Sustainability

The Fenn School strives to meet the principles and good practice of environmental sustainability in its planning, operations, and curriculum. Inspired by our school motto, Sua Sponte, the Fenn community accepts responsibility for fostering the well-being of our local environments and global communities through our individual and collective choices and actions. By means of open communication, innovative practice, and sound education, Fenn summons our students and charges the members of our school community to be responsible environmental citizens and leaders.

Because environmental sustainability touches so many facets of human life on this planet, it can be difficult to clearly and succinctly define. Some prefer to boil it down to very simple terms: Sustainability is the ability to maintain. However, a closer examination of what it takes to be truly sustainable shows us that very little about it requires “holding steady.”

Sustainability asks us to cut back. As the human population on the planet increases daily, we need to work towards having an understanding of other nations and cultures – we need to be sure not to take more than our share of resources. We need to value more highly the materials and land we consume, recognizing that things created and then disposed of come with human and environmental costs. Reducing how frequently we take “things” for granted is elemental to sustainable living.

More important, however, sustainability asks us to evolve. Technological innovation and creativity will help us continue to live our modern lives as our resources diminish. We can expand our horizons and reach out to other communities as we work to repair human and environmental health. We should feel comfortable redefining what it means to have thriving economies and cultures. Increasing our knowledge of the planet’s systems will only help us have more responsible and intelligent interactions with the world we inhabit.

Fenn is in the perfect place to tackle issues of environmental sustainability. As a school, we are used to asking difficult questions and relying on logic and reason to guide us. The four qualities of a Fenn boy do indeed allow us to focus our energy daily on ecological issues—honesty lets us openly evaluate our current practices and habits, respect requires that we treat all natural spaces and human life with reverence, empathy asks that we have a better sense of our place in the world, and courage gives us the energy to make changes in our community and take big steps towards a cleaner, healthier future.

For more information, contact Cameren Cousins at ccousins@fenn.org