Over the past two decades, FUHSD has been implementing district-wide changes to make its campuses more environmentally friendly. After becoming a part of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools which recognizes schools that commit to sustainable practices in 2022, the district has continued its efforts by switching to LED from halogen lighting, using more efficient air conditioning and implementing organized bins to ensure recyclables aren’t thrown away or contaminated.
According to Superintendent Graham Clark, the district is currently undergoing a modernization effort throughout all five sites. Alongside changes to the roofs and flooring, the lighting system is also being updated to make the lighting system more efficient and longer lasting. Another one of the district’s goals is to reduce the amount of paper needed in classrooms. Organized disposable bins are being installed at Lynbrook High School to ensure that any paper still used is recycled.
“One of the things that we could use help with, from the students, staff and everyone, is contamination of paper,” Clark said. “Every once in a while somebody puts a can of soda in a recycling bin for paper and then it gets wet. When all that paper gets contaminated, it can’t be recycled, so everybody must be mindful of that. Because of this, it is important that we thank all the students involved in publicizing and making people aware of it so we can all modify our practices.”
Biology and Physiology teacher Lora Lerner emphasizes the importance of the district changing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting. On top of being more energy efficient, she notes that these changes create a much better classroom environment.
“The first thing you notice is the classroom is way quieter because we used to have these vents on the ceiling that they took out, and now you can barely hear it,” Lerner said. “The lighting is more soothing, but what I really like about it is that we have more control. The old lights were either on or off, but now I can dim them. So it’s not just that they are more efficient, it’s that the quality gets better. I appreciate that.”
As a member of the FUHSD Climate Collective, LHS Senior Ashwin Kamchetty works with a team of students and advisors to spread awareness about environmental issues. The team explores ways to improve environmental conditions at FUHSD campuses by hosting marketing events like Earth Day and creating surveys about environmental literacy in efforts to make changes through the FUHSD board.
“I started to rearrange the trash that I was throwing away in such a manner that I acclimated to the newer changes that were added on campus,” Kamchetty said. “I can also speak on behalf of the students that I go to school with who were doing the same, meaning that FUHSD’s efforts to increase proper recycling worked very well.”
As the district continues its multi-year commitment to sustainability across all five campuses, Lerner echoes a positive sentiment on FUHSD’s approach regarding making proactive sustainability efforts. She credits the renovations of each building to being the most effective change since buildings have the most significant impact on the campus’s energy usage, but she also acknowledges that the construction of solar panels years ago was another beneficial addition that encourages students to make their lifestyle more sustainable.
“Sustainability needs to be a worldview that we have to think about every single place we are: our homes, our workplaces and public places,” Lerner said. “We have to make all of them better, which is a big job, but if we do it successfully in all these places, then it makes an impact. I’d like to think people are seeing that, because our school is making an effort and spending a lot of money to revamp these spaces to make them more efficient, then that’s what we should be approaching this issue in the rest of the world.”
