Current Eco Team Members:
Katherine Saltarelli, Sadie Betz, Anamitra Abi, Grant Berness, Sabrina Shields, Beatrice Clarke, Vinay Batra, Saharsh Kalappurakal, Adhya Abi and Anamitra Abi
We are all passengers on this flight to a better future for the planet, and ourselves.
Environment and Sustainability
The Eco Team issues the Zero Waste Challenge in honor of Earth Day.
Webpage Creators:
Project Manager – Adhya
Writers – Sawyer and Katherine
Researchers/Advisors – Connor and Karl
Thank to the intrepid students who had the vision and creativity to begin this Sustainability Webpage in 2022!
National Wildlife Program Ecoschools Program
Princeton Montessori joined the NWF Ecoshcools Program at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. The nation’s largest comprehensive green school program, combining environment-based learning with hands-on experiences, the Eco-Schools program engages students in making their community and the world a more sustainable place to live. For this first year, Middle School students are leading the way, focusing on Learning About Forests, Sustainable Food, and Consumption and Waste Pathways. We have already obtained Bronze and Silver Awards and are hopeful of achieving the Green Fag award before the end of the School year.
Groups and Projects
Sustainable Food
There are tremendous opportunities for schools to explore and implement innovative programs focused on food sustainability. Schools can provide healthier food choices, reduce their environmental footprint, support their local economies, and at the same time enhance the curriculum with engaging and interdisciplinary food related content. A focus on food sustainability can help make nutritious, fresh, local, and whole foods a part of the culture both within your school and at home. Students at PMonts undertook a baseline audit of the school’s food streams and have proposed an action plan to help the schooll become more sustainable. Grades from LE upwards also participate in our farm to School Program, in partnership with Marchese Family farm, and in growing food in our vegetable garden.
Learning About Forests
Forests are fascinating and complex ecosystems, including include soil, water, plants, and animals, as well as trees. A forest’s survival depends upon the health and balance of its interdependent relationships with living and nonliving things.
Forests produce a great deal of oxygen and absorb and store carbon. They also serve to reduce water runoff, conserving soil and protecting water quality.
We are fortunate in having everal acres of first on campus, which are used intensively by, in particular, LE and UE Ecolology classes. MS students undertook a baseline audit of our woods, confirming that the water and soil were healthy but that invasive species were a real threat to the health of the woods. An Action Plan focused on controlling invasive species and students have spent several classes learning how to effectively control the most threatening of the invasive species.
Consumption and Waste
The United States generates 12 percent of the world’s municipal solid waste. The average American creates a staggering 4.9 pounds of garbage daily. Almost everything we do creates waste, and as a society we are currently producing more waste than ever before.
MS students undertook an audiot of the school’s waste one Monday in February, and weighed and identified 238lbs of waste. Following analysis of this waste, students created an action plan which focused, initially, on improving our composting and recycling systems. We are currently implementing this Action Plan.
What Can You Do?
- Have zero waste after your meals or save as leftovers
- Start recycling ( if you haven’t already)
- Implement solar panels/use sustainable energy
- Use reusable alternatives
- Go plastic-free
- Be against products that endanger the environment and/or wildlife
- Invest in renewable water bottles
- Be mindful of your food
- Keep tabs on the usage of your device
- Reduce paper towel and paper napkin usage
Our Work Ahead
As we continue to make progress on our Environmental Sustainability goals, we seek to engage the community in meaningful discussion and welcome input from students, teachers and members of our community.
What Princeton Montessori School is Doing
At Princeton Montessori School, we understand the importance of the environment. We work hard to educate students about the environment, increase eco-friendly practices on campus, and support local biodiversity. Bonding with and learning about the environment is the first step in saving the planet. Princeton Montessori School has switched our energy source to solar panels to prevent climate change and we are encouraging others to do this as well. Our school is also increasing biodiversity and spreading awareness through a variety of projects and working within the school and with other communities.
What Middle School is Doing
The Middle School Program is working by groups on a variety of projects to help our school and the environment. Our Middle School community is working and collaborating with other classes within the school, encouraging students to become more involved in our mission which is to create an eco-friendly environment. By working together we can achieve a similar goal and in the end our objective is to complete our mission.
