In a community with heightened commitment to environmental ethics and practices, a ceramic mural declaring "Make Every Day Earth Day!" commands little attention in the dining room. We are recycling, composting, heating with locally harvested biomass. Dorms are competing in the Green Dorm Challenge; (congratulations, Summerfield!). We've adopted a Declaration of Independence from bottled water, as well as an Environmental Mission Statement that holds us to sustainability and carbon neutrality. Nevertheless, we observed Earth Day Friday, for the forty-forth consecutive year.

The school's organic garden needs to be prepped for planting.






We throw ourselves into activities and workshops that make the local biome a healthier place, or elevate awareness of challenges, or make a statement for others to appreciate. At a special assembly, we host internationally-known environmental activist and author Bill McKibben. But--whatever the details--we're taking a day away from typical work to recognize our place as stewards of a delicate planet. Michele's advisees (past and present!) pick up along Main Street.

 

We construct, and immediately employ, solar ovens.

 

Alvaro and Kat conduct a workshop on different composting projects--this one at the Eco-dorm site--where a tumbler drum has proved to be highly efficient.

 

Compared to traditional composting piles. Plastic cups introduced six years ago are still plastic cups....

 

Another compost pile--this one at the organic garden--is ready to be applied to vegetable beds.

 

Up at Two Mountain farm (operated by alumna Kat Darling) we're constructing a fence (for sheep) from local beech saplings. 

 

A garter snake provides some entertainment!

 

At the school's lumber mill, we're constructing benches and chairs from Proctor pine.



We're pouring over seed catalogs. We're designing and drawing vegetable gardens.

 

We're crafting flower pots out of cut glass bottles.

 

Tyler is boiling the flesh off of the skull of roadkill deer that was donated to the school by New Hampshire Fish & Game.

 

Tomorrow is another day. Make it an earth day!