This article was updated on October 29, 2013. 

The Sing Yin Secondary School in Hong Kong and the Waterbank School at Uaso Nyiro Primary in Laikipia, Kenya are the two greenest schools in the world, according to the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The 2013 Greenest Schools on Earth were announced by the Center at the World Green Building Council‘s (WGBC) Annual Congress. The schools were each awarded $5,000 to put toward a new or ongoing sustainability project.

The Greenest School on Earth showcases one school’s commitment to sustainability a year. This year, the USGBC decided two schools were worthy of the title.

“We selected both of these schools because of what they say about one another and also about the scale and scope in the movement — they demonstrate that across the world, from community to community and from city to village, no matter where we learn, where we learn matters,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the USGBC.

Sustainable features of the Sing Yin Secondary School include an organic farm, two green roofs, a bamboo corner and aquarium. The school primarily serves low-income students, selecting about 100 each year to serve as the school’s environmental monitors, prefects and ambassadors. Many classrooms have thin-film solar panels or sun-shading devices, advanced LED lighting, light sensors, and motion sensors.

The Uaso Nyiro Primary’s Waterbank School is an alternative low-cost school designed for poor regions in need of water. It was designed by PITCHAfrica and built in partnership with the Zeitz Foundation, using local materials and labour. The school’s features includes vegetable gardens and a courtyard theatre. Since the school opened, attendance has risen from 70 to 90 per cent, and instances of waterborne disease have dropped to zero.