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George School Shares Green Efforts

2008-06-17 11:23:49

A decade ago, George School changed its school colors to green and white, moving away from its longstanding buff and brown color duo. It was a prescient change.

The school went green on the athletic fields before it became officially green as an institution.

In September 2006, the school’s governing board, the George School Committee, set a goal to create policies to ensure that the school is following environmentally responsible practices in various areas from physical plant, to student life, to the curriculum.

In April 2007, articles about sustainability were featured in the school’s alumni magazine, the Georgian, and in August 2007, Head of School Nancy Starmer spoke eloquently about how young people challenged her to think about the topic of sustainability.

One of the first tasks of the new Environmental Sustainability Steering Committee (ESSC) that was launched in spring 2007 was to create a mission statement that would guide the work of the committee—a group made up of students, faculty, and staff—and the institution.

The students on the ESSC started sharing tips about sustainability on the school’s electronic bulletin board, Community News. One student suggested a website where classmates could check the College Sustainability Report Card to find out whether the college they were considering was committed to sustainability.

A co-clerk of the committee started installing weekly green tips on Community News with Myth Monday and Fact Friday contributions.

A staff member created a green bulletin board that featured green guidelines. A caption under a picture of one of the youngest members of the community urged students to compost: “Hey, if Milo can do it, everyone can.”

George School has been “green” since before green was green. The most dramatic case of sustainable reuse happened in the 1970s when the 1812 Central Philadelphia Meetinghouse was saved from destruction and moved thirty miles north of Philadelphia to be reassembled on the George School campus.

In 1980, the school built an Alternative Energy Center to show students how technologies such as solar and wind power, aquiculture, and organic gardening can contribute to the health of the planet.

In the 1990s, George School did a lighting study and retrofit that reduced campus energy needs dramatically.

In the 2007-2008 academic year, the Environmental Sustainability Steering Committee decided to track that year’s changes by creating both a short list of key changes and a running list of items that contribute to sustainability.

The committee also sponsored a green month of student activities in April 2008. In May 2008, the Class of 2008 celebrated the first green graduation.

To learn more about the George school click here.

Posted by lina