After a year of meeting virtually, PAISBOA Sustainability Group members convened its first meeting of this school year in person at Germantown Academy (GA). The theme of the November 10, 2021 meeting was Learning Outside the Classroom.
OASIS’s Fall Meeting: “Creating a Culture of Hope”
On October 21, 2021, 41 participants joined virtually for OASIS’s Sustainability Group first fall meeting featuring guest speaker, Brian Dunbar, Executive Director of the Institute for the Built Environment and Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University. Dunbar’s theme “Creating a Culture of Hope” embodied two big ideas: Whole School Sustainability and Regenerative Future.
How to “Green” the Yellow School Bus
Your Blue Jeans Are Not Green
The fashion industry poses serious threats to the environment. In our blog article, we explore the consequences of the industry discussed in “Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment” by Maxine Bedat as she follows the life of an American icon, a pair of jeans and discuss new ways to make a difference
“Green” Your Coffee Station
2021 Grants to Green Your School
GDS Students Propose Reducing School Emissions with the Climate Footprint Challenge©
Georgetown Day School (GDS) Environmental Science students in CA Pilling’s class gained real-world experience this spring by studying their school’s carbon emissions. Students collected and analyzed data pertaining to three areas of the school: facilities (energy use), transportation, and waste.
Sustainability Survey for PAISBOA Schools Launched This Spring
Wondering how your school compares with others around environmental sustainability?
Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants created a short Sustainability Benchmarking Survey specifically for PAISBOA member schools and launched it this May. Mary Ann Boyer shared the survey results at the May 19th PAISBOA Sustainability Virtual Meeting.
Micro Forests: Macro Changes Toward Reducing Climate Change
How Tree Equity Can Fight Racial Inequality
Trees play an integral role in promoting community health. Sadly, in the United States, trees are not equitably distributed among neighborhoods leaving certain groups of people lacking the environmental benefits that trees make available. Tree Equity is the solution to ensuring that everyone, regardless of income or race, has access to the benefits that trees supply to our lives.
CREATING A SUSTAINABILITY BENCHMARKING SURVEY
What Does Our Diet Have to Do With Climate Change?
What does our diet have to do with climate change? On Saturday, February 20th, Farm Arts Collective held its first Farm Days Workshops of 2021. More than 35 people attended the event which featured a presentation on “More Plants, Less Waste: How Our Diet Affects Climate Change” from Boyer Sudduth as well as a presentation on the climate crisis from The Climate Reality Project Chapter of Philadelphia and Southeastern, PA.
Are Americans Concerned About Climate Change? Try the SASSY Survey
Green Schools: Building Sustainability in a New Reality
Indoor Air Quality: Guidelines for Philadelphia and Beyond
The past year has taught us all a lot about invisible threats. The COVID-19 virus, however, is only one of the many things that travels about unaware to us, which is why indoor air quality is an important subject to understand.
Sustainability Champion Spotlight: Friends' Central's Clayton and Borsch
Boyer Sudduth’s intern, Lizi Barrow, recently caught up with two sustainability movers and shakers at Friends’ Central School: Communications & Summer Programs Manager, Katherine Clayton and Lower School Science Teacher, Tiffany Borsch. Here’s what they had to say:
Friends’ Central’s Communications & Summer Programs Manager, Katherine Clayton enjoying a weekend hike with her dog.
Lower School Science Teacher, Tiffany Borsch, in Friends’ Central’s school garden.
Why are you committed to sustainability?
Katherine Clayton: Working with the younger generation, we know that climate change is one of the biggest things impacting their future. We want to practice what we preach on campus and inspire students to live sustainably. We want to empower them with information and surround them with like-minded adults who support them.
Tiffany Borsch: I've been working in education for sustainability for over 20 years, with ages spanning Kindergarten to college. It's been a ride that I had hoped would end because of environmental successes, but the work keeps expanding and becoming more and more important. I have witnessed the work morph from institutional changes like recycling and paper choices, to systemic changes that reach beyond the borders of the campus.
What is a memorable project you worked on at your school relating to sustainability?
Clayton: Last year we were able to host a DIY event where we made bags out of T-shirts for our community. It was a small group, but it was a great opportunity to bring people together to learn a new "skill" in repurposing. We were also able to host our annual Plant Sale for Faculty/Staff in April with virtual purchases and contactless pickup - it was a total success!
Borsch: Last year, I started a climate change project with my 5th grade students. They studied the science of climate change through examining the creation and combustion of fossil fuels, the structure of the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect. Then, they were able to take their understanding of global climate impacts to understand the solutions given by Project Drawdown. In teams the students studied one solution from Project Drawdown and created PSAs around the following guiding questions - What is the problem this solution is trying to solve, what is the solution and why, and how can people enact this kind of change.
When not at school, where are you most likely to be found? Or, what’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
Clayton: Although I live in the city and love the surprising simplicity that goes along with that (smaller space, easy walking, access to local food), I go on frequent hikes to get back in touch with nature with my husband and my dog.
Borsch: I love gardening and camping with my family. When I teach, I am happiest being outdoors!
Looking forward, what are some of your sustainability hopes and dreams? Who or what inspires you to remain committed to this vision?
Clayton: We hope we can re-energize the community in the post pandemic world. We all learned to “live without” during this time. Our first Quaker SPICE, Simplicity, is synonymous with a sustainable life. Our students inspire us to remain committed, since they are the future!
Borsch: I hope that we haven't lost momentum through this pandemic. I am hopeful that the new federal administration will right the wrongs of the current one. I am continuously inspired by the youth - their passion and commitment and innovative ways of getting things done.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Clayton and Borsch: Having a committee for adults to connect on issues of sustainability is helpful. Even if it's slow going to get any actionable items off the ground, the initial conversations can be cathartic for everyone.
Written by Lizi Barrow, Sustainability Intern, Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, on a gap year before attending Bates College, fall 2021.
Planting Trees: Good for the Planet, Good for You
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) offers residents free street trees through their “Tree Tenders Program.” Chestnut Hill’s Tree Tenders are trained volunteers who plant street trees in the community in April and November. Property owners simply complete PHS’s street tree application and submit it to CH Tree Tender Co-Chair, Jean McCoubrey by November 27th. Once approved by PHS, the trees will be planted in April 2021. For an application form, contact Jean McCoubrey at jean.mccoubrey@gmail.com, or go directly to the PHS website (phsonline.org) and select the “Tree Programs” tab.
Keeping Sustainability Relevant During COVID-19: PAISBOA Sustainability Group Meets Virtually
With the COVID pandemic, the PAISBOA Sustainability Group met virtually on November 12, 2020 to discuss “Keeping Sustainability Relevant During COVID-19.” Anne Sudduth of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants and PAISBOA Operations Manager Ron Hill led the virtual meeting.
Sustainability Champion Spotlights: Shipley School's Norquist, Gaines, Del Duca
The Shipley School’s sustainability efforts are due in part to a strong team of faculty, administrators, and students. Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants’ Sustainability Intern, Lizi Barrow, recently caught up with some of Shipley’s green movers and shakers.
Save Money, Save Energy, Save the Planet: An Energy Awareness Month Webinar
To embrace October as Energy Awareness Month, Climate Is Everybody’s Business held a webinar “Save Money, Save Energy, Save the Planet” on October 15th. While the event was moved to a virtual format this year, Brookline, Massachusetts businesses, non-profits, faith organizations, and residents alike attended and took the first step towards energy actions of their own.
