SMCOE's Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative (ELSI) offers a wide variety of Technical Assistance Services for schools and districts. Example services include:
Consultative Services and Coaching: Sharing information and best practices, identifying needs and assets, and problem-solving.
Training and Professional Development: Deliver training and professional development for a wide variety of audiences including faculty, staff, leadership, students, parents, and community partners.
Assessment and Strategic Planning: Conduct baseline or benchmark assessments and support the development and implementation of strategic plans for whole campus or specific focus area plans.
Project Management: Support or direct the management of green facilities projects.
Networking: Connect school stakeholders to relevant community-based partners, utility companies, funding agencies, or other school leaders in San Mateo County.
Example Projects:
Sustainability Dashboards:Campus sustainability dashboards make facilities and operations data transparent and easy to access. Public dashboards raise community awareness and promote action.
Climate Action Plans: Climate action plans (CAPs) are detailed strategies for tracking and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Zero Waste Initiatives: Waste projects include assessments and recommendations, professional development for school staff, and education for students.
District-Wide Sustainability Committees: The ELSI team helps develop and maintain district-wide committees that focus on integrating sustainability into the campus, curriculum, community, and culture of each school community.
Green Ribbon Schools Award: ELSI offers introductory and customized technical assistance for the CA Green Ribbon Program including project management and application review.
Why Participate?
Why build sustainable and climate-ready school communities? According to the Green Schools Alliance, schools that adopt climate adaptation and mitigation strategies can:
Prepare students for the future economy
Increase student participation and engagement
Improve student academic outcomes
Create a stronger sense of community
Reduce absenteeism by improving student and staff health
Reduce consumption and waste
Save on energy, water, and other operational costs
Experience higher teacher retention and lower health costs
Meet Our Partners:
Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE): PCE is the community-led electricity provider for San Mateo County. They provide clean electricity at lower prices and invest proceeds back into the community. As one of California’s Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) organizations, PCE has the flexibility and local control to use innovative options in purchasing and generating electricity for residents and businesses. PCE’s goals include continuing to provide energy that is 100% carbon-free and that will be 100% renewable by 2025.
City/County Association for Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG): C/CAG deals with issues that affect the quality of life in general; transportation, air quality, stormwater runoff, hazardous waste, solid waste and recycling, and more. C/CAG is eager to engage with schools to address all of these issues as they occur on campuses and disrupt student health and learning.
SMCOE Safe Routes to School: This program encourages and enables school children to walk and bicycle to school by implementing projects and activities that improve the health, well-being, and safety of children, which result in less traffic congestion and emissions caused by school-related travel.
Commute.org: Their mission is to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by commuters to decrease congestion, improve the environment, and enhance quality of life. Commute.org is a joint powers agency (JPA) located in San Mateo County, California. The JPA is comprised of 19 cities and towns as well as the County of San Mateo.
San Mateo County Office of Sustainability: OOS has programs forstudents, teachers,administrators, and facilities managers.Their resources and services fall within the areas of waste reduction, energy and water conservation, watershed and coastal protection, and alternative transportation.
Flows to Bay (C/CAG Stormwater Pollution Prevention): Water pollution degrades surface waters, making them unsafe for drinking, fishing, swimming, and other activities. The San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (Flows To Bay), was established in 1990 to reduce the pollution carried by stormwater into local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean.
OneShoreline (San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District): OneShoreline, is an independent government agency that works across jurisdictional boundaries to secure resources for the long-term resilience of our region. One Shoreline plans and builds solutions to the climate change impacts of sea level rise, flooding, and coastal erosion. These efforts enhance the environment, recreational opportunities, and quality of life within communities throughout the county.
San Mateo County Office of Sustainability: OOS has programs forstudents, teachers,administrators, and facilities managers.Their resources and services fall within the areas of waste reduction, energy and water conservation, watershed and coastal protection, and alternative transportation.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space (Midpen): Midpen helps plants, animals and people thrive throughout the greater Santa Cruz Mountains region by preserving a connected greenbelt of more than 65,000 acres of public open space. These diverse and scenic landscapes, from bay wetlands to redwood forests and coastal grasslands, host an incredible diversity of life, making our region one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
San Mateo County Parks: The San Mateo County Department of Parks provides recreational opportunities in a safe and effective manner, and protects and enhances the natural resources of the County. SMCP operates 24 separate parks, encompassing over 16,000 acres, and 190 miles of county and local trails, including three regional trails.
Food Systems Alliance: The San Mateo Food System Alliance (SMFSA) seeks to support, enhance and maintain an enduring and interdependent food system that is economically viable, environmentally sound and socially just. As the first Food System Alliance in California, the group has sought to bring together all the parts of the local food system — from production to processing, distribution, preparation, retail, consumption and waste — into a cohesive group capable of creating an ever healthier and more vibrant local food economy. The members of the SMFSA include community based organizations, local government actors, food bank representatives, residents and more.
Each Green Corner: Each Green Corner seeks to bridge the gap between home gardeners and food distribution non-profits to increase the pipeline of fresh, healthy, and culturally-diverse produce for our non-profit partners to distribute throughout our local communities. In the process, EGC promotes awareness about food insecurity in our communities, the deep connection between food security and public health, the importance of permaculture and sustainable agriculture to environmental health, and using urban agriculture as a means to build community.
RethinkWaste: RethinkWaste, also known as the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA), is a joint powers authority formed by eleven local government jurisdictions (City of Belmont, City of Burlingame, City of East Palo Alto, City of Foster City, Town of Hillsborough, City of Menlo Park, City of Redwood City, City of San Carlos, City of San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District) in San Mateo County, California. ReThinkWaste strives to serve as solid waste industry leaders in public health, safety and environmental stewardship. They provide their ratepayers with innovative cost-effective zero waste programs and Member Agency climate action plan alignment through education, engagement, infrastructure, and policy development.
Zero Waste Education Alliance (ZWEA):ZWEA is a collaborative network of organizations leading waste reduction efforts in San Mateo County school programs.The purpose of this network is to foster collaboration, identifybest practices, and provide zero wasteresources to educators and administrators.
San Mateo County Office of Sustainability: OOS has programs forstudents, teachers,administrators, and facilities managers.Their resources and services fall within the areas of waste reduction, energy and water conservation, watershed and coastal protection, and alternative transportation.
Julie Hilborn
Coordinator, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
Why build sustainable and climate-ready school communities? According to the Green Schools Alliance, schools that adopt climate adaptation and mitigation strategies can: