By Silas Epstein ‘23, Feature Staff Writer

The sun beams into Ms. Tavares’ sixth grade classroom. Around her are an assortment of gadgets, models, posters, and 8 students dedicated to fundamentally changing Newark Academy’s environmental impact. These students, Kaya Patel ‘22, Serin Hwang ‘22, Shivan Kundra ‘23, Alex Atlas ‘23, Torin Schraven ‘23, Anusha Thapa ‘23, Lola Cantillon ‘23, and Alyssa Lee ‘24, make up the Solar for NA coalition. Since November, this group has dedicated itself to converting Newark Academy to solar energy. Their current plan is to formulate a pitch to the administration and Board of Trustees.

While exploring NA’s current energy expenditures, the group found that NA currently uses approximately 190,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every month. Currently, that electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, a practice that destroys natural resources and causes vast amounts of pollution. Solar for NA created a three-pronged strategy to maximize NA’s use of solar energy. Part one involves covering NA’s  roofs with solar panels, part two creates solar canopies over the parking lots to create shade and EV charging spots, finally part three sets up a solar array near the athletic fields to capture even more solar energy. These initiatives would drastically reduce, if not eliminate, the amount of energy NA derives from fossil fuels. These students’ plan to “go big” in spite of all the challenges is an incredible example of the students’ dedication to the cause.

Inspired by the Community Service Council’s focus on environmental justice and stewardship this year, Shivan Kundra ‘23 and Alex Atlas ‘23 turned Solar for NA into their CAS projects. CAS, which stands for Creativity, Activity, and Service, is one of three core components of the International Baccalaureate program. In fulfilling the CAS requirement, students explore their interests by designing projects which inspire them. According to this year’s CAS coordinator, Ms. Fischer, about 85% of CAS projects revolve around the service component, and several of them specifically focus on environmentalism. This attitude shows the remarkable momentum of the environmentalism movement. Ms. Duszak, faculty leader of the Green and Blue Committee, recounted a debate in that club only a few years ago about how to “get people to believe in climate change”. Now, the question has shifted to how to get people to help stop climate change. Solar for NA hopes to fill this niche.

Even if the group’s plans fall short of completely fulfilling NA’s energy needs, every step makes a huge difference. In the push towards a green future, any action away from fossil fuels is incredibly helpful. Solar for NA’s rapid progress from inception a few months ago to submitting proposals to the Board is inspiring, but it is far from the only environmentally-focused activity at NA. Students can also help pick tomatoes in the garden, participate in trail maintenance, or help make bat and bird houses for native wildlife.

If you want to help lead NA into a greener future and support Solar for NA, an immediate first step would be to fill out Solar for NA’s survey, which can be found on QR codes on the walls. If you want to get further involved and take part in this initiative, please contact skundra23@newarka.edu.