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Sustainability

We dedicate our community to addressing the urgency of environmental, economic, and equity issues while acting as faithful and responsible stewards of our shared home with both bountiful hope and unwavering compassion.

As an inclusive, Catholic, Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School, we are called to live the gospel as co-creators and stewards of God’s creation. In order to demonstrate a passionate concern for the protection of our shared natural environment, we seek to minimize the damage of our human impact, to utilize renewable resources as a means of fostering planetary healing, and to participate in the intergenerational passing of our home to those who succeed us.

Our spiritual values of humility, compassion, simplicity, trust and zeal call us to live in harmony with nature, feel the suffering of the planet as our own, and pledge ourselves to work diligently and humbly for a brighter future.

In the words of Pope Francis' Laudato Si, we must both “hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” in order to build a truly sustainable world (49). Our community affirms that sustainability requires not only the pursuit of environmental protection, but global health and wellness, innovation and design, as well as justice and peace for all people. Therefore, we dedicate our community to address issues of the environment, economics, and equity while acting as faithful and responsible stewards of our shared home with bountiful hope and unconditional love.

Campus

Solar Array

In 2017, the Prep unveiled a 650kW solar array as part of our Mahoney Wellness Center project.

Sage Dining

SAGE, our food service provider, boasts a number of different commitments:

  • Distributes paper straws and wooden coffee stirrers that can be composted
  • Uses compostable paper plates
  • Uses recyclable containers
  • Buys from local food venders whenever possible
Refill Stations

Our campus encourages the use of refillable water bottles as opposed to plastic, single-use ones. We currently have refill stations installed across campus.

Community Garden

Students built four raised garden beds in 2018 and since then we've grown and harvested vegetables that are donated to local food pantries.

 

Curriculum

Academics

Classes such as AP Environmental Science provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.

However, there is strength in interdisciplinary work. Woven through the curriculum and in co-curricular activities, sustainability remains at the forefront. Students may learn about endangered species in South America in a Spanish class, or engage in conversations around stewardship and care for creation in religious studies classes, and enjoy the beauty of nature in the Outdoor Adventure Club. The opportunities for learning about sustainability are boundless.

Eighth Grade Climate Science Showcase

Middle School students work in small groups to develop unique research questions related to climate change, focusing on one of several research strands ranging from biodiversity to economics.

They then develop a final product that addresses their research question. Examples of questions are as follows:

  • How can towns use wave energy to reduce their carbon footprint?
  • How is climate change affecting coral reefs?
  • How does food waste contribute to global warming?
Center for Mission and Research

We promote interdisciplinary inquiry and action through the focus areas of environmental sustainability, global health and wellness, innovation and design, and justice and peace. Through the focus area of environmental sustainability, we:

  • Cultivate action that brings us in greater harmony with creation and minimizes our ecological footprint.


  • Strengthen relationships to advance local and global responses to climate change.
  • 

Promote behavior that balances the interconnected systems of sustainability: environment, economy, and equity.

The Center runs the Advanced Research Capstone course, which you can see here.

More information about the Center can be found here.