Spring 2022 Sustainability Report The Lawrenceville School
Overview Starting this spring, Big Red Farm Reports will expand to Sustainability Reports. In addition to updates on Farm activities and initiatives, these will include sustainability projects in areas such as carbon reduction planning, land stewardship, and water monitoring.
Big Red Farm BRF Strategic Planning This winter and spring the Big Red Farm continued its partnership with Double Brook Farm and The Decency Foundation of Hopewell, New Jersey to develop a 10-year strategic plan that outlines ways the BRF can become a leader among secondary schools in promoting closed-loop regenerative agriculture. Additional participants in this process starting in the spring of 2022 include the Rodale Institute and Kitchen Table Consultants. Key next steps include establishing chickens for meat and egg production, enhancing collaboration between the Farm and the School dining hall, and exploring the Farm’s capacity to support soil microbial diversity and soil carbon sequestration through expansion of organic and regenerative farming practices. Animal and Crop Operations Lambing season has again been a productive one at the farm with an average of 2 lambs per ewe and five sets of triplets. The Farm is working towards implementation of chicken operations in the summer of 2022. Vegetable production will include a similar mix of crops led by tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and squash alongside other typical BRF plantings and harvests such as cucumbers, chard, kale, onions, raspberries, and apples. Our beehive survived the winter season and lead beekeeper and school carpenter Ryan Yura is working on adding 2 hives to the apiary program. Looking ahead to the summer season, the BRF has 8 interns that will provide vital assistance to Farm operations manager Ian Macdonald and operations assistants Al Veltri and Callie DursoFinley ’19. Interns will again partner with the lab of Dr. Dan Rubenstein of Princeton University on an agroecology research project studying productivity at 6 area farms. Spring Lifetime Farming The spring Lifetime Farming program had a robust enrollment of 16 students from all grades. Students enthusiastically participated in animal care, seedling planting, seedling transplants, crop harvests, equipment repair, and construction projects. At right and on the next page are a collection of images from the spring 2022 season.
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Sustainability Carbon Reduction Plan In April, the School signed a contract with the green engineering firm Integral Group to do a preliminary study of what it would take to reduce carbon emissions 50% by 2035 and be carbon neutral by 2045, in line with many other institutions. The process should last about a year and then the School senior staff and trustees will review the plan for feasibility. At this stage, we are working with IG to complete a detailed energy audit of all campus buildings. In next steps, we will assess options for upgrades to systems such as HVAC and the solar field. As part of this process, students will be involved in all steps along the way. Currently a group of 11 students on the sustainability council has signed up to lead a committee dedicated to providing a student perspective on this work. IG architect and building energy modeler Dr. Shreshth Nagpal joined this group as well as an environmental science class this spring to explain the role of building energy efficiency on reducing emissions, and how energy modeling for buildings works. Please click here to view a recording of his May presentation to Environmental Science students.
Land and Water Stewardship Over the past year, Lawrenceville has worked with ecologists from the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) to conduct a survey of the School’s entire 640 acre property to develop a land stewardship plan. The goal of this project is to outline how the school can manage undeveloped portions of the school property of high ecological value that could be actively managed for wildlife habitat. Last summer and again this year, student interns are involved in species mapping and invasive species removal. This past fall, second form students in all twelve sections of Inquiries in Biological and Environmental Sciences (IBES) participated in the removal of invasive understory species from the Bowl Woods, one of two high-quality old-growth forests on campus dominated by large canopy oaks, hickory, and beech trees. Please click here to read the land stewardship plan. 4
An additional portion of this plan involves enhancing the informal trail network on campus. This spring, over 50 students were involved in woodchipping the trail network in the Ropes Course Woods to reduce exposed root trip hazards and allow this to be used for the cross country course. Two graduating seniors received approval for a revised course that is less repetitive and includes more sections in shady parts of the property to account for hot days that meets often occur on, particularly given the effects of climate change on extending the summer hot season well into October.
In the area of water stewardship, the School continues to partner with the Stroud Water Research Center to collect data on water quality of our campus creek using their proprietary wireless water monitors. These collect information on water temperature, depth, and conductivity, which can be used to assess the impacts of stormwater runoff. Construction on campus currently calls for a major redesign of the fieldhouse parking lot which will significantly reduce stormwater runoff at this location.
Food Committee The Sustainability Council established a food committee this spring that met regularly with Mr. Rob Freeman in the dining hall to partner on promoting “Flexitarian Fridays” and other events aimed at supporting healthy meals with a lower environmental impact.
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Food committee programs have also reduced the amount of food sent to landfills by contracting with the company Organic Diversion to pick up plate scrapings and bring them to a partner company in Trenton that harvests gas from the composting process to make green energy. This program reduces emissions from hauling organic waste to landfills and resulting emissions once there.
Green Revolving Fund The cost of the organic waste pickup program described above is covered by a pilot Green Revolving Fund (GRF) set up by students in collaboration with the Harkness Travel program. This GRF program is being reviewed by School CFO Ben Hammond to consider longer-term implementation. A GRF charges a small carbon offset fee for school overseas trips ($30) to cover the cost of improvements on campus aimed at reducing our carbon footprint. Below are images of students and staff meeting with Mr. Rocco D’Antonio of Organic Diversion to discuss the kitchen scraps collection process (left) and of two Lifetime Farming students helping clean out collection bins.
Summary The School thanks its generous supporters for their continued interest in the Big Red Farm and other Sustainability programs on campus. Those receiving this report can keep up with the latest updates including student blog entries by visiting our Farm and Sustainability webpages at https://bit.ly/LvilleBRF and https://bit.ly/LvilleSusty, respectively. Links to BRF Instagram and Facebook feeds are also available on the BRF webpage. Thank you for your support of the Farm, and please contact Director of Sustainability Steve Laubach (slaubach@lawrenceville.org) or BRF Operations Manager Ian Macdonald (imacdonald@lawrenceville.org) with questions or suggestions.
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