By Aadit Shrivastava ‘26, Feature Staff Writer

Sustainability Council’s Bulletin Board uses recycled materials. Image Courtesy of Author.

This school year marks a major turning point in NA environmentalism, with Mr. Stourton occupying the new Director of Sustainability role and establishing the Newark Academy Sustainability Council. The Council’s mission is to “promote environmental stewardship by educating the student body and implementing green solutions.” Essentially, the Sustainability Council aims to foster a community where everyone adopts a sustainable lens within NA and their daily lives. The council will accomplish this goal through informational efforts, such as presentations and educational activities, and sustainable initiatives, such as initiating a compost system and integrating sustainability into NA’s curriculum.

Currently, the Sustainability Council has mainly worked to spread awareness and cultivate a desire for sustainable action within the NA community. They presented about America Recycles Day on November 15th and informed the NA community regarding current statistics of waste at NA and how to minimize and dispose of waste properly. 

Additionally, they created two advisory activities. The first was a form to determine an individual’s carbon footprint, showing how individuals’ choices of housing and transportation can significantly contribute to their carbon footprints. The following week, advisor groups played a climate action game in which players had a limited budget to select global initiatives that would reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. This activity suggested the severity of our current climate crisis and the limited timeline for action against it, but also the fact that there is still time to minimize some of the damage done. Both activities demonstrated the urgent action needed to mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce global warming. In the future, members of the council will conduct similar presentations and activities for the middle schoolers early in the spring term.

The council has also started to develop more initiatives as the year progresses. Members of the council have been collaborating with SAGE since the beginning of the year to reduce food and material waste and better accommodate dietary restrictions. For example, as of November 27, no disposable cups can be used in the dining hall. People will have to bring reusable tumblers or bottles to get coffee or other beverages from the cafeteria. The next project will be to conduct a 400-point schoolwide sustainability audit to examine the strengths and weaknesses of sustainability at NA and work out some key goals to improve the weak points. With so many aspects of sustainability being applied in schools, including infrastructure, the curriculum, and sustainable initiatives, the Sustainability Council is using the START program by Green Schools Alliance to understand these different factors and calibrate how well we are doing by START’s standards. Additionally, we are ranked among other schools that use START, so we can see where we stand as a sustainable school. This specific project ties into what Mr. Stourton is doing as Director of Sustainability, beyond the contributions solely by the Sustainability Council.

The NA community has expressed appreciation for the Sustainability Council’s work so far. “I found the morning meeting presentation very informative and engaging, and it really brought attention to the need for sustainable change in the NA community,” expressed Leslie Llivicota ‘26. However, Gabby Beckham ‘27 also encourages more representation of the student body in sustainability matters. She states, “I would like to see more representatives in the council from the freshman class or the middle school.” More widespread representation “would make it easier to spread the word across the NA community if more people are involved,” she adds. Mr. Stourton summarizes the significance of sustainability-based leadership and environmentalism at NA: “NA’s mission statement calls for graduates with a generosity of spirit. I hope we can graduate the leaders of tomorrow with the optimism, drive, and sustainability skills to tackle climate change and secure our future.” Mr. Stourton is calling upon us as future leaders to pave the way toward a sustainable future