Window into Nishimachi’s Sustainability Efforts

Andrew Deane discusses with Mary Margaret Mallat, Nishimachi’s Director of Advancement, the process grade 9 students follow to produce the Green Report, a student driven analysis of Nishimachi’s sustainability efforts.

est contribution, thus showcasing everyone’s talents in the final report.

Andrew Deane, grade 9 Humanities teacher summaries the unit in this way:

“The unit teaches planning of a multi-stage, multi-authored research document, conducting of quantitative and qualitative research (interviewing, data gathering, survey-crafting), data analysis and interpretation, report drafting, revising and editing, and publication and presentation. Research into patterns of environmental interaction over the course of the history of our school, and analysis on how our footprint has grown or receded helps us understand how social, cultural, political and economic factors shape and are shaped by our physical environment. The culminating product is the multi-authored annual Green Report, with commendations and recommendations for the school governance.”

While the Green Report is a culminating achievement for students in grade 9, younger students at Nishimachi are also demonstrating their capacity to know, care and take action, in their elementary grades. From kindergarten to grade 9, students are building their skills to understand and explore the environment as an important issue in our world today.

Karen O’Neill, Nishimachi Head of School, recently shared her observations with parents about the depth and breadth of skills she observed among grade 5 students:

“In our grade 5 classes, students were demonstrating their problem solving skills by identifying an environmental issue, researching the issues surrounding it, taking surveys, interviewing experts, presenting data, writing a paper, and then arguing the pros and cons respectfully in a live debate. These are our 10-11 year olds, tackling complex issues by applying a multitude of skills.”

Our school’s Nishimachi Learning Expectations (NLEs) on display: We make connections! We take ownership! We pursue challenges! We act ethically! and We are creative!

Designing these types of dynamic units of study is the goal of our faculty, in partnership with the Learning Office. The school funds on-going education for teachers and uses professional development days and advanced coursework to allow teachers to bring the best practices to their classes and give our students impactful learning experiences.

For Mr. Deane, the process of developing the Green Report as a learning project came about when he pursued professional development coursework made possible by Nishimachi’s PD funds. While taking courses school leadership, he was introduced to the field of environmental ethics and realized how effective some of the frameworks he was viewing would be for students to explore real and complex problems.

“In our quest for a better, fairer, more just and equitable world, we want to develop ourselves as learners and leaders who genuinely “know,

In the report, students identified steps the school community has already taken to achieve a more sustainable future. The latest Green Report becomes a road map for future improvements and recommendations based on other elements of the SWOT analysis including weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Programs and Initiatives Currently in Place

Nishimachi has been taking initiatives into using environmentally friendly products, and planning programs that lead to a healthier environment. These are programs and initiatives that are already in place :

● Motion-sensor lighting in hallways and stairwells in Yellow and Blue Buildings

● Water bottle fill-up stations placed around the school campus

● All lights switched to LED light bulbs

● Installed motion-sensor taps in washrooms and most student bathrooms

● Printer cartridge collection and pick-up (for Teachers, Staff, and other Faculty members)

● Collecting pet bottle caps (Grade 6 initiative)

● Cardboard and paper recycling program

● Eco friendly toilet paper, paper towel, and notebooks care and take action to bring value to others and to make a positive impact on the world” (from our mission statement). In order to understand how values drive our actions, we will look more deeply at environmental ethics.”

As part of their Humanities unit, grade 9 students consider their own perceptions, values, and identity. They explore fundamental questions in an attempt to better understand the views they bring to the project:

“Where do our personal and societal values come from?

What do I care about, and why?

What are the various influences that shape who you are and how and why you behave the way you do? “

In preparing for the Green Report, students considered what Nishimachi had already in place to help with conservation. The list is a positive step but they also contemplated a

SWOT analysis and offered their views on our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Together with this perspective and the research they conducted through surveys and interviews, they were able to make recommendations to school leaders.

As the spring semester came to a close, they also put their advocacy into action as they identified a significant recycling opportunity to the school’s used earthquake helmets. Recognizing how decisions can be influenced by costs and opportunity, the students impressed upon the school the need to start making a difference whenever possible. What had been originally slated for disposal was negotiated by the school into a recycling opportunity that brought about a feeling for the students of truly taking action.

“Working closely with their teachers and fellow classmates, students in all grades are have opportunities to touch upon the important issues of the environment and explore the impact of the choices we make locally and globally.”