Sustainability

I like to think I grew up in a world made of plants. As a child, I spent most of my time up a tree, tunneling through the underbrush, or in the garden. My mother and father were always outside, working together to make things grow and trying their hardest to get the three of us kids to help them weed, water, or whatever. When I was younger, my job in the garden was to plant the carrots each year. My mother planned it so that they would be ready to harvest around my birthday in August, thus showing me that the greatest gifts one can receive are those from the earth.

Editor’s note: The first part of this article appearred in the April 26 issue. By John R. Newman, Idyllwild Arts Academy Dean of Students Completed projects This winter we completed a comprehensive energy audit, sponsored by Southern California Edison, and have retrofitted close to 100 percent of the campus with compact fluorescent light bulbs and…

Next week, three sophomores and one junior from Idyllwild Arts Academy will join me in flying to Denver, Colo., for the Second Annual Green Schools International Conference, Feb. 27 to 29. It’s safe to say that these students are just a tad excited, having proved their readiness and willingness to assist in bringing green changes to our school through written essays.

Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) has substantial outside lighting requirements for visibility and safety. Students, faculty and visitors are often out in darker hours, going to and from dorms and the dining hall, the library and various art studios, or attending on-campus performances and recitals. To assure these needs, IAA has an annual utility bill totaling more than a half million dollars. Consequently, the school has a strong incentive to undertake a sustainability program. So, outside lighting is one of many areas we have been looking at. Plus, many of us have outside lighting needs at home.

At Idyllwild Arts Academy, we have begun to implement sustainable practices in many aspects of our campus life. Some of the greatest successes have occurred in our dining hall. We’ve become deliberate in sourcing our food locally, seasonally and in pursuit of organic produce. We have moved forward in establishing relationships with local farmers who can provide fresh, humanely raised and chemical free meat, poultry and eggs.