Sustainability: What We Do, What We Can Do Better

With Earth Month in full swing, many of us are reflecting on how we have impacted the planet and what steps we can take to lessen the harm we do to the environment. Many Lawrentians spend hours in Sustainability Council (SusCo) meetings, working on initiatives to help Lawrenceville become a more sustainable school. All of the Sustainability Council’s subcommittees, including food, community service, and outreach, have been hard at work in hopes to improve different aspects of Lawrenceville’s overall sustainability. According to Antonia Comaniciu ’25, the council has been “working with Tsai to increase sustainable food options,'' while also publishing its newsletter, the VILLEage Green, featuring student-written articles that display sustainability progress within the School along with environment-related world news and alumni interviews. Antonia believes the council has “increased [their] presence this year” through initiatives such as hosting sustainability-centered Community Day and Wellness Day workshops. 

In celebration of Earth Day, Lawrenceville students gathered in the Bathhouse Cafe for the Earth Day Fair where they participated in sustainable crafts and activities. Comaniciu co-ran the arts and crafts booth, where students flew kites and painted tote bags. She thinks painting tote bags was “a fun and artistic activity with sustainable applications.” This booth was popular among students and especially faculty children who enjoyed the creative process whilst spending time outdoors. Attendees also enjoyed other activities such as sustainability trivia and making freshly squeezed orange juice. Students can look forward to more Earth Month events according to Sustainability Council Events Subcommittee Head Alex Noviello ’23: “Earth Month events will last into May which will be the council’s final events for the year.” The council hopes to “organize diverse events to get individuals that generally would not attend sustainability events involved.” Sonia Ivancic ’25 revealed upcoming events and goals, explaining that the council hopes to add “a sustainability-themed LCAP with a local elementary school,” but before that plan comes to fruition, the council wants to first schedule a one-time event which will serve as a test run. Hopefully, these events are able to increase awareness of sustainability on campus, as well as inspire a larger group of students to take initiative and implement sustainability into their own lives. 

Students who are not as involved with sustainability clubs on campus can do simple things to be more environmentally friendly, such as making sure to turn off the lights when leaving your dorm room in the morning, or unplugging everything before heading on break. Sustainability Council member Audrey Cheng ’25 takes steps to reduce waste in her own life “by using hand-me-down clothes from [her] siblings” and reusing “water bottles and containers as much as possible.” Cheng also tries her best to limit food waste and walk to places rather than drive. Ivancic believes Lawrenceville students can be sustainable with “really simple actions like printing double-sided to save paper or using a reusable bowl when getting ice cream at Tsai.” If every student were to begin replacing harmful habits with environmentally friendly actions, the School as a whole would become much more sustainable.