The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 has applied for the Renew America’s School grant to request more than $11 million in funding for climate efforts, Karen Bireta, the district’s sustainability coordinator, said at the climate action meeting on Tuesday, March 21.

“This is a really exciting one. We’re now working full steam ahead on a full application,” she said.

Karen Bireta, District 65 sustainability coordinator, speaks during the Tuesday meeting. Credit: Manan Bhavnani

The additional money will fund the district’s work at seven school buildings, including the proposed Fifth Ward school, she said.

The district was invited to file a full application, having submitted a concept paper on Jan. 26, Bireta told about 10 people at Lincolnwood Elementary School, 2600 Colfax St.

Under the Department of Energy program, schools across the country can get up to $80 million to make energy-related improvements.

The lively discussion Tuesday focused on composting and tree planting, with the district making progress on both fronts.

District 65 holds the record with the most number of schools participating in composting, according to the Illinois Food Scrap and Composting Coalition. The district reached that goal in November 2022.

The district has released videos on composting, which Bireta shared with the crowd.

Since 2018, the district has planted more than 94 trees on school grounds, according to its website. The Tuesday discussion focused on arboreal standards and long-term planning.

“I really appreciate the level of responsibility that I heard people voicing about planting trees,” said Mary Collins, director of strategy at Evanston Grows.

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Manan Bhavnani

Prior to joining the RoundTable, Manan Bhavnani covered business and technology for the International Business Times, with a focus on mergers, earnings and governance. He is a double Medill graduate, with...

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  1. Can this money be used to upgrade aging/existing heating and cooling equipment to be more efficient? That would result in lower operating costs for the district and could lower school green house gas emissions.

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  2. Well, well, well, and alrighty then.

    District 65 holds the record with the most number of schools participating in composting, according to the Illinois Food Scrap and Composting Coalition, and since 2018, the district has planted more than 94 trees across its schools according to its website.

    How about instead of composting and planting trees we endeavor to raise math and reading abilities?

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