Rushing to English class after lunch, students cut through the quad to save time. While they usually are too focused on stepping foot in the classroom before the bell rings to notice, the quad is a haven for environmentally sustainable practices. From native plants around the edges to solar panels on the roof of the Commons to even the greenhouse over the science wing. The commitment to sustainability in the quad represents the school’s larger sustainability measures. Those implementations are a part of the school’s broader sustainability measures, accommodating its 799 students as of Oct. 5.
Lauran DeRigne, the Library Media Specialist, plants native on her home lawn, which allows her to see the benefits of native plants firsthand.
“The root system helps keep rain water and a lot of the stormwater from flooding our storm drains,” DeRigne said. “Then it also [helps] the biodiversity, like the bees and the butterflies and everything that it feeds.”
Additionally, native plants save watering money for the district and home-growers.
“I don’t go out and turn on my sprinkler for three hours like people do when they’re trying to water their lawns,” DeRigne said. “I have native plants who are used to this environment, so they don’t need water. This is their home turf.”
Similarly, the three large solar panels across the roofs of the high school and Center of Clayton save the district money on energy. The district can additionally earn a profit from selling electricity back to the electricity grid, while at the same time using a sustainable energy source. Chief Financial Officer of Clayton School District John Brazea approves of solar energy from both a financial and environmental perspective.
“[A] green initiative is always positive with both the community and the environment, and when it saves money overall, then it’s really a trifecta,” Brazeal said.
Looking to the future, the district is preparing a Long Range Facilities Master Plan (LRFMP). The LRFMP is a renovation occurring over the next 10-20 years for many district buildings, with a focus on upgrading learning environments and maintaining facilities. In the high school, the interior renovations and additions are projected to last between eight and 14 years.
“As we look to either upgrade facilities, renovate facilities, add on to facilities, that conversation about energy and sustainability is always with us,” Brazeal said. “Whether it’s the type of building materials we’re using, type of heat and cooling sources of a building, type of roofing, insulation, [and] structures a building has, we’re always exploring those efforts.”
Specifically, newer technology has the potential to achieve the “trifecta” of positive effects that Brazeal mentioned. When an appliance becomes more energy efficient, it reduces costs and increases sustainability.
“Every time we replace an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system we look at becoming more energy efficient,” Brazeal said. “As we replace our lighting, and most of it today is moved over to LED, it [also] uses less energy.”
U.S. Department of EnergyLED lights contain fewer toxic chemicals and are more recyclable than their fluorescent counterparts. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air conditioning accounts for 12% of U.S. household electricity consumption and releases over 100 million metric tons of carbon gas waste to the environment annually. Through the LRFMP, the school district looks to reduce its environmental footprint caused by the abovementioned factors.
Harvard studyOn top of these upgrades, the school district’s diesel-powered buses are 10 years into their 12-year expected lifespan and so are approaching replacement age. Electric buses are a sustainable replacement option: According to a Harvard Study, replacing one diesel bus with an electric bus can grant up to $247,600 in health and climate benefits. However, they have significant downsides of their own, such as costing $250,000 more to buy and having a limited driving range.
“We often have field trips or athletic events that are beyond the range of the [electric-powered] bus,” Brazeal said. On the topic of costs, he noted, “There are some grants out there that we’ve explored. As we approach their replacement, we’ll be digging into that issue deeper.”
NDRC studyChanges in school transportation and facilities lie beyond the average high schoolers sphere of influence. However, smaller decisions like unplugging devices when they are not in use can make a large impact on one’s carbon footprint. One 2015 NDRC study published the result that “idle load energy” makes up 23% of the average household’s energy consumption. Susan Murray, Honors Biology teacher, has taught biology for 27 years. She does her part to combat climate change through her teaching position.
“I’m not an activist out there beating the drum,” Murray said. “But I do have a platform in teaching 16-17-year-olds, where I can share my opinions and my views on this topic, and hopefully spark some interest in kids, like being a little bit more aware of how important it is.”
According to the EPA, daily habits like not leaving the water running when brushing teeth can produce a positive environmental impact. The impact can be even larger if those actions are integrated into communities.
“It’s like a pebble in a pond,” Murray said. “If one person does something to lower their footprint and talks about it, then maybe their friends want to do it, and then [it] becomes something that’s fashionable to do.”
