SustainABLE DA, fueld by an Innovation Journey grant, launches August 9-10 

with forty-five teachers, administrators, staff members, Parents Council representatives, and Upper School student leaders working together in Horton Hall to create a shared vision. The effort is being led by Jaimie Cloud, who has been fostering Education for Sustainability (EfS) in public and private schools since 1995. As we consider how to incorporate sustainability into our curriculum and culture, we are building on recent work in Diversity, Equity, and Engagement. Both initiatives involve examining assumptions and practices, and many of the foundational concepts (such as “We are all in this together”) are the same. Sustainability also connects to the Wellness Program at DA as we pursue a healthy and livable future for our students.

In addition to the conceptual work, we will get practical.

Green Places, a Raleigh-based firm, will guide us through a process of evaluating our operations and infrastructure. The Sustainability Leadership Team and Upper School students, especially those in the Environmental Sustainability in Action course, will gather data on electricity, water, transportation, waste, refrigerants, travel, etc.  Green Places will lead the analysis. By winter, we expect to be able to share our total institutional greenhouse gas emissions and their sources. From there, we will work with the Board of Trustees and the Administrative Team to develop goals for reduction, define metrics, and begin adjusting our operations and practices.

Some student perspectives

Fitting it all together

Through this Innovation Journey, Durham Academy will align its actions more closely with its values. We will prepare our students to be leaders as we strive as an institution to be a leader in the field of sustainability. Our mission to prepare students for a moral, happy, and productive life will take on a new dimension of care for the natural context of that life. Through this journey, DA will educate all constituents, cultivate student creativity, and demonstrate solutions in our curriculum, operations and culture.

For more information, see the full grant proposal here.

Who is the Sustainability Leadership Team?

Denise Shaw (PS faculty)
Tracy Riddle (LS faculty)
Theresa Shebalin (MS faculty)
Karl Schaefer (MS faculty)
Andrea Caruso (US faculty)
Kathy Pierce (MS Administrative Assistant)
Ann Leininger (Parents Council)
Sanju Patel (US student)
Tina Bessias (Sustainability Coordinator)

What are your hopes for DA’s Journey to Sustainability?

Please comment below or contact any of the team members!