Sustainability

On Friday, September 21st, 2007, Dutchess Day School launched the school’s coordinated efforts to incorporate environmental sustainability into the fabric of the school community. Students learned both what sustainability means and, most importantly, why it is essential for Dutchess Day School to make the transition to an environmentally sustainable campus.

Our precious biosphere extends out to a layer around the Earth that is approximately fourteen miles thick. We share this space with 6 billion human beings; 4.4 billion domestic animals; at least a quadrillion wild animals; well over a trillion water animals; and many more billions of insects, plants, and bacteria. The importance of living in a sustainable manner is very clear to all within the school community.

“The school’s large-scale compost system accommodates the daily food waste generated by the school’s kitchen, lunch room, and classroom snacks.”

The school continues to move forward with its plans to incorporate and facilitate environmental sustainability. The school maintains a large-scale compost system that accommodates the daily food waste generated by the school’s kitchen, lunch room, and classroom snacks. These and other efforts to promote the three “Rs” – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – keep Dutchess Day School involved at the local level of the environmental-sustainability movement. The school also recycles cell phones and printer cartridges, in addition to paper, plastic, and other commingled items. It has made the commitment to increasingly use recycled paper and eco-friendly cleaning products. Furthermore, the school is actively investigating and implementing ways to “tighten its envelope” by examining the efficiency of its insulation, furnaces, windows, and doors. Some of the other projects the school has initiated include the use of local and organic foods, establishing a no-idling policy for cars and buses, creating outdoor learning spaces for students, planting wildlife gardens, and planning an organic vegetable garden, coming this spring.

These efforts are inspiring other schools and organizations in the Hudson Valley to do the same. Michelle Leggett, the recycling coordinator at Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, and teachers and administrators from schools around the region have visited to learn about our school’s composting system, with the hopes of replicating it at facilities in Dutchess and surrounding counties. Indeed, the school hopes this program can serve as a workable model for other community organizations.

Dutchess Day School is not only reaching out to other communities but is also a member of the NYS Go Green Initiative Association, funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Green Schools Alliance (GSA), and has signed the Green Schools Climate Commitment pledge. In unison with these initiatives, Dutchess Day School is moving forward with future generations in mind.