6th grade environmental service project.
Sustainability is central to Explorer West’s mission and influences all aspects of the school such as: curriculum, community outreach, facilities management, student leadership, fundraising events, community partnerships, and more. Explorer West has been honored both regionally and nationally as a leader in the field of sustainability initiatives and curriculum.
Sustainability is “meeting our needs without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. Sustainability is broken into three interconnected areas: economy, environment, and society. On a three-year rotation, these three key components serve as the thematic backbone for various curricula. Throughout the year, across subject areas, students complete research and projects around the annual theme.
For more information about our Sustainability Program, please explore some of the sections below:
Examples of Sustainability Program
Sustainability Community Partners
Recognition for Sustainability Program
Students help run the line at the White Center Food Bank.
Examples of Sustainability Program
- School-Wide Sustainability Workshops. To build literacy around key sustainability concepts, during the first two weeks of school all faculty and students participate in workshops addressing core concepts in the theme for the year.
- Tomorrow’s Leader’s Tonight. The 8th graders teach sustainability concepts for the annual theme to parents during the annual event.
- Outdoor Education. The unsurpassed outdoor education program provides all students with graduated experience in outdoor skills and “Leave No Trace” outdoor travel, from snowshoing and cross-country skiing to worldclass backpacking in areas such as Mt. Rainier and Olympic national parks.
- Sustainability in Science. From writing grants for a garden to monitoring weather patterns and climate change, to building Willow snowshoes, science class in a hands-on workshop in sustainability.
- 8th Grade Global Studies. All 8th graders have a yearlong class to explore sustainability as it relates to environment, population, economy, culture, food, energy, water, media, governance, and global citizenship.
Cultural myth plays - a combined effort of the drama and sustainability programs.
- 8th Grade Magazine. Each year the 8th grade researches and writes articles related to the year’s sustainability theme. Past topics have included Water, Sustainable Design, Food, Social Justice, Enough?!, and Women Leaders.
- Sustainability Themes in Drama. Every student participates in drama, onstage and backstage, to produce shows that support the annual sustainability theme. For example, in support of “Society” cultural myths from three different regions celebrated wisdom about what makes a society sustainable.
- Green Campus Initiative. Students organize, promote, and monitor recycling and the school’s native plants and produce gardens, as well as the successful “No Idling Campaign.”
- Annual Field Trip. A spring field trip takes the entire school out to two different sites or organizations related to the annual theme, from the Yukon Gold Rush Museum and African American Museum, to the Ballard Locks and Olympic Sculpture Park.
Sustainability Community Partners
To involve all students in annual service projects, mixed grade advisory groups partner with a range of community organizations, including White Center Food Bank, Washtington Trails Association, Green Schools Alliance, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Green Cities Program, Seattle Public Utilities, Roxbury Elementary School, and South Seattle Community College.
Recognition for Sustainability Program
- NAIS Leading Edge Award for Environmental Sustainability. NAIS defines environmental sustainability as “becoming more green and less wasteful; incorporating environmental education into the curriculum; supporting social and economic well being in the local community; and endorsing sustainable physical development”.
- King County Earth Heroes Award
- Terry Husseman Environmental Curriculum Award and garden grant
- Head of School Evan Hundley and history teacher, Ben Wheeler, lead panels and workshops on ways to integrate sustainability in curriculum and school culture. Ben has also been a lead presenter in workshops and other conferences around the world.
