With the rising awareness of the high school’s ecological impact on our community, students and faculty alike have been moving towards a more ecologically friendly system. Both groups said that one of the most glaring problems at the high school is the inherent paper waste.

“We have assignments on paper, so there’s been a move towards more and more paperless assignments,” Dean of Students Anthony Meyer said. “Alternatives like Canvas or electronic formats are good.”

Canvas, which allows teachers to make and share files with students online, is part of the effort to reduce paper waste schoolwide. However, some students said they wish the system was more widely used.

“I think it’s great,” freshman Ryan Hickey said. “I don’t need to print any handouts out unless I need to, so teachers are wasting less and less paper, which is good. Only two of my teachers are on Canvas though, so I’d like to see a few more.”

Dean of Students Scott Butchart said he thinks “kids will, for the most part, do their best to help conserve energy and reduce waste if educated to do so. But it requires a push from above,” he said. “An educational push, and it has to be made really simple.”

Headmaster Deborah Holman voiced similar concerns, also mentioning a possible introduction of ecological education into the curriculum.

“At my previous school, for example, Whole Foods would drop off repurposed shopping bags, and kids would come up with a third iteration, like laptop covers, and other innovative ways to repurpose the material again,” she said. “I would like to see that implemented down the road.”

Holman said that awareness is an important role in the maintenance of a green community.

“I think, as a course of study, there’s lots of promise in educating our kids about what they can do to create a sustainable environment, and of course, sustain it,” she said.