The U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) chapter will host its annual national Green Apple Day of Service on Sept. 26. Volunteers will help install solar panels, build school gardens, launch recycling programs, and educate to make a school, and its students, healthier.

Green Apple Day of Service, an initiative from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, brings together advocates from around the world and encourages them to take action in their communities through service projects. Millions of students and faculty enter buildings where the air they breathe contains toxins and mold, where classrooms are poorly lit and overcrowded, the outdoors no greenery, and where resources are limited and outdated. Too many children are learning in buildings that are compromising their health and ability to succeed, according to USGBC-LA.

Last year, enough funds were raised by USGBC-LA prior to Green Apple Day so that the chapter could provide mini-grants that helped over 50 schools make such improvements.

The Green Apple Day website offers the opportunity to either initiate a project, or find one to simply look up and participate in by zip code.  The growing list of 2015 L.A.-area projects – from planting gardens to learning more about food production – currently cover Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, downtown and Santa Monica, and will continue to have more events and more detailed information. In addition, Wilshire Crest Farm/Native Gardens, at 5292 Olympic Blvd., will participate in the day of service through retrofitting water containment system for 12 raised vegetable beds.

The USGBC also offers teachers an online toolkit for the week leading up to the day of service, with activities to teach students about water and energy conservation, upcycling, and identifying native California plants.

To volunteer for a project, visit greenapple.org. For USGBC-LA questions, contact dsmith@usgbc-la.org.