Sustainability at Solebury

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is the capacity to meet the needs of the present age without jeopardizing the ability of people in the future to address their needs. The environment is essential; however, it is not the only consideration. It is also critical to consider human welfare. A sustainable institution is one that protects natural resources while guaranteeing social equity and economic prosperity.

Sustainability Vision Statement

Solebury School's vision is to actively educate and engage students, faculty, staff, and the wider community in becoming good stewards of the environment while working to use resources efficiently, support a healthy ecosystem, and develop sustainable community practices.

Why Solebury cares about being sustainable

Being sustainable goes hand in hand with Solebury School’s values of respect for all life, love of and responsibility toward the environment, biodiversity, environmental equity, fairness, equality, and diversity. Solebury School fosters a culture of service and giving back to our community/environment and is committed to making environmentally and fiscally sustainable decisions.

Since sustainability makes sense from an environmental, financial, health, and civil rights perspective, Solebury School embraces sustainability and is mindful of it when making all decisions.

Solebury School and the student-run Solebury Environmental Action Corps (SEAC) aim to make sustainability an integral part of the Solebury experience by assuring that all initiatives related to sustainability are made with a coordinated effort.

What SEAC is Committed to

Educating the school community about environmental issues, current research, and best practices related to environmental sustainability
Nurturing a greater awareness and appreciation of and responsibility to the environment in the members of our community
Advertising our efforts to be more environmentally responsible with pride
Inspiring change in behaviors and attitudes related to environmental sustainability
Being models and resources not only for the Solebury School community, but also the larger community
Striving toward ever greater energy efficiency and waste reduction on the school campus
Integrating environmental education and sustainability across our school’s curriculum
Encouraging and supporting community service, engagement, and stewardship that supports the environment.
Streamlining systems to allow community members to easily participate in greening efforts.
Upholding our values of respect for all animals/humans, diversity, and inclusion

What Solebury Currently Does

While we are always striving to be more sustainable, we currently do the following to ensure our community is as sustainable as possible:

The new girl’s dorm, Hope Hall, will be one of Pennsylvania’s first Passive House multi-unit residential buildings. Passive house technology reduces energy consumption by 90%.
Our new wastewater treatment plant utilizes microbioreactor technology (MBR) to produce the cleanest effluent possible and return treated wastewater, now potable, back into the environment in the cleanest possible way (supporting the nearby Primrose Creek).
During Sustainability Week 2022, the SEAC club gave a presentation on rainwater management on Solebury’s campus. They discussed some solutions to improve the overall health of our environment and reduce the likelihood of being negatively impacted by flooding in the future. The solutions included converting some mowed areas to meadows, installing rain gardens, and planting a riparian buffer along Primrose Creek. Download the Rainwater Management On Solebury Campus Presentation.
Solebury is a “plastic water bottle free campus.” SEAC members continue to educate students, place targeted signage, and make educational videos.
Since 2019, SEAC has worked with the Dining Hall to implement Minimal Meat Fridays in an effort to introduce students to healthy vegetarian food and show community members that changing their diet to consume less meat is a viable way of fighting climate change.
Compost leaves, clippings, wood chips, and food from the kitchen. The compost is turned once a week and is used in various gardens around campus and by the beautification committee when planting flowers.
Installed a green wall in the Abbe Science Center, which cleans the air, reduces electromagnetic radiation, reduces noise, improves mental and psychological health, and adds beauty to the school.
Planted a vegetable and pollinator garden, which is used primarily as a teaching tool for the Science department. Produce from the garden is used by the dining hall and on-campus faculty. The Honors Environmental Science class takes an active role in the garden and we also offer a gardening activity in the fall and spring. Other classes sometimes visit the garden for journaling or art.
Maintenance did a full campus LED conversion in August of 2021, which cut electricity consumption by 33%. This reduced our carbon footprint on campus by 527,000 pounds of CO2 annually which is the equivalent of not driving 601,067 miles driven annually.
Solebury provides a riparian buffer along the Primrose creek to reduce run-off and support biodiversity in the stream bed and surrounding wetlands. The riparian buffer is currently being expanded.
Replace water fountains with "hydration stations" that have filtration systems and easy fill spouts for reusable water bottles (this is an ongoing effort).
Clearly labeled large bins as "Landfill" or "Recycle" and strategically placed them to increase recycling on campus.
Purchased 50 additional acres that are predominantly woodlands.
Constructed trails through the woods to increase students’ engagement with nature which improves mental, emotional, and physical health.
The advancement program consciously reduces the amount of plastic water bottles they use in on campus events for parents, students, staff, and alumni.

Future Plans to Improve Sustainability

Resources

Green News

Solebury School Awarded Eco-Schools USA Silver Award for Exceptional Achievement in Educating for Sustainability

In March 2023, Solebury School was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for exceptional achievement in educating for sustainability and improving the environmental footprint of the school grounds, facility, and curriculum. It is the 6th school in Pennsylvania to receive the silver-level award.

Solebury Creates a Green Team!

To better coordinate sustainability projects around campus, Solebury School is proud to announce we are creating a Green Team! The Green Team will consist of faculty members, students, staff, and senior administrators meeting regularly to discuss and move forward on sustainability initiatives.

A Passion for Environmental Justice

Members of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) pledge to adhere to the Principles of Good Practice. As this relates to sustainability, schools agree to strive to “become more environmentally sustainable and can ensure that their graduates are prepared to contribute to a more sustainable world.” So what does it mean when a student with a passion for fighting environmental racism uncovers that his school is unwittingly contributing to the problem? Here at Solebury School, it means that it is time for a change.

Solebury Diverts to Landfill

On March 17, 2021 students from the Solebury Environmental Action Club (SEAC) and Teach2Serve cohort 10 met with a representative from Leck Waste Services, Solebury’s waste hauler. The students had what may seem like an odd request for the Leck representative: to divert all of Solebury’s trash from so-called “waste to energy facilities” to landfill or a recycling center.

Supporting Local Farmers, Sustainable Practices, and the Environment

SEAC (Solebury Environmental Action Club) is urging the Solebury community to reduce their meat consumption. Regardless of whether meat is good or bad for our health, the meat industry is bad for the environment for several reasons.