George School has always been green—environmental stewardship is part of our Quaker identity. But now we're pushing ourselves beyond simple environmental awareness. We want to be environmentally innovative, instructive, courageous, and creative. We want to be environmental leaders.

Take our new library and learning commons. Glass walls and a large skylight reduce the need for artificial lighting. Part of the roof will be planted with vegetation. The plantings will triple the life span of an ordinary roof, provide better insulation, reduce storm water runoff, and lower our carbon footprint.

But the library is just the latest piece of our green campus design. We already compost our food waste and convert our used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. Our solar-powered greenhouse is a living laboratory, and dorm prefects teach students recycling tips. We support community gardening and campus reforestation. Even water management and herbicide use on our grounds have been reevaluated.  Learn more in our 2008-2009 Sustainability Report.

So if we were green before, what does all this make us now? Jade? Emerald? Or earth-toned?