• The Scarsdale Sustainability Initiative

    Middle School Vegetable Garden

    Current Components


    Student Experiences
     
    Science courses systematically provide students with some information about sustainability issues; generally, the focus is on subject specific information such as biological or climatological systems. Some teachers and the science research offer opportunities to explore sustainability issues in greater depth. Clubs and activities involve a number of students, to various degrees, in efforts to change behavior.
     
    Experiences include:
    • Conservation awareness activities
    • Efforts to recycle, re-use, and reduce
    • Opportunities to learn about local produce and the value of organic food
    • Opportunities to learn about the "true cost" of consumer goods
    • Opportunities to learn about the effects of climate change
    • Authentic environment experiences (school gardens, nature parks, etc.)
    • Opportunities to learn about forms of energy that don't produce CO2
    • Opportunities to learn about the impact of the developed world's carbon footprint on the rest of the world

    Student Work

    • Senior Options and the High School Science Research course
    • K-12 public service announcements about sustainability issues
    • Organic gardens at each school
    • Middle School Family and Consumer Science classes on sustainability
    • Middle School Health classes on sustainability issues
    • K-12 "green" clubs that learn and promote sustainable practices

    Professional Experiences

    • Two Summer Institutes (50-60 K-12 teachers)
    • STI sponsored courses on sustainability education
    • Teacher initiatives, including recycling clubs, nature park creation, water fountain projects, video creation (10% for the Future)
    • Education efforts for support staff (An Inconvenient Truth videoscreening)

    Institutional Practices

    • Cafeteria program (food selection, recycling,biodegradable utensils)
    • Water conservation efforts
    • Paper conservation efforts
    • Energy conservation efforts

    Statistical Analyses

    • Capital investment energy savings plan
    • Transportation efforts
    • "Green" purchasing efforts(chemicals, paper, cleaning products, furniture, etc.)