Something worth fighting for

Every October, most junior students at Miss Porter’s School have the opportunity to learn firsthand about ecological issues in Costa Rica. For 10 days, their classrooms are rainforests, farms, coasts and an eco-lodge located in a collectivist community. Their teachers, in addition to the Porter’s faculty members leading the trip, are local conservationists, farmers and nature guides, but also butterflies, raptors and sea turtles. The lessons they learn about the Central American country center on the rise of ecotourism, efforts to protect ecosystems, and how these two domains intersect and clash.

“In Costa Rica, I witnessed many individuals’ passion for sustainability and environmental conservation. I listened to how these individuals implemented their love for the environment into their careers,” says junior student Kinley Simmons ’25 about her participation last year in Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar (AIS) Global Intensive: Costa Rica Culture of Conservation. “While working alongside inspiring groups of people who are dedicated to making positive change and preserving what’s left of the gift that is nature, I realized that community is not only a strong system of support but a powerful tool for change.”

This AIS Global Intensive course is designed to immerse Porter’s students in a mix of in-class and hands-on learning about the social, economic and environmental dynamics of ecotourism in Costa Rica. More broadly, it engages them in considering how traditional ecological knowledge and Western science can complement each other to promote conservation. By participating in field investigations and citizen

Rollán co-led the trip with teachers from the science and history departments, and their diverse perspectives helped illuminate the complex environmental issues in Costa Rica. This interdepartmental collaboration on an environment-related course aligns with the Porter’s focus on interdisciplinary education that prioritizes “sustainability & innovation” as one of five key pillars together with “information & expression,” “the human experience,” “global citizenship” and “systems & institutions” aimed at enabling students to shape our changing world.

Recognizing the increasing urgency of climate change, Porter’s has prioritized it as one of many “pressing problems” along with “identity-based discrimination,” “income inequality,” “media literacy,” “threats to democratic institutions” and “the impact of artificial intelligence” that it is purposefully integrating as a subject of inquiry across academic disciplines.

“We know that our students need to be uniquely prepared to face this challenge affecting our civilization,” says Tim Quinn, chief academic officer. “Climate change is not just a science problem. In fact, we probably already know the scientific solutions. It’s also a problem that’s political, psychological and economic. … It’s an interdisciplinary issue, so we need to treat it that way.” science projects, the students monitor wildlife migration patterns, evaluate the health of rainforest trees and observe organic agricultural operations. As they research and reflect on these topics through discussions, presentations and an assessment, they gain an in-depth understanding of Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity, Indigenous ways of knowing the land and the different ways to make an impact in sustainability work.

“They see professionals loving what they do, because their job is important not just for themselves, but for the environment and the area where they live and work,” says Spanish Teacher Oscar Rollán, who helped lead the AIS Costa Rica trip in 2023. “It’s an experience that can impact students for the rest of their lives. They discover they have the chance to make a positive change in the future.”

Porter’s weaves environmental subjects into curricula in a variety of ways. Starting in Grade 9, all students take STEM 9: Environmental Lab Science & Conceptual Physics. One assignment involves self-reflection on lifestyle habits and making eco-friendly changes such as taking shorter showers, eating fewer animal products or buying less plastic. In AIS Environmental Science, 11th and 12th graders explore humans’ impact on the natural world, and study topics such as ecological systems, human population growth and resource use, and sustainable farming. The course culminates in a mock global climate summit that requires making proposals to solve climate change.

“I want the students to consider the impact they are having on the planet, and to be empathetic to humanity as a whole,” says Science Teacher Cate Rigoulot, who teaches both of the above courses. “I also want to build their appreciation of nature, so that they feel it’s something worth fighting for.”

Other ways the environment is explored academically are through science courses on freshwater ecology and oceanography; a Spanish language course focused on sustainability in the Hispanic world; and an AIS philosophy course Quinn teaches called The Good Life that, in part, invites students to contemplate their relationship with nature. In the English Department, meanwhile, the Literature of the Environment: Writing for Climate Justice course looks at how writers use their craft to defend the planet. Students use an ecocritical lens to study how writers influence environmental action, and they then develop their own climate justice works.

Elizabeth Simison, dean of academics and an English teacher who has taught Literature of the Environment, is involved in Porter’s efforts to further integrate climate change as a learning topic across its courses in arts, humanities, languages, math, sciences and social sciences. The work is driven by the school’s commitment to learning that is relevant, future-focused and mission-driven. Simison says a main goal of this work is to help students understand the role they can play in global efforts to address climate change.

“We are preparing students to be productive members of society and to realize their civic responsibility,” Simison says.

For Samantha Flibbert ’25, learning about environmental issues through the AIS Costa Rica, AIS Environmental Science and other courses has provided clarity on the complexities of the climate crisis. She says she has particularly enjoyed doing a lab assignment that involved comparing different types of climate models to understand the future of climate change. Through what she has learned so far about environmental topics, she has come to appreciate the need for diverse approaches to combat the climate crisis.

“I understand the world must come together to fix the damage we’ve inflicted, and this means sharing perspectives and knowledge,” Flibbert says. “To reverse and mitigate our negative effects on the planet … we collectively cannot make it very far without considering all perspectives.”

RIGOULOT, SCIENCE TEACHER