facility
Equipment and systems in place at Raintree allow our schoolhouse to run efficiently and sustainably. These innovations make our space greener and cleaner.
REUSABLE TOWELS
Students use fabric towels to dry their hands, clean up spills, and wipe tables. This saves as many as 78,100 paper towels per school year. That's enough to save 9 pine trees a year!
“We wash [towels] so the people don’t need to cut down so many trees to make paper towels. And if we don’t have trees it will make smoke come out of everywhere just like in the giant book (Greta and the Giants by Zoë Tucker). -- Rory, age 4
"Because if we throw them [paper towels] in the trash, it can be bad for the earth. And also we cannot re-use the [paper] towels. We wash them [our towels] just like in the washing machine. We use it for wiping and they [our towels] are important for wiping up messes.” -- Ximena, age 6
LOW FLOW PLUMBING FIXTURES
Every bathroom sink in Raintree School uses motion sensors that turn sink water on and off. They are also designed with aerators which help conserve water by reducing the flow and create a more consistent splash free stream of water. In addition to our sinks, our facility is equipped with low-flow toilets. These toilets (known to most students as ‘the potty’) save around a gallon of water per flush.
MOTION SENSOR LED LIGHTING
Nearly all of the lights on the Raintree campus are LEDs. They are also motion activated. They turn on when a person enters and shut off after several minutes of inactivity in the room. This prevents a light from accidentally being left on for hours or over the weekend.
“[Regular lights] could waste the energy. Motion sensor turns on and off automatically. It has sensors, motion sensors all around the room. It saves the energy.” - Karter, age 6
POWERED BY THE SUN
You may notice that Raintree’s roof is completely covered in solar panels. This 51kW, grid-tied solar array consists of 158 panels and provides an average of 85% of our annual electricity. During high production days, excess energy is sent to the grid for use by other customers.
“Solar panels. Because they help. [It’s from the] Sun. It makes the solar panels bright and shiny. It makes the electric not go out. It makes the lights work whenever the solar panels are on top.” - Alani, age 5
PUBLIC EV CHARGERS
The Raintree campus provides two electric vehicle chargers to the local community: one level 2 (8kW) and one level 3 (24kW) charger. The level 3 charger is faster and perfect for staff who use it daily. There are also many community members who use the EV chargers regularly. These chargers are free to the public!
“You gotta use electric from the electric gas station. It helps the environment. There’s a charger on the top and it says how much it's charged and you have to plug it in.” - Ege, age 6