Sustainability at CSW
CSW is committed to fostering a sustainable future for our students and the planet. Through innovative practices, energy efficiency, and renewable energy solutions, we strive to create an environmentally conscious campus that promotes green living and responsible resource use.
By integrating sustainability into our curriculum, extracurricular activities, and daily operations, we empower our students to become thoughtful stewards of the environment, instilling in them the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to lead the way toward a more sustainable world.
By integrating sustainability into our curriculum, extracurricular activities, and daily operations, we empower our students to become thoughtful stewards of the environment, instilling in them the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to lead the way toward a more sustainable world.
Did you know?
- In 2007, the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art was designed to LEED Platinum standards and constructed using sustainable building materials. The 21,000 square foot facility features passive solar design, a high-performance heating and ventilation system, a living green roof, composting toilets, and high performance lighting. It was once named one of the nation's Top Ten Green Projects by The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment.
- Built in 2005, CSW's maintenance building has composting toilets, radiant floor heating, and a southern exposure for reduced reliance on energy.
- CSW is an idle-free campus, and is home to 20 electric vehicle charging stations.
- The Board of trustees recently voted to install photovoltaic panels on campus, which will allow the school to move away from fossil fuels and offset nearly a quarter of annual electricity consumption. They also approved a proposal to install a battery backup system for the Warren Dorm, allowing for critical load electricity during power failures.
- Campus is home to two teaching community gardens, one of which is comprised entirely of native plants.
Sustainability Committee
The Sustainability Committee is comprised of students and adults in the CSW community working together to create and support a systematic and ongoing sustainability culture on campus, developing clear plans for making CSW a more sustainable community. Each class elects representatives to serve on the committee, and two students from each dorm are elected as Sustainability Stewards, supporting sustainable practices in the residential community. Meetings are open to all.
In recent years, the Committee has prepared annual reports showcasing programs and initiatives related to sustainability at CSW. These reports are available for download below:
2023-24 CSW Sustainability Committee Annual Report
2022-23 CSW Sustainability Committee Annual Report
Courses with a Sustainability Focus
While we strive to maintain sustainability as a through-line in everything we do, the following courses have a distinct focus on environmental issues:
- BioConnections: Cells, Organisms, and Society (Science)
- Drawing: Otherness and Social Justice (Visual Art)
- Ethics of Science (Science)
- Environmental Chemistry (Science)
- Environmental Photography (Visual Art)
- Fashion and Textiles: Design Solutions in a Circular World (Visual Art)
- Literature of the Anthropocene (English)
- Marine Biology (Science)
- Off Campus to Panama: Neotropics of Latin America (Language/Science)
- Principles of Ecology (Science)
- Sculpture: Environmental Sculpture (Visual Art)
- Storytelling from Turtle Island: Native American Poetry from the Oral Tradition to the Present (English)
- U.S. Environmental History (History)
- Water: The Science and Story of Water Around the World (English/Science)
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.