Who is your Sustainability Mentor? Your Energy Efficiency Idol? You may not have to look any further than your 10-year-old tyke. Our children may have a thing or two to teach us about environmental stewardship – after all, it is their future we are trying to preserve.

Manassas Park Elementary School in Virginia has developed full-circle sustainability initiative that combines efficient buildings with efficient behaviors.  The school buildings, designed by VMDO Architects with support from 2rw Consultants, are LEED Gold certified and use 40% less energy than a typical energy code-compliant building. Additionally, the rainwater collection system harvests 1.3 million gallons per year for flushing and irrigation.

Manassas Park’s energy efficiency improvements also serve as educational tools for students. Outdoor building displays are linked to monitoring and metering systems that providing teaching materials about heat, light, air, water, and energy.

Students have access to an easy-to-read energy dashboard gives students a “green light” when conditions are right for opening the windows and enjoying fresh air instead of relying on artificial climate control.

In addition, the top of the rainwater collection cistern functions as an outdoor classroom. Educational maps show children how rainwater falling at their school flows through Bull Run, the Occoquan and Potomac Rivers, and on to the Chesapeake Bay.  Check out this video (courtesy of The Chesapeake Bay Program) to see more ways that energy efficiency and environmental education are integrated into the school’s design.

Weaving education into sustainability initiatives trains our children to become stewards of the environment. By learning the value of saving energy and water, they can establish sustainable habits early and serve as environmentally-responsible role models for their peers – and their parents.

So keep your eyes and ears open. You may just find your most effective environmental educator at the dinner table tonight.