From the joys of swapping outgrown Spirit Wear and books to taking a student-run tour of John Jay High School to learn about low-e glass, see on-site solar and feel the breeze of eco-friendly ventilation, the Sustainability Fair was powered by a truly renewable resource: student energy.
“The students’ dedication reflects both a deep understanding of environmental stewardship and a strong sense of responsibility to their community,” said district-wide Sustainability Coach Melissa Brady, who co-chaired the April 22 Earth Day event with Sustainability Curriculum Integration Leaders Jim Panzer and Jane Emig.
Momentum that has been building over the last few years was in full swing at the fair. Not did the schools’ Green Team clubs display their work, the gathering showcased teachers’ purposeful integration of sustainability into the curriculum.
John Jay’s marketing students showed business plans for projects that tied into the United Nations’ goals for sustainable development. Science Research juniors and seniors engaged guests in topics including ways to reduce toxins in building materials and increase backyard biodiversity. Earth Science freshmen displayed learning on the equity aspects of commonplace practices including salt mining and burning coal.
“Making art with recyclables is now a fourth-grade unit,” said Increase Miller art teacher Julia Zaremba. She stood next to fourth grade teacher Jane Emig—one of the Green Team leaders at Increase Miller—who displayed the all-school reads with sustainability themes. Across the aisle, Katonah Elementary teacher Sharon Paige and students presented models of a sustainable school they had imagined and created.
Katonah-Lewisboro has been ahead of its time regarding sustainability for nearly twenty years. The Board of Education appointed a Sustainability Committee in 2007; one of its goals is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and motivation to address complex environmental challenges.
The Sustainability Fair gave guests an opportunity to see how Katonah-Lewisboro Schools are a lab in which students to learn how to gather information, gain support and enact change.
At Lola and Libby’s table, guests learned about their plan to replace one of the lawns at the middle school with a meadow of coneflower, goldenrod and other pollinator-friendly plants. The eighth graders had worked with garden educator Margie Corsello and Green Team advisor Melissa Brady to shape the idea and gain permission for the project from Principal Jeff Swiatowicz.
Just down the aisle, Earth Rise co-president Nonie showed visitors an online tool called SMART, created by the Green Schools Alliance, that the club was just starting to use to document John Jay’s carbon footprint and its effectiveness in educating students for a more sustainable world. “It will give us a baseline,” she said, adding that John Jay is the first school in New York State to use the platform.
Nonie recalled the enthusiasm Board of Education member Rory Burke showed when he visited the Earth Rise table and they chatted about SMART. Burke, who also chairs the Board’s Sustainability Committee, was excited about students leaning into the data.
"He said that it would shine a light on the work the District has been doing for years,” said Nonie. "It will help us plan for the future."
