George School Board of Directors Asks Students at Newtown Quaker School for Ideas to “Go Greener”

George School Board Asks Students for Ideas to “Go Greener”

George School has announced its second biennial Green Initiative Contest. The Board of Directors is inviting students to submit proposals to help the 240 acre Newtown campus “go greener” with their ideas to improve the campus environment and environmental education at the Quaker co-ed college preparatory school of 529 students from 43 countries and 23 states.

Environmental sustainability initiatives are already prevalent throughout the George School curriculum and site. In addition to International Baccalaureate (IB) Environmental Science courses, more than forty academic courses touch upon environmental issues. Highlights of its campus infrastructure include a historically restored meetinghouse, wind-powered irrigation, geothermal heating and cooling, storm water management, composting, porous paving, and an organic garden.

The two newest buildings on campus are both LEED certified. The Molly Dodd Anderson Library (2009) houses 17,000 volumes as well as electronic and computer resources, is environmentally friendly, and features natural light. The new 100,000 square-foot brick and glass Fitness and Athletic Center building (2014) features natural light, a green roof garden, and solar panels.

Head of School, Sam Houser, said, “I applaud this Green Initiative Contest by the Board of Directors. It encourages students to exercise their ingenuity by proposing experiments and solutions in environmental sustainability and the entire George School community benefits from it.”

George School’s campus includes acres of open lawns and woods, academic buildings, dormitories, a greenhouse, two athletic facilities including an eight-lane swimming pool, ten playing fields, ten outdoor tennis courts, stables and two riding rings, as well as a Student Health and Wellness Center, bookstore, post office, and snack bar.

Gloria Denoon, Chair of the George School Board Environmental Stewardship Oversight Committee (ESOC), said, “George School students and the Board are constantly trying to make our community more environmentally friendly – and our student contest is one way of doing it. It helps the campus environmentally and it teaches the students how to develop creative proposals, do budgets, and defend them orally. The initial Green Initiative Contest was a tremendous success with eighty students and eighteen teams participating. There is a lot of enthusiasm in tackling environmental issues at George School and the Board of Directors is pleased to sponsor the Green Initiative Contest again this year.”

The four winners in the 2015 Contest were: 1) creating a Forest Regeneration Zone on the 240 acre George School campus (eight students); 2) a plan to Improve Recycling on Campus (twelve students); 3) a Rain Barrel System to collect and recycle rainwater (two students); and 4) a George School Thrift Store to recycle students’ used items (three students). All winning proposals have been implemented on campus.

This year each proposal will involve one of five areas: Energy Conservation, Environmental Education, Educational Community Outreach, Renewable energy, and Sustainable Living. Students applying are required to limit proposals to two pages, keep costs for implementation under $50,000, submit their plan by January 20, 2017, and defend it orally before a panel of George School faculty and Trustees.

Winners will have their proposals implemented by the school, highlighted in The Georgian, and receive an American Express Gift Card.