Strategies: Climate Change

Implement anti-idling policies and awareness campaigns to reduce engine idling for passenger vehicles, school buses, and/or equipment and truck fleets

Promote walking and biking to school through education, incentives, and environmental changes; often called SRTS

Encourage methods of soil cultivation that keep at least one-third of cultivated soil covered with the previous year’s crop residue (e.g., mulch till, ridge till, strip till, or no-till)

Support site-specific plans for crop production that match nutrient applications to crop needs, typically with agricultural best management practices

Replace or retrofit diesel buses or other vehicles to operate with clean diesel technology

Incorporate locally grown foods into school meals and snacks, often with visits from food producers, cooking classes, nutrition and waste reduction efforts, and school gardens

Modify local environments to support physical activity, increase access to new or existing facilities for physical activity, or build new facilities

Regulate the quality of food that can be sold to students through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), à la carte options, vending machines, etc.

Establish designated areas where students can garden with guidance, often with nutrition and food preparation lessons and opportunities for taste tasting and hands-on learning

Arrange active transportation with a fixed route, designated stops, and pick up times when children can walk to school with adult chaperones