Over 20 participants from 11 different independent PAISBOA schools met at Germantown Academy on October 24th for an evening of “Sustainability: Growth & Renewal.”
Head of School Rich Schellhas welcomes the PAISBOA Sustainability Group to GA.
Head of School, Rich Schellhas welcomed teachers, administrators, and sustainability leaders. Schellhas explained how the school has adapted its water management plan as it is located adjacent to the Wissahickon Creek. GA’s 126 acre campus includes a six acre wetland preserve that alleviates stormwater runoff, provides habitat for birds, amphibians, and macroinvertebrates, and offers an outdoor space for students to experience nature.
Sarah Kesten on the Preserve dock.
Upper School Science Head and Preserve Manager, Sarah Kesten, led the campus tour to the observation deck overlooking the wetland preserve. Kesten explained, “This wetland area was where there were once playing fields. Because this is a floodplain, the fields were constantly under water. The fields were moved to drier conditions and now we have reclaimed the floodplain with these constructed wetlands to be good stewards of the land.”
Dan Houston on GA’s BrockFILL playing field.
The group toured GA’s playing fields where Dan Houston, Director of Facilities, explained the turf changes over the years. Houston noted, “Our old field used ‘crumb rubber’ made from old tires as infill.” He continued, “We were noticing crumb rubber migrating into the Wissahickon Creek and being tracked into our buildings, vehicles, and homes.” When it came time to replace the field, Houston sought a sustainable option: BrockFILL, an engineered organic product made from sustainably harvested southern pine. In comparison to the black “crumb rubber,” the lighter wood infill material helps to reduce heat by about 33 degrees (source: BrockFILL website).
The School continued to find more sustainable solutions. Houston explained, “We took a deeper look at our lighting costs by replacing our old light fixtures.” GA replaced its 4,764 lighting fixtures with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). With an initial replacement cost of $517,000 to upgrade lights, the installation of LEDs has a return of investment of 5 years, 8 months. Houston noted, “We’ve reduced our kilowatt hours per year by 62%. This equates to an annual energy savings of $48,000/year.”
GA’s “Green Roof” of sedums and native plants.
Participants climbed stairs to GA’s “green roof” where sedum and native plants reduce stormwater runoff and keep the roof cool in the summer. Middle School Science Teacher, Maura Saurman, and her students care for the two bee hives installed on the roof. The hives serve to engage students into the fascinating world of bees and provide pollinator habitat for the community.
The tour concluded with a visit to the vegetable and natural dye gardens. Participants had a low waste, delicious plant based dinner catered by Birchtree Caterers. The group discussed challenges of how to reduce food waste, improve recycling and how schools deal with single use plastic water bottles. And student AJ DiFranco described last year’s climate change assembly to engage student activism. The evening ended with James Miller of Agnes Irwin’s science department receiving the raffle prize, “Spring Processional” by GA author and former teacher, Craig Newberger.
Stay tuned for a Sustainability Survey for PAISBOA Schools. To participate, contact Mary Ann Boyer at maryann@boyersudduth.com.
The PAISBOA Sustainability Group is looking for a school to host a winter meeting. AIM Academy has offered to host the spring 2024 meeting (Date: tbd).
For more information about the PAISBOA Sustainability Group, contact Ron Hill at rhill@paisboa.org or Mary Ann Boyer at maryann@boyersudduth.com. And please join PAISBOA’s Sustainability Listserv to connect with other sustainably minded individuals.
Article by Mary Ann Boyer of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.
Article printed in PAISBOA’s Friday Flyer Vol. XII, No. 16 - November 3, 2023.
