September marked the Season of Creation, and as a five-time recipient of the coveted National Blue-Ribbon School Award, Carmel Catholic High has embarked on a new yet loftier mission: Caring for Creation.
Beginning with the first-ever Food Waste Audit in the school cafeteria this past summer, Carmel Catholic is gearing up to tackle Climate Change in a revolutionary way.
Spearheaded by science teacher and newly named Campus Sustainability Manager Mrs. Michelle Titterton, who recently received her master’s degree in Sustainability from the University of Wisconsin, Carmel Catholic is taking a deep dive into helping educate through a new sustainable management program.
A ‘Green Team’ committee has been established and includes teachers, staff, alumni, and students. Additionally, the introduction of a brand new ‘Green Corsair’ logo unveiled early this school year signifies this new mission. Carmel’s long-range goal is to be among those considered for another important honor: A National Green Ribbon School award.
“We are turning our attention and taking a hard look at how climate change is affecting not only our lives here on campus but across the entire world,” explains Mrs. Titterton. She noted that three new classes were added to this year’s curriculum: Intro to Sustainability Business, Human Ecological Business, and Civil Engineering-Green Building.
“Catholic schools are uniquely positioned to tackle climate change from a scientific and spiritual standpoint,” added Mrs. Titterton. The science teacher was proud to have led the school’s first-ever “Unplugged Summer School” program which challenged teachers and staff to limit electricity use.
The result was 20,000 kilowatt hours and thousands of dollars saved.
“The goal is to have the summer unplugged program morph into the school year,” explains Titterton.
“Especially during weekends when Carmel can potentially realize the savings of tens of thousands of dollars in electric bills and decrease carbon emissions.”
Having spent 15 years working in the oil and gas industry before coming to Carmel, Mrs. Titterton is keenly aware that when fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing climate change.
Already, the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius. Warming above 1.5°C risks further sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and species extinction, as well as food scarcity, worsening health, and poverty for millions of people worldwide.
“The smallest changes can make a big difference in climate change and affect the poorest of the poor,” explains Titterton, who laments, “it’s the result of our lavish lifestyles causing the most damage. Carmel’s sustainability included replacing indoor and outdoor fixtures with LED lighting and installing water refill stations.
Starting in October, Carmel Catholic will join the growing number of schools utilizing food waste pick-up sent to a composting facility. Carmel plans to take this opportunity to implement a new approach to waste management in the cafeteria.
Said Carmel Catholic Principal Jason Huther, “Our ultimate goal is to get to as close to zero waste as possible, but this will take quite some time.”
Cafeteria Waste Audit
Carmel students and staff conducted the cafeteria waste audit to better understand how much waste was being generated, what type, and if it was being properly disposed of by our community. Conducting a waste audit is considered a best practice and the first step in analyzing waste on a campus.
“We learned that most of our waste is plastic,” said Carmel Principal Jason Huther. “Although it is recyclable, this does not mean that if we place the plastic bottles in a recycle bin, we are doing great things for the environment. We want to seek ways to minimize the plastic waste.”
Carmel Catholic Registers for Sustainability Action Platform