Sustainability Connections Strengthen and Grow

Several years ago a small group of dedicated upperclassmen planted the crucial seeds of Hackley’s sustainability movement, raising awareness, and connecting many sectors of our community through a composting and recycling program that today sets the standard for schools in Westchester County. While members of our faculty have been promoting sustainable living at Hackley for many years, the role of Upper School students in going green has never been so strong.

 

This year, it is clear that those initial seeds of change have grown and blossomed, and our green movement takes root in many areas of our community. The creation of the Community Studies Department brings our Sustainability program into direct contact with the Diversity, Global Education and Community Service programs, allowing these four dynamic parts of our school’s educational culture to strengthen each other and clarify our goals. The effects of these new liaisons upon Upper School students are already visible: student clubs and projects are joining forces and their members are listening constructively to one another and striving harder to teach and learn as responsible global citizens.

 

Looking at a list of some current “Earth actions” in which our upper school students are engaged, we observe the true strength of grassroots work: connecting people. The Hackley Earth Action League, HEAL, has many active members this year, but the roots of sustainability spread well beyond the club!

This wonderful array of Earth Actions by our students comes from their awareness that they were born with a great task before them, that of leading our species back to sustainable living. It is inspiring to see them go to work, and to hear their own words about why it matters. These excerpts are from the HEAL officer applications submitted last summer:

 

“Sustainability and environmentalism are essential because they are ways for us to take responsibility for the effects of our progress and ensure that the world remains safe and viable for ourselves and all life.”

 

“This summer I am taking a design program at Cornell of which the focus is environmental design. I look forward to learning more about how we can create a more sustainable world through rethinking how we make things.”

 

“Sustainability is indubitably a social justice issue, as environmental degradation affects those least privileged the most, and as I try to live my life in a way that’s in line with a vision of social justice, I feel compelled to take action on behalf of creating a sustainable future in order to create an equitable one.”

 

“Environmentalism matters to me because I want to live in a healthy environment, and who wouldn’t? I don’t know too much about helping the environment, but I want to learn as much as I can. I want to do anything I can to help improve the environment and raise awareness.”

 

“I would like to promote more integration of sustainability into Hackley’s curriculum at all age levels. I am also interested in the ways that sustainability affects those who do not live in the luxury that we enjoy in the United States. In this area, I would love to promote understanding amongst Hackley students about the importance of sustainability for those who have less security in their material resources.”

 

“I take part in sustainability initiatives because if we don’t take action now, then what example are we setting for future generations? What will they have? Preserving the world is an infinitely, impossibly immense task to fill. That is why we have HEAL: to start at the core, and work our way out.”

 

Anne Gatschet

Middle and Upper School Spanish Teacher

Upper School Sustainability Coordinator

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