ironmental stewardship!” boasts the Head of Sandy Spring Friends School Ken Smith in our first all-school assembly of the year. Following his speech, seven lower school students scramble the letters R C L E C Y E on stage. “RECYCLE!” an astute kindergarten buddy shouts out. She is only one of hundreds in the room who know the word almost as well as their own name.

“It’s good to start so young,” remarks Ava Talbott, a new freshman at the school, “and I think Ken seemed genuine about the idea.” Talbott, along with many other transfer students, agrees that the school is doing much more than other schools in its environmental efforts.

“There’s recycling bins in every class, plus every student is required to do stewardship of some kind, said Talbott.

Other students such as senior Gus May, argue that while Sandy Spring is heading in the right direction, “They [the school board] are missing the big picture.”

“It’s not about appearing environmentally friendly; it’s about being environmentally friendly. We gotta practice what we preach,” said May.

Senior Richard McElroy points out the new marked off plot between the P.A.C. [Performing Arts Center] and visitor parking.

“We section off one little piece of lawn behind a big building and stick a huge sign that brags ‘a green alternative to grass’ while the rest of campus continues to get mowed at least once a week,” said McElroy.

A study done by Popular Science reports that “using a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour produces as much pollution as driving your car 50 miles.”

McElroy also added that “when you advertise your environmental stewardship so much, the service aspect is lost as it becomes more of a marketing ploy. The biggest changes that need to be made here are those you can’t really see.”

McElroy explains that our very own Moore Hall “has probably offset all the ‘stewardship’ hours we’ve ever done as a campus.”

In fact, a recent study by Market Edge Consulting says that residential and commercial buildings account for 39% of the United States production of carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas proven to cause global warming.

As a member of the student-run Energy Team created last year by Sandy Spring’s Activism class, McElroy noted that the radiator valves in all the rooms of Moore Hall were completely open, and in some cases painted over to stay that way. Therefore, when it’s cold outside, the boiler turns on and hot air, unregulated by the valves, is pumped into the room.

Senior Lauren Pescatore complains that room temperatures “are really extreme, and not in a logical way. In the winter I want to wear shorts to class and in the summer I might as well wear a parka.”

A study done by Brandeis University noted that “a two-degree adjustment to a thermostat setting (lower in winter, higher in summer) reduces energy consumption and eliminates up to 500 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.”

The school’s environmental ‘czar,’ Dorothy Leissa, was appointed this year to manage the school’s environmental footprint as well as integrate ideas of sustainability into the curriculum. Leissa explains that “the bigger steps [like renovating Moore Hall] will require more investigation so that the school can make a knowledgeable decision.” In reality, these big steps, though important to the environment, are at times costly and time- consuming.

Ken Smith urges that the school is, in fact, taking the big steps. This past summer, the school spent $15,000 on updating the composting project. “The compost was too high in pH and was burning up the crops it was spread on,” Smith explained.

In addition, the school is also in the midst of picking a company to dig up the barren plot of land in front of Moore Hall which is failing to grow grass. The company which had taken out the parking lot that lay in the spot before had left chunks of rocks and asphalt in the soil.

“The project will probably cost around $9,000,” estimated Smith.

The main goal for Leissa, however, is not simply the blaring holes where the school can improve. More than just pledging money, Leissa envisions a school where “Students are enthusiastic about making a change and don’t feel that the issue is hopeless.”

May argues that while the benevolent idea of each student being an ‘environmental steward to the earth’ is in our mission statement, “The school itself and the faculty are not always setting the best example.”

Senior Toby Valenstein attests to this.

“Lights in the P.A.C. are always on, even when no one is there,” said Valenstein

Valenstein also points out that there is no excuse for why buildings should be lit with anything but compact fluorescent lights. According to the Department of Interior, a compact fluorescent light bulb uses 75% less energy than an incandescent bulb, and has about 10 times the life expectancy.

Senior Amadeo Thomas adds that even in the Lower School where students are taught about recycling and the environment, snack time means a separate plastic pouch of graham crackers and container of juice for each student.

“Why not have one big box of graham crackers?” Thomas asks. “Why teach these kids to be excessive consumers?”

Still Leissa notes, “Every step is a positive step.”