Apr 14

Hands in the soil, faces turned toward the future

Groundbreaking on the Elder Oak Commons

Young children posing with shovels
Young helpers proud of their contributions
Photo Credit: Kelly Teagarden
Volunteers planting new plants
Many hands, not-so-light work
Photo credit: Ann Leininger
Andrea Caruso pushing wheelbarrow
Andrea Caruso, our fearless leader Photo credit: Tina Bessias
Young child, adults, and high school student planting in close proximity to each other
All ages engaged
Photo Credit: Tina Bessias

Editor’s note: On Saturday, April 12, eighteen volunteers from the DA community were joined by landscape designer Preston Montague and Extension Master Gardener student Kevin Westfield to plant five hundred shrubs, trees, grasses and other native plants at the corner of Pickett and Ridge Rds. This work began the long-planned conversion of a grassy expanse to a biodiverse environment on campus. Upper School Director Lanis Wilson participated and wrote this reflection in his weekly newsletter, Yo La Tengo.

Good Sunday Morning all and Chag Pesach Sameach to those celebrating Passover this weekend. 

I hope this message finds you enjoying this pleasantly cool weekend. As the sun filters through the newly green canopy this morning, I find myself reflecting on yesterday’s Elder Oak Commons planting event. What a profound experience it was to work alongside fellow faculty and their families, our hands in the soil, planting native plants and saplings that many of us may never see reach their full majesty.

Continue reading

Feb 17

Sustain-in 2025: You’re invited!

Thursday, February 27

6pm-12am

Upper School STEM & Humanities Building

No school for students next day! Parent-teacher conferences are Friday, February 28.

RSVP

Have you ever wondered what DA looks like under starlight? Do you want an opportunity to connect to a community of people with brilliant new ideas for ways to care for the world around us? 

The Sustain-In is the perfect place to answer these questions, and so many more you haven’t even asked yet! The Student Government Sustainability Committee invites ALL members of the DA community to learn and play together, create art, solve problems, and talk to people at DA and across the world about sustainability. Come for all or any part of the time.

Who can participate?

  • Alumni, faculty and staff and families
  • Pre-, Lower, and Middle School students with parents
  • Upper School students–bring your family if you can!
RSVP

You don’t have to RSVP, but it helps us plan if you do.

What to expect


Feb 01

Sustainability Newsletter – January 2025

Newsletter about celebrations and upcoming events

Dec 04

The Business of $ustainability

1-Day Seminar for Upper School Students

Friday, January 17, 2025

Apply here. Deadline is January 8.

Why is sustainability such a center of innovation and entrepreneurship? How do people make money in this field? How are carbon emissions calculated, and how do organizations like DA try to reduce them? These topics and more will be addressed in this special, one-day learning experience that is open to all Upper School students. There will be particular attention to offsets: does paying to plant trees or develop renewable energy systems legitimately reduce a business’s carbon emissions?

Continue reading

Nov 21

Gratitude

In this season of giving thanks, I would like to express gratitude to many people in the DA community.

I’m personally grateful to those who pass me in cars when I’m riding my bike on Pickett Rd. I hear lots of people say how dangerous it is to ride there, but in fact, I rarely have even a mildly annoying experience. Thanks to everyone who gives me space on the road!

Professionally, I believe Sustainability offers hope for the future, but it requires change in the present. That’s not always a welcome ask in the midst of our fast-paced everyday activities in school, yet the support is overwhelming.

Upper School students and faculty members at pep rally

Here are some of the many people I’m grateful to:

Continue reading

Nov 20

Students Speak at Public Hearing about Development on Pickett Road

By Evan Register ’25 and Angus Cook ’25

Editor’s Note: The authors made a statement at the November 12 Planning Commission hearing about a proposed apartment complex across Pickett Road from Durham Academy Upper School. Also speaking for DA were Adam Braude, CFOO; Marty Walkowe, Associate Director of Security; Andrea Caruso, Environmental Science Teacher and Upper School Sustainability Leader; and Tina Bessias, Sustainability Coordinator. Members of the public, including neighbors and wildlife enthusiasts, also spoke at the hearing. The Planning Commission voted 8-2 against the proposal. The City Council will hold its own hearing and make the final decision early in 2025.

It was an honor to be asked by Middle School Cross Country Coach Hall to speak at the City Hall meeting. Sandy Creek means a lot to us and we know that the trail has had a lasting impact on countless Durham Academy runners in past years. Sandy Creek trail is the most important trail for the cross country and distance track teams, both of whom use it in the summer, fall, winter, and spring. It’s an incredible privilege to have Sandy Creek right at our fingertips. We run on it nearly every day, and have a new appreciation for it after almost losing it to development plans. 

Continue reading

Oct 21

The Lower School Gym in a New Light

Today, there is an electrician named Luis Ossa working in a lift to remove giant antique light bulbs– 400 watt metal halide lamps–from the ceiling of the Lower School Gym. He is working in the dark to replace those lights with modern, efficient LEDs. And while he’s up there, he’s clearing out volleyballs and other items long stuck between beams.

Continue reading

Oct 21

Newsletter: DA Sustainability News

A number of people have expressed a desire for more information about what’s happening with sustainability at DA and in the surrounding community. Diane Daly is answering the call with this first edition of our newsletter. She is a Lower School science teacher and Sustainability Leadership Team member.

Oct 10

Repelling an Invasion

Group of students, parents, & faculty on beautiful day in forest

On September 21, 2024, the Upper School Sustainability Committee waged its second attack on Tree of Heaven in some forested property that the school owns on the west side of Ridge Rd. This effort was the continuation of an invasive species removal event that took place last fall. Our target, Tree of Heaven, is native to China but has grown rapidly in the U.S. It shades out native trees and disrupts ecosystems. Its most distinct feature is its smell: when the bark is wounded it releases an odor akin to that of rotting peanut butter. 

Continue reading

Sep 06

Faculty & Staff Focus on Sustainability

Every year, when faculty and staff assemble for opening meetings, we come with varying degrees of readiness but generally high hopes for the school year. Amid grand plans, training sessions, and endless details, we devote a day to professional development. This year’s topic, environmental sustainability, grew out of the Board of Trustees’ decision in December, 2023 to endorse the goals that the Sustainability Leadership Team and the Upper School student Sustainability Committee had recommended over the course of several years. Thus Durham Academy formally committed to

  • Educate for sustainability at every level and in every subject
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 2022-23 levels
  • Increase biodiversity on our campuses by at least 2 acres

Instead of focusing on that topic for a single day during opening meetings, we did The Week, a series of short films and discussions, over three separate days.

Continue reading