In terms of sustainable practices, this year at GUS we are not reinventing the wheel; we are merely refining our current practices, reevaluating our curriculum, and working to create some achievable goals for the future. Going Green, Ecofriendly, Net Zero, and Sustainability can all be buzzwords, but they each have some merit and value. Sustainability typically means meeting our current needs without compromising the needs of future generations. However, what does this truly look like at a school like GUS? Here, it’s a wide array of like-minded individuals, from our youngest students to faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees, aligned with the goal of helping out future generations, inspiring young learners and activists, working to leave our school community and campus in a better place for the future.

Last school year, the most recent iteration of a faculty sustainability committee was formed on campus at GUS. Spanning all divisions and disciplines, Chris Doyle, Whitney Buckley, Lindsay Calef, Alex Levin, Elliot Buck, and Emilie Cushing shared concerns, passed ideas, and brainstormed for future plans at GUS. Believing our sustainability plan should consist of a three pronged approach, involving the community, the curriculum, and the physical campus, the committee cast a wide net and hosted a larger meeting at GUS in the summer. The meeting included board members, teachers, parents, parent association, and members of Green Beverly, Change is Simple, and the City of Beverly’s Waste Reduction Committee. Bringing a larger group of people, many of whom have experience teaching sustainability or educating various communities about daily sustainable habits and practices, reinforced the need for a school wide commitment to developing measurable sustainability goals and actions. Led by Julia Long P’20 ’23, the extended committee explored measures to improve GUS’s composting, recycling, and waste reduction efforts, as well as the school’s ongoing community outreach and partnerships to guide others in their efforts. Building on these efforts, we are excited to share a number of ways (outlined below) that we are working to build momentum and make positive change on campus this year.

Going forward, we welcome feedback! The sustainability committee is excited to welcome any parents, teachers, or other community members interested in joining or sharing your expertise in the field. Our beautiful campus, though rooted in traditional design, features a solar panel array that was installed on Braemar in 2014. A gift from Tim and Emily Collins P’14’17, the solar array at GUS has generated 489 MWh of electricity in its lifetime. In the future, improving and increasing our renewable energy on campus, which would also serve as a unique learning tool for students, can help propel GUS toward a more sustainable future. Though we know we cannot stop the effects of climate change, we want to be a part of the solution, and empower all in our community to be agents of positive change. By making small alterations to our purchases and consumption, we can ultimately make large differences over time. 

Efforts underway so far this year:

Composting

This fall, we simplified and streamlined our composting efforts across campus. While composting at GUS has traditionally been a third grade task, this year all students in all grades manage their own classroom composting - empowering all community members at GUS to take ownership and responsibility for their waste. Another welcome addition to campus this year has been our partnership with new school lunch provider, Root, who delivers lunches in compostable containers. To accommodate for this increase in compostable waste, additional, large compost bins have been strategically placed around the school during lunchtimes. Since September 1st, because of these efforts, we have composted over 2000 pounds of waste that would otherwise be headed to the landfill! We are excited about our longstanding partnership with Black Earth Compost, who picks-up our compost every week, and continues to be a valuable resource for our school’s composting efforts. We plan to continuously track and reevaluate our composting efforts, working to ensure all waste ends up in the proper bins!

Sustainability Leadership Group

This fall, using their interests as a guide, students in the upper school have the ability to explore what leadership means and to develop the skills they need to lead within the GUS community and beyond in newly formed Leadership Groups. Chris Doyle and Alex Levin are coleading a sustainability-focused leadership group in the upper school, helping to lead sustainable efforts amongst our student body. The team of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students are currently working towards creating a YouTube “How To” series involving energy conservation, waste reduction, and other simple yet effective sustainable (note: cost saving) practices. So far, the group wants to help others and educate everyone on the importance of these lifestyle changes. 

Trash Free Tuesdays

We will be kicking off our long-awaited and highly anticipated “Trash Free Tuesdays” on November 1st. The goal of all “Trash Free Tuesdays” is not just to remove the majority of trash bins from campus to encourage composting and recycling, but also to encourage teachers and parents to pack lunches that leave no waste behind - think reusable containers and limiting food waste. Can you commit to providing lunch one day a week that has no disposable packaging, single-use plastics, or excess food waste? More details to come on how this will work and how we will track our success with this effort!

Water Bottle Filling Stations

This summer, thanks to the generosity of three GUS families, we installed three new water bottle filling stations to help reduce our use of single-use plastics. To date, we have saved over 5,800 plastic water bottles so far this year!

Sustainability Week

We are excited to kick off our first-ever Sustainability Week, November 1-6. The week will consist of daily exploration of various sustainability practices at GUS, time for reflection and sharing with family and friends. Each day will feature a slightly different theme, like activism, water usage, composting, and energy consumption. Our goal for this week is to get each student, parent, teacher, and GUS community member thinking about their impact, and to rethink their daily habits. Learn more about the activities we have planned - and how you can participate from home!

Essex Soap Refill

We are excited to again partner with Essex Soap Refill to host a pick-up and drop-off location for their eco-friendly home, bath, and body products. They make it easy for anyone to reduce their use of single-use plastics by reusing containers. You can drop-off old containers and pick them up freshly filled the following week, on Wednesdays, outside of Braemar. If you haven’t already, you can learn more about how to get started here.