New Trier locks in sustainability framework

New Trier High School is the latest entity on the North Shore to officially commit to sustainability practices.

The School Board on Monday, June 2 , gave unanimous approval of sustainability framework for the district. During the meeting, Associate Superintendent Dr. Chris Johnson said the district has “a long-standing commitment to educating students about the issues related to sustainability (and) incorporating sustainable practices into the management of the school,” but the framework provides an actual outline in place for how to plan specific actions, how to accomplish them, and tracking of their results.

Johnson added that the framework is part of the New Trier 2030 strategic plan.

There are seven areas of the plan, each highlighting a specific area of focus. They are: effective environmental and sustainability education; energy-efficient facilities and healthy buildings; waste reduction and resource conservation; reduced environmental impacts and costs; sustainable food practices; community partnerships and reporting to the school community; and framework governance and metrics.

The district collaborated with multiple groups to develop the outline, including students, faculty, physical plant services staff and local Go Green groups.

This included a brainstorming session on April 15 with representatives from those groups.

Sophomore student Avni Arora participated in the workshop and talked Monday about its benefits.

“It really gave a voice to all students,” she said. “And I especially felt my voice was heard and opinions mattered.”

Over the past decade, New Trier has been committed to improving sustainability and has enabled composting in the cafeteria, installed solar panels at the Northfield campus, and demolished the boiler plant at the Winnetka campus, which Johnson said was “energy inefficient.”

He also said that New Trier was one of the first high schools in Illinois to install electric vehicle charging stations, which he said are “quite popular” and almost always being used.

“We have many successes,” Johnson said. “But there is more work to be done, and the framework provides an important foundation that can be used to set future goals.”

Board Vice President Sally Tomlinson, who is the School Board’s liaison to the district’s Environmental Committee, voiced support for the framework.

“I think that this strategic framework is going to help provide stronger synergy across our efforts,” she said, later adding, “It calls out ways in which we can measure our success.”

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.