Jesuit High School, Portland, Ore

Oregon

Jesuit High School, Portland, Ore.

Jesuit High School’s 17,281-square-foot Elorriaga Center is environmentally responsible in construction, usage, and maintenance. It features low-flow fixtures, solar panels, efficient lighting, environmentally friendly building materials, and a night-flush system instead of air conditioning. Additional green features make the building a living, breathing extension of sustainability.

In 2011, Jesuit received recognition as an Oregon Green School. In 2012, Jesuit received a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation for 15 recycling bins designed specifically for placement in the cafeteria and on athletic fields. In 2012 and 2013, the Oregon Department of Education recognized Jesuit in the Oregon Sustainable Schools Award.

In fall 2013 the school introduced an AP environmental science course in which students design self-sustaining ecosystems in an EcoColumn and analyze the interconnectedness of habitats. Jesuit’s international studies class holds a Climate Conference during its climate change unit, in which students research a particular country’s relationship with climate change. Additionally, Jesuit has an active student-led Green Team Club, responsible for organizing, promoting, and educating the community about schoolwide recycling efforts. In 2013, Jesuit formed a Global Engagement Committee to enhance students’ global and environmental awareness, and connect with schools in the developing world.

Jesuit’s theology program closely examines social sustainability issues and deeply connects with the Christian service program, in which all students complete at least 65 hours of sustained community service with underprivileged people. Each year, 94 percent of Jesuit’s student body attends weekend retreats that take place in the outdoors and allow students to reflect on the environment as a manifestation of God’s creation. Some 900 students take health and/or physical education classes, and over 700 participate in athletics, developing lifelong healthy habits.

Jesuit also recently completed an extensive audit of the school’s energy use, custodial and maintenance practices, and student and staff behavior. The school derives nine percent of its energy from renewable sources, including solar panels on the school roof and a renewable power mix from the utility provider. An additional 17 percent is derived from hydroelectric power via the local utility company. Jesuit uses cleaning products that are 98 percent certified sustainable, and maintains a large bioswale filtering surface water runoff from parking lots and sidewalks. In December 2013, Jesuit purchased six “No Idling: Young Lungs at Work” signs, now visible in the school’s parking lots.

The school’s partnerships with community organizations are diverse. In November 2012, four staff and 25 students traveled to Washington, D.C. to the Ignatian Teach-in for Justice to learn about civic engagement and attend sessions on climate change, recycling, fracking, and environmental justice. Jesuit also has very healthy partnerships with local experts in sustainability, including the recycling liaison for the Beaverton mayor’s office. Through the school’s Christian service, campus ministry and adult formation programs, Jesuit has high-quality partnerships with organizations such as Blanchet House, which provides meals to the homeless; the Oregon Food Bank’ Migrant Head Start of Hillsboro; and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. These local partnerships are integral to Jesuit’s mission to educate men and women for others, and share its mission of sustainability.

Willamette High School, Eugene, Ore.

Willamette High School (WHS) recycles over 2,000 pounds of material every week, which is a 48 percent increase from 2010. Each year, WHS partners with two local nonprofits – NextStep Recycling, an electronics recycler, and St. Vincent de Paul, a human-services organization, for its annual Recycling Roundup. In 2013, WHS students accepted more than nine tons of electronics that were recycled at NextStep, as well as clothes, toys, appliances, mattresses, and Styrofoam that were sold or recycled through the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. WHS makes conscious purchasing decisions by using paper towels that are EPA certified 85 percent post-consumer waste, toilet paper that is 35 percent postconsumer waste, and plastic garbage liners that are at least 25 percent post-consumer waste.

WHS is Bethel School District’s largest campus, and is a district leader in new facility management approaches, including the use of automatic light sensors, a policy to turn off lights, end-of-day reminders to shut down electronics, programmable controls to regulate classroom temperatures, and weekend/vacation HVAC shutdown procedures. The energy management plan includes monthly use-monitoring and assessment through Oregon’s Cool Schools Program.

Sustainability is part of the school’s DNA, and is realized through health, wellness, and physical activity efforts. WHS’ kitchen is identified as a national leader in using fresh, locally grown foods in school meals, with recognition from the National School Nutrition Association, Today’s Dietician magazine, and School Meals That Rock. The school district purchases 35 percent of food from farms and ranches located within a 100-mile radius of the Willamette Valley; a higher percentage than any other school district in the county. This year, WHS joined Eugene’s Love Food Not Waste (LFNW) commercial compost program, in which kitchen food scraps are composted locally and resold as a retail compost product. WHS currently is piloting the program, with the intent to roll it out districtwide in 2015.

A sizable outdoor school garden features more than two dozen large, raised beds that serve as skills training for students. With assistance from local business partners, students operate aquaponic and aeroponic gardens, as well as a self-contained indoor hydroponic garden that provides starts for vegetables and herbs. School buses follow a no-idling policy that minimizes diesel emissions and maximizes air quality for students. WHS also participates in the district’s Safe Route to Schools program, which increases student walking and biking opportunities. The combination of district programs and a long-term partnership with the City of Eugene’s Peterson Barn Recreation Center provides students with quality recreation and sports programming to maintain a healthy mind/body balance.

An array of civic engagement classes with hands-on learning components boosts individual development and team-building skills. These classes range from the Willamette Improvement Team, which beautifies the school campus and creates a safe environment, to an Electrathon class, where students build electric go-cart sized cars and compete in races around the Pacific Northwest. 2014 has brought the construction of a new science wing. The additional space will provide an opportunity to raise the level of integrated sustainability education for students. WHS is cultivating public and private partnerships to develop a STEM program through a regional cooperative that includes the Lane Education Service District and the University of Oregon. Further sustainability education efforts are supported by community partnerships with a wide variety of public, private, and nonprofit agencies.