The all-girls Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT, hosted educators from independent, public, elementary, secondary and higher education institutions from Connecticut and as far away as New Orleans and Washington state for a groundbreaking NCGS Think Tank on taking sustainability education to the next level: beyond lightbulbs and recycled paper. The Think Tank model was originated by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools to encourage an exchange of ideas among participants that will benefit their educational missions and of course, their students. Walker’s has placed significant focus on sustainability both on campus and off, offering classes in environmental science specifically, and co-operative learning where an economics class, for instance, addresses the impact of the environment on our economy.

The daytime event was preceded by dinner and animated conversation at The Firebox Restaurant, a cornerstone of the successful neighborhood rehabilitation project at Billings Forge in Hartford’s Frog Hollow neighborhood. Cary Wheaton, Executive Director of the Billings Forge project, along with Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, spoke with attendees about collaboration between schools and other non-profits, such as municipalities and environmentally conscious organizations like Billings Forge. This kind of collaboration resulted in Walker’s becoming a founding partner of the Community Farm of Simsbury, a project which is focused on farm-based education as well as community service, sustainable farming techniques and service to the poor. The Town, Billings Forge, and Walker’s play a significant role in the direction of this important community project.

The daytime sessions on Walker’s campus started with a keynote by Brooke Redmond, a 1990 graduate of Walker’s and Executive Director of the national Farm-Based Education Association. Redmond spoke about the benefit of collaborations between schools and local farms across the country – students participate in results-oriented work, have ready opportunities for community service that directly impacts the sustenance of others, and learn food system literacy.

Further sessions focused on student-driven change on campus – for instance, having students build and present business plans to administrators promoting the adoption of new sustainable practices. This session was led by Walker’s faculty Jill Harrington and Carol Clark-Flanagan, co-teachers of the School’s acclaimed Environmental Studies class. Creating and Sustaining a Campus Organic Garden was a popular choice for the day. Many schools have or are looking to build gardens that not only educate students about where their food comes from, but encourages physical activity, recycling practices and wellness. Walker’s own organic garden was the site of this session, led by Garden Club faculty advisor Grace Epstein.

Cultivating Dynamic Partnerships for Education, the Economy and a Sustainable Environment, led by Pine Point School head Paul Geise, addressed collaboration with third party corporations using schools as measurement sites for environmentally beneficial, innovative products, such as wind turbines. Pine Point. located in Stonington, is hoping to be a prototype school by partnering with numerous Connecticut-based corporations and schools to allow students to measure results as well as to give companies the opportunity to see their products in use in a learning environment.

St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, CT, has benefited tremendously from the installation of an outdoor classroom on campus, used not only by science classes, but by all others most notably English, where students reflect on Thoreau’s works in a natural setting. The St. Luke’s boardwalks and gazebo were built by a team of students and teacher David Havens and plans are in the works to expand the project due to its success in enhancing education.

The School Campus and a Sense of Place, led by Hopkins School faculty member Priscilla Kellert, encouraged educators to give their students an understanding of the history, geology and ecology of the site their school sits on to foster a deeper connection with the land they are learning on and in many cases, helping to sustain.

Katrina Linthorst Homan shared her work at Choate, where she was instrumental in building a Student Environmental Task force, and keeping momentum at peak levels. Special attention needs to be paid to the specific culture of each school, and Choate has built an enviable and sustainable program.

The day closed with Katy Perry, a faculty member at Miss Porter’s who is actively involved with the Green Schools Alliance, an organization that has grown many times over in the past few years as it joins schools together to pool resources for on campus sustainability efforts. The GSA introduced the Green Cup Challenge several years ago, where independent schools compete during a two-week period to see which school can reduce their energy expenditure the most. This year, Avon Old Farms School was the winner of the Challenge, and public school districts are now emulating the competition. Perry’s session focused on the many different working parts of a school, such as administration, engineering and grounds maintenance, marketing, faculty, famiies – and understanding the contributions each entity has and can make towards environmentally sound practices.

Attendance at the Think Tank was diverse, from classroom teachers to school administrators to grounds and maintenance staff, promoting cross-departmental conversation from many regions of the country.