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. 

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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.

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May 31

Conversation Starters

The #1 thing we can do to stop global warming is talk about it!

“Beach reading” May 13, 2024

Most of us don’t talk much about climate change, but doing so is the best way to have a positive impact. If that seems strange, check with the experts: The Natural Resources Defense Council, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, or the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. But even if we want to talk about it, we might wonder how to bring it up. DA 9th graders have suggestions! At the end of the school year, they spent 30 minutes reading a book of their choice on the topic of sustainability (the school library has lots of options). Then they came up with a variety of approaches to conversation.

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May 22

Where should I start?

You want to live more sustainably, but everyday life is overwhelming enough without trying to rethink the habits and structures that make it work. So you ask: what’s one meaningful thing I could do? 

9th graders have answers!

In their Living Sustainably class, 9th graders did a quick assessment of their personal eco-footprint (you can do it, too–see this tool). Then they chose a category of emissions to work on and listed some actions that would help. It feels good to take a step toward sustainability! When it becomes routine, you can take another. Let us know in the comments below if you take one of the students’ suggestions.

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Mar 03

Standing on history, looking to the future

2 children on porch swing under Elder Oak
Swinging at twilight under Elder Oak

The second annual Sustain-In commenced underneath the Elder Oak where I gave these opening remarks. 

Thank you to everyone who is joining us for our second annual Sustain-in! We are so happy that we have this opportunity to collaborate on sustainability at DA. 

When we stand under the Elder Oak, we are standing on history. This tree is the oldest one on campus. It’s a Scarlet Oak, a member of the Red Oak family which is native to North Carolina. It is also a Champion Tree: the largest known Scarlet Oak in the state! What can you observe about it?

This tree has been measured by the North Carolina Forest Service and is estimated to be 200 years old.

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Feb 22

Plan for Sustain-in 2024

Come one, come all!

6pm-12am February 29
Upper School STEM & Humanities Building

Come when you can, leave when you must!

Bring your e-waste from home to drop for recycling.

Dec 18

Game, Set, Match: Life Cycle of a Tennis Ball

To a a tennis player, a ball isn’t just rubber and felt; it’s a universe of possibilities. It carries the weight of countless hours of practice, the sting of losses, and the thrill of victories. In its fluorescent yellow skin, they find a companion, a nemesis, and a ticket to the sublime dance on the court. The tennis ball is more than an object; it’s a conduit for passion, a vessel for dreams, and the unspoken language of a player’s love affair with the game. For Durham Academy, the number of hours that students put in require much more than just a few tennis balls, but hundreds. Therefore, learning about the life cycle analysis of a tennis ball, bought in large shipments for four teams on campus, is extremely useful to try and mitigate excessive waste and improve disposal.

Despite the fact that The Economic Times explains that “It way take over 400 years to decompose a tennis ball,” there are ~330 million tennis balls manufactured every year.

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Dec 17

The 1000 year life of your running shoes

What happens to your Nike’s when you are done with them, and how you can get the most out of them?

Whether or not you play a sport, run recreationally, or simply play a pick up game every once in a while, running shoes are probably a part of your life in some shape or form. I personally have been a runner since I was 10, competing in middle school, and now just enjoying it recreationally. I am very familiar with the process of buying new running shoes…and wearing them out. And as much as I love the activity, our running shoes have a less than savory life before and after us.

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Dec 16

Making a Dive for Sustainability

Amelia Fay (’25)

As a volleyball player, and libero at that, I find myself going through a pair of kneepads every season. Sometimes it’s because the padding gets worn down or because the sleeve gets holes in it or because they just get so disgusting after getting drenched in sweat every day for three months straight. After the kneepads are no longer usable, at least in the user’s opinion, they just get thrown away. This feels like a waste! Because of this, I explored what is in volleyball kneepads, how they get made, and how they could become more sustainable. 

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Dec 14

Sliding Head First At Sustainability

The Life Cycle of a Durham Academy Baseball Uniform

Player wearing DA Baseball Uniform
Baseball uniform in use

Every DA baseball player has three uniforms. How do they get here? Where do they go after their time on the field? The components of the uniforms can be found by going the website where they’re ordered: the BSN Vault. The specs for a Nike baseball uniform reveal that our uniforms are 100% polyester, a material that is created from crude oil, ethylene, ethylene glycol, as well as para-xylene, combining to make polyethylene terephthalate. This is strained to make conventional polyester. Next in the production process, the creation of the actual uniforms.

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