A Green Makeover for the Nation’s Oldest School
Last week, my mother sent me a card with a newspaper clipping about what high school students at my alma mater have been up to these past few years. A lot, it turns out. I would expect no less from students at the Boston Latin School (BLS), a rigorous public exam school in the heart of Boston. (founded in 1635, it also happens to be the oldest school in the U.S.). However, what truly impressed me upon reading the article was how the school is in the process of merging their classical education curriculum (and I mean seriously classical- I studied five years of Latin, culminating in the Latin-to-English translation of Virgil’s Aeneid my junior year) with innovative new methods of learning that integrate climate science and sustainability into every academic subject. And students are the driving force behind it all.
Under the guidance of eighth grade history teacher Cate Arnold, students in the BLS Youth Climate Action Network (or Youth C.A.N.)are spearheading an initiative to build a 70,000 square foot green facility on the school’s roof. The design is a collaboration between the students and pro-bono professional Gail Sullivan at Studio G Architects. It includes a weather station, a greenhouse, outdoor classrooms, solar panels, and wind turbines. Not deterred by the hefty multi-million dollar price tag, students have already received substantial awards, pledges and challenge grants to turn the design into reality. Twenty-eight solar panels and 350 trays of sedum have already been installed, and the outdoor classrooms and elevator to the roof are scheduled to be completed by fall 2011.
While the project began with the question of how BLS could reduce its carbon footprint, the vision that has grown out of it has become much bigger. The Youth C.A.N. students aim to use their green roof as a teaching facility, not just for students at BLS, but for students at schools across the region. In addition, they have already convinced five local colleges to join in their own green roof teaching pursuits and have participated in numerous high profile national conferences and events to highlight the importance of addressing climate change.
Founded in 2007, BLS Youth C.A.N. has been profiled by many national news outlets, including the Boston Globe and the Today Show. All the attention is well deserved, considering the scope of the project and the successes they have achieved so far. However, what stands out to me is not just the state of the art facility, or the massive grants, or the comprehensive sustainability curriculum, it is the connection that underlies all of these things: these students get it. They get climate change and its impact on society, but they also understand how to translate that knowledge into action. Not just their own action, but the actions of others as well, whether they are dedicating their time, pulling out their checkbooks, or anything else that engages with the issues of sustainability.
Ultimately, the nation’s sustainability challenges can’t all be solved by putting high-tech green roofs and solar panels on top of all of our buildings. Much of it will need to be done in less glamorous ways- by replacing inefficient boilers, caulking holes that allow heat to escape from buildings, turning lights off when there is no one in a room, or simply driving less. However, it is the conversation that these students are inspiring with their grand vision that will likely have a much larger impact than the physical structure alone ever could.
Boston Latin student and Youth C.A.N. member Rebecca Park summed up the spirit of the project in her interview with the Today Show when she said: “environmental activism in general is not just about stopping climate change, it is about building stronger, better societies.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. It is a reminder that every day people- even those that aren’t even old enough to vote yet- can make as significant impact in what can sometimes feel like an enormous global challenge.
