Turning Earth Day into Earth Month
Last April, Friends Select School expanded its annual Earth Day tradition into a month-long celebration of environmental stewardship, representing an intentional commitment to sustainability across the school community. The shift from a single day to Earth Month reflects the school’s growing focus on environmental sustainability as a strategic pillar and underscores a belief that caring for the planet is not a one-day event, but an ongoing responsibility.
The transition was inspired in part by Friends Select’s partnership with Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, an environmental sustainability firm whose work with the school has helped shape a broader vision for how sustainability can be woven into campus life, curriculum, and operations. One of the firm’s earliest recommendations was for Friends Select to rethink its approach to Earth Day.
“Many schools are trying to move away from having just one day of awareness,” explained Erik Hermans P’34, middle school Latin teacher and chair of the Environmental Sustainability committee. “Through ongoing planning and collaboration, we transformed Earth Day from a single celebration into a month-long opportunity for students, employees, and families to explore environmental stewardship through learning, service, and community engagement.”
Earth Month initiatives included a community clothing swap benefiting local nonprofits, composting and waste education, a first-grade visit to Bennett Compost, an all-vegetarian Earth Day lunch, plant-based meal projects, a Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day, and hands-on sustainability projects. Students also explored the school’s environmental history by reading the original 1970 Earth Day edition of The Falcon. These activities connected sustainability efforts more intentionally to community values while helping students see environmental responsibility as part of everyday life.
The Earth Month celebration is one step in a larger journey to advance Friends Select’s environmental sustainability goals. Mary Ann Boyer, co-founder and principal of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants, believes the school’s willingness to approach sustainability strategically positions it to become a model for how schools can integrate environmental stewardship into every aspect of daily life. “Moving to a month-long focus on sustainability creates more opportunities for awareness, participation, and lasting engagement across the community,” she said. “A single day can certainly inspire action, but extending activities throughout April allows students, families, and employees to build habits and make stronger connections between sustainability and daily life at Friends Select.”
In conjunction with this partnership with the firm, upper and middle school faculty gathered last spring to identify where environmental sustainability is already apparent in their courses. Meanwhile, lower school students explored the topic through interdisciplinary experiences, from Spanish lessons centered on environmental justice to preschool composting and kindergarten studies of recycling and endangered species. “In many ways, sustainability is already woven throughout the school community,” explained Mary Ann. “The goal is not to make sweeping curricular changes, but rather to become more intentional about recognizing, strengthening, and connecting the sustainability work that is already happening across divisions and disciplines.”
Friends Select’s strategic vision extends beyond the classroom, as sustainability is increasingly informing everyday decisions about purchasing, food systems, waste management, transportation, campus operations, and community partnerships. “For events like the Spring Fair and Alumni Weekend, there was an effort to make sustainable choices, whether it’s the food we serve or reducing the amount of plastic we use for utensils and other materials,” shared Erik. “That’s the first step, and it goes a long way toward making this more than just a moment when we say we care about sustainability; it’s about actually practicing what we preach.”
By integrating these practices into both teaching and daily life, Friends Select is working to ensure that sustainability becomes a natural expression of its mission and Quaker values. “The pillar of stewardship lines up with taking care of the world around us,” said Erik. “Our community values and Quaker roots parallel these efforts to be environmentally conscious, sustainable, and to become carbon neutral.”
