Page 30 - Priorities #53 2012-June/July

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The Green Page
A letter from the Priory Sustainability Coordinator
Dear Priory Community,
The end of the school year offers us an opportunity to reflect on this year’s work and progress in the area of sustainability, and to look to the future for further opportunities.
It should be clear that one of the principle aspects of my role as the school’s sustainability coordinator is the monitoring of the school’s energy and material efficiency. 2011-2012 saw continued progress in both areas, as students reduced plate waste, and the kitchen and maintenance staff collaborated to streamline the school’s compost system. One reason for reduced plate waste, it needs to be mentioned, was the awesome set of menu changes brought about by the school’s chef, Peter Agoston. After discussions with parents and the school’s faculty Sustainability Committee, Peter doubled down on his efforts to purchase local and sustainably cultivated foods. With the promise of adventurous choices and tasty foods, students ate more of what they were served, leaving fewer scraps to be added to the school’s compost pile.
In an effort to step outside of the recycling-and-energy-conservation box that
has characterized most of my work as sustainability coordinator, this year I
introduced a new activity to engage students in their efforts and motivation
toward sustainable thinking. In mid-May, just as the Senior class began work
on their senior projects, the entire Priory Middle School took to the trails to
climb nearby Windy Hill. The purpose of this activity was to engender an
authentic sense of place. As Bryan Scott-Lorentz, Campus Minister, remarked about the hike, “It’s like how the whole environmental movement and Earth Day tradition was sparked by the early pictures of planet Earth from space. We had to see what we had and where we lived in order to understand what it meant to take care of it.” Student responses to the activity were similarly positive. And whatever the specific understandings that were gained by the students, it was evident that everyone had a great time bonding as a group, and that the activity will certainly be part of Priory student life in the years to come.