The Cary Academy community has already taken great strides toward community sustainability since the 2021-22 school year, with ambitious plans for the future.
Julia Wiater and Grace Jaeger-Sandruck built an aquaponics system to grow basil in the CMS greenhouse. The idea to create the aquaponics system began when Wiater was a lab tech for Ms. Burnett. She hoped to improve the tower gardens and build her own. She began by building a prototype of the system at home. After six Upper School students travelled to Switzerland to represent Cary Academy at the Youth Forum Switzerland, a two day event aimed at connecting changemakers to address the challenges facing the planet, the duo decided to create a system at school. Wiater and Jaeger-Sandruck created an independent study in their sophomore year. Even when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in the spring, they continued to design it while studying virtually. Once they started building it that fall, they encountered several challenges. Wiater comments, “I loved 3D printing to make custom pieces to decrease algae.”
The goal of this system is to provide basil to the Dining Hall to offset the costs of switching away from Styrofoam, which is inexpensive. The basil is converted into pesto, which has been used on chicken and sandwiches so far this year.
The Students for Environmental Education in Developing Sustainability (SEEDS) Club also hosted two Pesto Palooza X-Day events, one for middle schoolers and one for upper schoolers. Participants picked basil and grape tomatoes from the greenhouse and outdoor garden, following the Dining Hall recipe to make their own pesto. To date, 45 pounds of basil has been produced from the aquaponics system. The goal is to surpass one hundred pounds this school year.
Furthermore, with sustainability becoming a larger community focus, Sydney Tai became the first Chief Student Environmental and Sustainability Officer this year. Tai coordinates between the administration, the PTAA, and student sustainability organizations. Along with SEEDS, Tai organized a Solar Energy Exploration X-Day event for students. Students learned how North Carolina can generate all of its energy from renewables and heard from presenters Ed Cox, a solar energy entrepreneur and former president of the NC Solar Energy Association, and Graham Alexander, a representative of Southern Energy Management. Tai shared progress on Cary Academy’s potential photovoltaic installation. Tai comments, “As CESO, my biggest project is installing a solar canopy on campus. In August, I surveyed our grounds with school leaders and a local solar company to develop potential designs, which I then presented at October’s Solar X- Day. Currently awaiting the quote for the solar installation, I am also focusing on establishing recycling programs like TerraCycle and Got Sneakers. For next semester, be on the lookout for a sneaker drive and a potential coastal cleanup!”
Moreover, Natasha Sachar (’22) is continuing an independent study that Armita Jamshidi (’21) started last year before graduating. Carbon calculations for institutions are completed in three scopes. Jamshidi completed scope 1 and Sachar is currently working on scope 2 and will start and try to complete scope 3 next semester. Scope 2 is calculating the emissions from electricity purchases for heating and cooling. Sachar remarks, “I am doing what I like to call ‘detective work’ because I am going to various companies and looking at their emissions reports, as well as using our school’s emissions consumption.” Scope 1 relates to emissions within the school. According to the EPA, “Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain.” Sachar’s goal is to create a five year plan for Cary Academy to become a carbon neutral institution.
Cary Academy challenges students to think outside the box in order to create innovative solutions to pressing societal issues. This school year, CA has stepped up environmental efforts and launching efforts that will spur change for years to come.