of saving processed water.

Preschool C received an average rating of 2.75 in the category of Energy and Atmosphere. In the subcategories of: (a) energy demand—it received a rating of 2 because the building design did not include any scheme to reduce energy; (b) energy efficiency—it received a rating of 4 because its design considered the comfort of the occupants with appropriate heating, cooling, ventilation and natural lighting schemes; (c) renewable energy—it received a rating of 1 since the building did not generate power from any renewable source and (d) energy performance—it received a rating of 4 because of the incentive for occupants to reduce energy use, such as the policy for building occupants to turn off air-conditioning when the temperature reached 25 degrees Celsius.

Preschool C received an average rating of 2 in the category of Material and Resources. In the subcategory of (a) sustainable materials selection—it received a rating of 1 because the building material was not sustainable; and (b) in the subcategory of waste management—Preschool C received a rating of 3 because only minimal effort was made to segregate trash and sort plastic, glass and trash. In addition, it did not have any composting programme.

Preschool C received an average rating of 4 in the category of Indoor Environmental Quality. In the following subcategories of: (a) indoor air quality—it received a rating of 2 because the indoor flooring and the wall painting did not consider the use of green material; (b) thermal comfort—it received a rating of 5 for its policy of allowing occupants to control their own thermal comfort by operating windows, air conditioners or heaters accordingly; (c) lighting—it received a rating of 4 because it had many windows in the classrooms and corridors that allowed natural light to come into the space and (d) acoustics—it received a rating of 5 because it had good interior space acoustics for individual classrooms and particularly for its music room.

Preschool C received an average rating of 1 in the category of innovation in design, because both of the subcategories received a rating of 1. The school did not produce any innovative architectural design and it did not consider any environmental sensitivity that could justify it as an example of a green building.

Three Distinct Green School Characteristics

Holistic: Preschool A in Bali—Preschool A demonstrated commitment to sustainability in its building design and curriculum approach. It ranked highest in the Simplified LEED, which is evidence of its architectural design expression and commitment to manifesting Green Building. The building was constructed mainly of bamboo, a building material that can be grown easily and quickly. Bamboo is durable and strong, and has the strength of steel, but it is more flexible to bend. Furthermore, the building was designed with great respect for, and sensitivity to, the environment. For example, an organic garden was added near the school. Preschool A also ranked highest on the ERS-SDEC scale, which is evidence of its commitment to educate children based on ESD principles. Teachers were given the flexibility to develop their own curriculum for each class (as long as the curriculum fits into the larger mission of the school) to equip students with the ESD knowledge. Clearly, Preschool A showcased the holistic approach.

Building: Preschool B in Berkeley—Preschool B in Berkeley translated the meaning of Green School in the form of building design, while it did not include teaching about sustainability in the curriculum. Berkeley is known to have well-educated residents who value progressive thinking and innovation in research and development. Green Building is not a new concept for its residents. Preschool B is considered to be the first preschool recognized by the USGBC with the LEED Silver Award for Green Building. Preschool B was designed to foster interactions among its community members, including teachers, parents, children, staff and the principal. Its design reflects a strong commitment from the school’s owner, architect and operator to create an environment-friendly atmosphere. The outer lobby is an outdoor porch with a little garage for bikes, this feature is meant to encourage teachers and parents to bike to school—an activity to promote sustainable lifestyle. The deliberate selection of non-toxic building material was considered for its suitability for children’s health and safety. Preschool B did not directly adopt a green curriculum; however, the message about sustainability is conveyed through many of its activities such as: (a) the placement of children’s books about recycling in the library; and (b) frequent field trips activities to the naturalistic areas in the nearby university. This effort is reflected in its overall ERS-SDEC rating that landed Preschool B in the second rank. Therefore, Preschool B showcases building approach.

Curriculum: Preschool C in Hong Kong—There was no ‘green’ philosophy expressed in the building construction of Preschool C; however, the environmental lessons were embedded in their existing high-scope curriculum, with the purpose to compete in the Green School competition. Preschool C requested children to bring recycled materials, such as toilet paper tubes, and utilize them to create artworks. Teachers also organized activities that encouraged children to conserve the Earth’s resources. Preschool C’s Green Curriculum is still considered to be lower in comparison with their counterparts, because their outdoor field trips were held infrequently (only once or twice a year) and the daily environment-friendly activities did not score high against ERS-SDEC in comparison with its counterparts. Preschool C, however, clearly showcased the curriculum approach with its commitment to alter nearly all its activities to assist students in gaining environmental consciousness.

Factors Influencing the Establishment of Green Schools

Vision of School Leaders: The vision of school leaders critically influenced the understanding, implementation and manifestation of a Green School. Preschool A has been successful in implementing its sustainability vision in almost all aspects of the school establishment and operation, as evidenced by its highest ratings in the Simplified LEED and ERS-SDEC. Its Green Studies programme is an extension of the school’s bamboo structure. Preschool A’s owner incorporates sustainability in the school’s philosophy in order to provide a natural, holistic, student-centred learning environment that empowers and inspires the students to be creative, innovative green leaders. Preschools B and C did not include sustainability in their school philosophies. The schools, however, were influenced by the Green School Movement through other means, namely Preschool B’s owner’s desire to construct a green building, while Preschool C followed its Principal’s vision to win an outstanding Green Preschool award. The owner of Preschool B wanted a green building for its new centre, resulting in their active selection of an architect who was familiar with the USGBC’s LEED criteria. This vision enabled Preschool B to earn local recognition as the first preschool to receive a Green Building Award in Berkeley in 2006. Preschool C embraced a religious mission to spread the gospel and to nurture children with love and knowledge. Sustainability has not been mentioned in any of the school’s documents. The principal’s vision to earn the Outstanding Green Preschool Award launched by the ECC-HK seemed to have been the main driving force in influencing the school to embrace the practice of sustainability.

Culture, City Regulations and Green Institutions: Preschool A was influenced by the Balinese agricultural society and its local heritage. The owner fused traditional Balinese arts and crafts with modern technology in building design. For example, the overall school complex was powered by a number of alternative energy sources, including a bamboo-and-sawdust hot water and cooking system, a hydro powered vortex generator and solar panels. Preschool A, situated strategically on Bali island that has a beautiful landscape, was constructed in a village compound style in the midst of an organic garden and rice paddy fields. The school allowed domestic animals (such as chicken, dogs and goats) to run around freely within the school complex. Preschool A’s Green Studies blended the traditional and modern teaching styles, respecting the local culture through bilingual instruction in English and Bahasa Indonesia. The loose building code in Bali enabled Preschool A to be built with a unique form; normally it would not have been able to receive building permit in other regions. Upon receiving the label as the ‘Greenest School on Earth’ in 2012, the USGBC’s Center for Green Schools made an unusual decision to select a non-American school as the first school to receive this prestigious award.

Preschool B was established in Berkeley, which is known for its strict regulations in terms of building codes for childcare centres. A design team was formed comprising architects and educators to increase the functionality of this school for future users, namely, children, teachers, staff and parents. The architect was selected because she was knowledgeable not only regarding the requirements of green buildings (LEED criteria) but also conversant with Title 22 of the California Child Care Building Code. The status of Berkeley as a developed city in a developed country matters in relation to bringing common awareness to its population about green living. Furthermore, Preschool B is located in the same country where the USGBC was founded, the United States, where the movement for Green schools and Green Buildings is considered to be accelerating.

Hong Kong’s culture is known to be practical, fast-paced, efficient and cosmopolitan. The focus on environment, however, has long been the aim of the Hong Kong government, evidenced by the creation of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in 1986 and the Environment Bureau in 2007. Both institutions showcased the Hong Kong government’s progressive efforts to promote ESD. It is also the Hong Kong government that oversees the ECC-HK. Preschool C is an example of a school that responded to the government’s effort in promoting ESD. Despite its low ranks on both scales, Preschool C could be considered as one of the pioneering schools in Hong Kong to educate children about sustainability.

Green Schools in Three Cultures: Analysis with Bronfenbrenner

The Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory was introduced earlier to frame this study, which assisted data analyses and interpretations. Dr Iwan created a modified Bronfenbrenner Diagram based on research data, literature review, and field notes (Figure 1). We wanted to determine the extent to which different levels of the ecosystem would influence child development. Inside the microsystem circle, three boxes have been drawn to contain three different microsystems; Preschool A in Bali, Preschool B in Berkeley and Preschool C in Hong Kong. At the mesosystem level, several aspects were considered, such as the student’s family home, parents’ workplace, neighbourhood play area and places of worship, with the family home and parents’ workplace being the primary focus.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 1

Source: A modified Bronfenbrenner Diagram created by Dr Iwan.

The exposure of children in the three preschools were different because of their varying family socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The working and living places of parents from Preschool A were unique. During data collection, it was observed that several mothers raised their children alone in Bali, while the fathers worked in distant regions, such as in Jakarta and Singapore, apparently only coming back on the weekends to see their family. The majority of children in Preschool A came from other countries rather than being locally born.

Children in Preschool B came to school using different forms of private and public transportation, although most parents took their children to school by bicycle in an effort to be environmentally conscious. Hong Kong is known to be a compact, efficient and densely populated city, and children in Preschool C typically had a shorter commute to school, making it convenient for them to use public transport; only a few parents would drive to school. Clearly, the families’ homes and parents’ working places created an interesting dynamic that contributed to richer cultural exposure for children in Preschool A, in comparison with children in Preschool B and Preschool C.

At the exosystem level, the mass media played a huge role in promoting the significance of ‘green’ awards in these three cultures. Preschool A received international media coverage for being the first Greenest School on Earth in 2012 after being nominated for the award by the Cable News Network (CNN) from the United States and journalists from other countries. Furthermore, the awarding institution, the USGBC, is not only more influential than the ECC-HK and other existing international green institutions, it is also more progressively focused on expansion, as shown by its creation of the Global Coalition for Green Schools in 2013. This media attention and the progressiveness of the USGBC enhanced the prestige of the Green School Award that Preschool A received. This did not occur for Preschool B and Preschool C, both of which received some local media coverage but were not acknowledged internationally.

At the macrosystem level, as discussed earlier, the three Green School Movements in Indonesia (Green School Bali, GBCI), the United States (the USGBC) and China (the SEPA) are influenced by the culture, sociopolitical environment, economy and laws of their respective nations. An expansion to the fourth level of Bronfenbrenner’s framework, a metasystem, is needed to contextualize the level of influence by international NGOs, such as the World GBC, FEE and OMEP, each of which have recently reoriented their focus towards sustainable development.

Limitations

Researching a recently new and progressive movement such as the Green School requires a lot of time, effort and financial resources. Given the novelty of the Green School research, particularly in the context of ECE, we encountered difficulty in finding award-winning preschool participants due to the scarcity of such school selection in 2012. The schools in this study have received awards from two different institutions; Preschool A and B received their awards from the USGBC, and Preschool C received its award from the ECC-HK. We also need to acknowledge that ERS-SDEC is a new scale and has not received a proper validation, while the Simplified LEED is a modification of the original one.