We know that the future of energy efficiency and sustainable building depends on new people entering this field, whether transitioning from adjacent careers or brand new to the work force. The Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) has scores of course offerings for designers, builders and other industry professionals, but has just added a new program to the mix: Green Building for high school students. At In Balance Green Consulting, we’ve had the pleasure of providing these introductory 1-hour classes, which not only supports new career paths for these youth, but also wowed our team with the hands-on learning these young people are offered.
Career Technical Education has seen a resurgence of investment, and it’s been exciting to see the ‘classrooms’ for many of these programs. With indoor shop space and support yards, students ages 14 – 18 are frequently building parts, or all, of a tiny home, including pouring concrete, framing walls and roofs, wiring lights, installing plumbing and HVAC, hanging drywall, installing siding, and even finishes in some cases. Other courses cover drafting, design and engineering, alongside related fields like machining and wood shop.
In our “Introduction to Green Building” class, we review the energy and resources that go into a building, discuss the potential negative impacts of construction and suggest ways to mitigate those impacts. We talk about design, highlighting traditional building methods and contemporary climate-responsive projects, then talk about products that are low-emitting or use recycled content, for example. We pass around product samples, such as wool carpet, recycled glass counter tops, rigid insulation, and bamboo panels.
There are some very impressive programs throughout the central coast! To highlight a couple of rockstar programs (in their own words):
ACE Charter High: Architecture Construction and Engineering (ACE) Charter High School in Camarillo provides a scientific, technical, analytical, and liberal arts based high school experience through progressive and collaborative teaching practices. Through career pathways, ACE students explore a rigorous, contextual, project-based curriculum that prepares students for lifelong learning as well as direct-entry into college, professional apprenticeship programs, or a technical career.
Santa Maria CTE: The Santa Maria High School District has a Career Technical Education Center that just opened in 2021. The facilities are state-of-the-art, bringing together students from three different high schools throughout the district. The career focus is to ready students for apprenticeship programs or to community colleges for ongoing education and certifications.
Thousand Oaks High School: TOHS has a Residential and Commercial Construction pathway. Students learn the basics in 15 different trades, which will increase their opportunities for hiring in the future, and are introduced to industry standard techniques to be competitive in future job interviews. They compete in building competitions to demonstrate construction skills, develop student leadership and teamwork. Each unit of study provides students a hands-on learning experience to reinforce the concepts in order to further the learning and skill development.
Do you know a high school program that would be interested in a guest speaker on green building? Reach out and let us know!