Community High is the Ann Arbor Public School’s newest Green Certified School. As of spring 2011, CHS was officially designated an Emerald School by the Michigan Green Schools Program.

CHS joins Allen, Bach, Bryant, Eberwhite, Lawton, Logan, Mitchell, Northside, Pattengill, Thurston and Wines elementary schools, as well as Forsythe and Slauson middle schools in official certification this year.

Green Schools certification is done every year by the Michigan Green Schools Foundation. Schools are required to demonstrate they meet the requirements of a minimum of ten points set out by the foundation. Schools who meet ten points receive green certification, schools that meet 15 points receive emerald certification and schools that meet 20 points receive evergreen certification.

“We need to continue to get a higher level of certification. The next level is Evergreen,” said Dean Jen Hein.

A minimum of two points each must come from four distinct categories: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle/Use of Renewable Resources at the School, Energy, The Environment and Miscellaneous projects. Beyond those eight points schools are free to describe any projects or efforts they feel contribute to their status as a green building or school.

To apply to become green certified schools must outline each of their ten to 20 points in detail. Getting Community High School to become Green Certified has been a central goal of the Ecology Club since its founding last school year. “We’ll ask Courtney and Todd and the Ecology Club to make some recommendations for some plans to the building for next year,” said Hein.

The presence of an Ecology Club in addition to the FOS I curriculum were core reasons for Community’s high rating of certification.

Science teachers Courtney Kiley and Tod Tharp wrote the application with help from the Ecology Club.

“It was really exciting to know that they were willing to look at the different things Community was doing and still award us the Emerald Status,” said Hen.

Although this award does not come with anything except bragging rights, it is validation for the current work being done at CHS to promote sustainability and environmentally friendly lifestyles.

Even though CHS was awarded Emerald status the Ecology Club has outlined several areas that they hope to improve at CHS in the coming years. Energy efficiency is always a problem in an historic building and was the weakest category in the green certification application for Community.

“I would love to see us eliminate or dramatically reduce, I’m sure we can’t eliminate completely, the amount of plastic that we use in the building. Every time I go past the recycling bins they’re full of plastic bottles from pop and from water and I really wish we could use a lot less of that,” said Hein.

Improving energy efficiency as well as working to complete the landscaping changes proposed by the Ecology Club are goals for future certification cycles.