Issues of environmental sustainability - especially related to green jobs and "going green" at home - have been hot topics for a while now. But what about greening schools? A new program launched this spring, called "Green Ribbon Schools", is designed to do just that by recognizing achievements in environmental sustainability and eco-education.

Created through a partnership between the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Green Ribbons will be awarded to schools that demonstrate their commitment to the environment in any of four categories: environmental education; energy efficiency and resource conservation; healthy operations and maintenance; and community engagement and service learning.

Schools wishing to incorporate environmental education and green initiatives into their curriculum and operations have a number of resources available to them. Earlier this year, for example, the Green Education Foundation launched the Green Building Program, a new and unique K-12 curriculum that teaches students about sustainable building, ecology, and the environment. The program allows students to use their school as a teaching tool to learn first-hand about green building attributes and benefits, and was made possible in part by a grant from American Standard.