Magazine

As the 2020-2021 school year comes to a close, there is more focus than ever on reopening our schools safely. It’s been a long year of online learning, Zoom classes, of juggling the needs of our students with the safety of our teachers, and for many, it’s been one year too long. But it looks as if the age of Zoom may be winding down, at least in California.

Many kids are attending public schools this spring with the use of COVID-19 safety protocols, including more desk spacing, more frequent cleaning and mandates to wear masks.
But far too many of the school buildings themselves remain dilapidated, toxic and in desperate need of structural improvements. Help may finally be on the way.

Protecting forests is an essential strategy in the fight against climate change that has not received the attention it deserves. Trees capture and store massive amounts of carbon. And unlike some strategies for cooling the climate, they don’t require costly and complicated technology.

Yet although tree-planting initiatives are popular, protecting and restoring existing forests rarely attracts the same level of support. As an example, forest protection was notably missing from the US$447 million Energy Act of 2020, which the U.S. Congress passed in December 2020 to jump-start technological carbon capture and storage.

Queens University of Charlotte was facing this dilemma. After opening its doors in 1857, the school has become a cornerstone within the city. It has also adapted to the needs of students as the years passed. However, Queens University was struggling to keep up with basic infrastructures, such as distributing energy to critical parts of the school. Seeing as student comfort on campus is a big deal, along with the need to cut energy costs, this dilemma had to be addressed urgently. Unfortunately, the budget did not allow for any grand changes.

A solution came along in the shape of Metrus, although many will refer to it as a revolution.

On 28 Feb, 2019, a mooring snapped for America’s vessel. A report released by the government details the dire water situation facing the country. Now the problem is more official, but how much closer is it to being solved? Water shortages all across the United States will only become worse, which in turn makes it

Assembly Bill 841 was authored by Phil Ting (Assemblyman) and has been in the pipeline for almost two years before it was recently signed into law by Governor Newsom. After undergoing certain changes and losing some of the wide-spread support due to clashing views, it finally received the green light to make an environmental difference. Thus, it can be considered a small yet important victory towards implementing green alternatives, as well as prioritizing child safety.

Whether children are currently going to school in person, learning remotely or doing a mix of both, digital tools and texts are becoming much more commonplace for K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From a learning space design perspective, this could be an effective way of maintaining in-person instruction, even when temperatures drop later in the fall.
A few universities are taking class meetings outside as an innovative way to safely keep students on campus.