NMH Hosts Conference on Sustainability

MOUNT HERMON, MA—On Sunday, November 11, 150 people representing 39 schools will converge at Northfield Mount Hermon School to plan and prepare for the third annual Green Cup Challenge, to be held in February. Organizers of this sustainability contest hope that electricity-saving measures implemented by participating schools will prevent close to one million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

Thirty-two boarding schools and seven day schools from Maine to Florida are competing in this year’s challenge, an annual competition among boarding schools to reduce electricity consumption and raise awareness about the environmental impacts of electricity production. In addition to NMH, other Franklin County schools participating are Deerfield Academy, Eaglebrook School, and Stoneleigh Burnham School.

"With more than 16,000 students participating in the Green Cup Challenge this year, along with the thousands of associated families, faculty, and staff, the positive impact that just one environmentally-conscious individual can have will be magnified several thousand times over,” said NMH science teacher Becca Leslie, who is coordinating the school’s hosting of the organizing conference and its participation in the contest. “These competitors are really a team, working together to amplify their small contributions to a better world. I am proud that independent schools are playing such a leadership role and encouraging young people to translate their concerns for the environment into action."

The Green Cup Challenge has grown from modest beginnings in 2006, when a trio of schools competed to see which could reduce electricity use by the greatest percentage. Last year 15 independent schools participated, sparing 381,202 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted through their collective efforts during one month of the year. That’s the equivalent of taking 33 cars off the road.

The organizing conference at NMH this weekend will help introduce schools new to the Green Cup Challenge to how it works and help both new and returning schools refine how they reduce consumption. The day’s schedule will include 13 workshops and a sustainable lunch prepared by NMH dining services staff. Ashfield businessman Tom Leue of biodiesel-supplier Homestead, Inc., will lead a session on biodiesel on school campuses. NMH is buying carbon credits to offset the transportation to and from the school for all conference attendees.

LiveItGreen, the Chicago-based carbon-offset company, has donated carbon credits to offset the carbon associated with the production of T-shirts being sold at the event. Support for the conference has been provided by Native Energy, Seventh Generation, Equal Exchange, LiveItGreen, and W. S. Badger Co.

“NMH is very pleased to host the conference this year,” said Assistant Head of School Charlie Tierney. “Sustainability is a major priority at NMH. It is reflected in our curriculum and in the decisions we make every day.”

Contact: Kate Snyder, 413-498-3357 or ksnyder@nmhschool.org.

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