WASHINGTON, D.C. — A pair of Bemidji State University workers headed to the capitol last week to accept a “Green Ribbon Schools” award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Erika Bailey-Johnson and Anna Carlson head up the university’s sustainability office, and the award recognizes primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools for reducing their environmental impact, creating healthy learning environments and providing real-world sustainability education that prepares students to succeed in the 21st century.

BSU staff said instruction there is complemented by opportunities to connect with the earth and the region’s “cultural roots” in an effort to produce graduates who are conscientious citizens with a deep knowledge of their chosen field.

Bailey-Johnson is the school’s sustainability director. She pointed to several green initiatives at the university: a fossil fuel-free fishhouse, a “Donate, Don’t Dumpster” program, and the “FreeStore,” where students can drop off new or gently-used items at the end of the year for others to pick up for free.

The school also boasts a variety of wellness programs — like “The Best You @ BSU” — aimed at helping students smoke less or reduce their stress. One program helps students eat healthy, whole foods, Bailey-Johnson said, by teaching them how to cook wild rice burgers or learn how to can their own tomatoes. The school opened a fair-trade, organic-focused coffee shop a few years ago, too.

“The wellness component means we’re also focused on ourselves,” Bailey-Johnson said.

The school instituted a small “green fee” to support campus environmental projects, and the majority of BSU students take a “people and the environment” class that encompasses environmental issues and environmental responsibility, Bailey-Johnson said.

“That’s kind of a cool, unique piece as well for BSU that separates us from other campuses,” she said.