On May 4, 2007, a major tornado hit Greensburg, Kansas, reaching speeds of up to 205 mph and destroying nearly 95% of the town. One year later, Greensburg is rebuilding its high school as a green, LEED-certified structure. Treehugger.com recently interviewed the principal and a student about the motivation behind going green and what it means to literally start from scratch.

Principal Randy Fulton says that the motivation for building a greener school comes from a collective resolution made by the governor and other state leaders to go green. Fulton tells Treehugger that the new green school is still in the planning stages and that he envisions an innovative building that educates and motivates with features such as a “mechanical room where all the benefits from green could be seen.”

Student Taylor Schmidt feels that the devastation made him and fellow residents intent on making Greensburg “better than it was and more sustainable and green than it was” in an effort to “keep our town from dying again.” He feels that “Kids have been the driving force for rebuilding,” lending further credence to the idea that the future of the green movement rests in good hands.

While Greensburg can afford to start green from the ground up, it doesn’t mean that your school can’t find ways to integrate green practices into its existing infrastructure. One way to go greener is to replace your older furniture with green school furniture that can help you achieve the same LEED-certification that Greensburg seeks. Other ways include simply conserving the water you use every day or saving energy by closing your window shades and blinds at the right times. As Taylor Schmidt notes, “green is so simple; it’s not a radical concept. It’s just a simple switch to make a huge difference.”

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net