Northwood High School was named a 2026 California Green Ribbon School Gold Level sustainability honoree by the California Department of Education for their outstanding achievements in environmental excellence.
Northwood has shown its dedication to sustainability by integrating practices into daily operations and student learning. The campus features water-efficient landscaping, an on-campus garden, the three-bin waste sorting system, donation of recovered edible food and infrastructure designed to reduce energy use and environmental impact. Students are also directly engaged in sustainability through a diverse curriculum that includes courses in environmental science, engineering and green technology.
“We are incredibly proud of Northwood for being recognized as a 2026 California Green Ribbon School,” stated Joe Chapin, IUSD Director of Maintenance, Operations & Transportation. “Their commitment to sustainability amplifies the work the District has done and is continuing to do to reduce the District's environmental footprint while equipping them to become thoughtful caretakers of the planet for both now and in the future.”
Sustainability Curriculum and On-Campus Culture
Sustainability practices are woven throughout Northwood's curriculum. In 2024, Northwood introduced a “Climate Action” elective course, where students examine the environmental impact of food systems and collaborate with university researchers to study school lunch waste and create solutions. In previous years, students learned about sustainable building design and the impacts of the Urban Heat Island Effect. A wide variety of science electives are offered to further advance environmental career pathways: AP Environmental Science, Honors Interdisciplinary Climate Explorations, Geology and Marine Science.
Within Career Technical Education, students are learning vermicomposting, sustainable landscaping and plant science through the Agriculture & Natural Resources Horticulture pathway. With the Culinary Arts pathways, students use the fruits and herbs produced from the gardens in their cooking.
NHS has a strong support system to promote students’ health and wellness. Various programs, such as Teacher Advisement and Challenge Success, focus on relationship building and stress management. Initiatives such as Hope Squad, Thrive (Challenge Success student committee), State of the Student Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, and The Well (a calming space) also foster student belonging and support student mental health.
Beyond Campus Sustainability
These sustainability practices go beyond Northwood's campus by working with community and education partners. For example, Northwood was selected as the inaugural participant in the Climate Exploration Program, a program in collaboration with Water UCI, an interdisciplinary center in the School of Social Ecology. This program aims to engage high school students in understanding climate change and create internship programs with UCI to promote participation in climate change adaptation and resilience activities.
Students also attend field trips to organizations such as UCI, the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Second Harvest Foodbank, Irvine Ranch Water District and OC Coast Keepers, a landfill tour with OC Waste and Recycling to practice civic leadership and community stewardship in real-world settings.
These programs not only educate, but also empower students and staff to take meaningful action.
A special thank you to the Irvine Public Schools Foundation for supporting Northwood’s sustainability work. With the three-year Innovative Grant we received in 2023, we were able to launch Honors Interdisciplinary Climate Explorations and make many sustainability projects possible.
Learn more about the California Green Ribbon Schools award program and IUSD’s sustainability initiatives.
Related:
IUSD Receives 2026 California Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Silver Level Honoree