Bishop Watterson High School
Going ‘green’ sometimes turns into green

By Kevin Parks - ThisWeek Community Newspapers - January 11, 2012

By Adam Cairns/ThisWeek - Senior Bridget McCurdy repurposes aluminum cans from the school’s lunchroom into an independent study art project on Jan. 4. The art department also reuses wood ash from the woodworking class as a ceramic glaze, french-fry oil from the cafeteria to make soap and copper wire from the computer lab to make jewelry.

Students, faculty and staff at Bishop Watterson High School are increasingly discovering that it’s not only easy being green, but also sometimes less expensive.

A wide array of programs and initiatives to increase recycling and reduce energy consumption has been introduced at the East Cooke Road high school since about 2009, according to science teacher Will Reiss. More than 50 percent of the time, he said, the “green” approach has been found to reduce the impact on the school’s budget, as well as the impact on the environment.

“We have taken the philosophy here, as we prepare the students to survive in this day and age, they should look at the economic aspects, too,” Reiss said.

These programs have been less about the bottom line and more about preparing the students at Bishop Watterson to be better stewards of the earth, in the opinion of longtime principal Marian Hutson.

“I think it’s our responsibility as citizens to provide opportunities for them to learn keeping the environment safe for our future citizens is vital,” she said last week. “To be good stewards of our environment, students need to learn that’s a way of life.”

The philosophy in place BWHS will be extended into the feeder schools during the 2012 summer institute, Hutson added. The program for the institute, open to seventh- and eighth-grade students, will be titled, “It’s Cool to Be an Eco School.”

Around 1,000 people, including students, teachers, administrators, staff members and even parents, participate in the recycling efforts at Bishop Watterson, according to Reiss, who retired from a 30-year career in public schools in 2001 and became a science teacher at the high school five or six years ago.

Every classroom in the school has two containers, one for recycling and one for trash, Reiss said. Some classrooms have embraced recycling bins alone. The library, too, has stopped throwing out trash altogether, the science teacher said.

In all, according to Reiss, there are 15 different programs in the BWHS green campaign. Some have shown a handsome return on the investment, he said.

For example, when computer department personnel repair equipment, they no longer throw out defective parts. The parts, containing rare metals that have become quite valuable, are recycled, Reiss said.

The recycled parts brought in checks totaling $980 in a recent two-month period, according to the science teacher.

The school used to pay $50 to have the old parts hauled away.

In another initiative, the foam packing around laptop computers is used, along with quilted covers sewn by school nurse Nancy Lynskey, to insulate room air conditioners, Reiss said.

“During the past school year alone, the students recycled 30,000 pounds of materials such as paper, cardboard, plastic beverage bottles, cans, books, ink cartridges and computer parts replaced during repairs,” according to Bishop Watterson spokeswoman Colleen Mar. “We also recycled over 1,000 pounds of old lights and ballasts from the old gymnasium. Last year, the students in the environmental club conducted an energy audit of the classrooms.

Based on an analysis of utility usage patterns, the technology department reset the school’s computers to shut off at night. The department also created an information feedback system, allowing staff members to monitor and report on classroom temperatures.

“The replacement of incandescent bulbs in the chapel, maintenance shop, boiler room, copier room and storage areas with energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs was done at the recommendation of the school maintenance department. Altogether we replaced over 200 high-energy-use incandescent bulbs with the low-energy, long-life CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps).”

In addition, according to Mar, the drama department requested the replacement of the theater lighting with dimmable CFLs in order to upgrade the light coverage. Since these use about one-fifth the amount of electricity of a standard incandescent bulb, this will equate to several thousands of dollars in reduced utility bills over the three- to five-year lifetime of the bulbs, the spokeswoman indicated.

“In conjunction with the schoolwide recycling program, our environmental club recycles the incandescent bulbs, as well as all kinds of fluorescent bulbs as they are replaced,” Mar wrote regarding the programs. “The materials from all of our recycled light bulbs are now reused in the creation of new industrial equipment, such as new fluorescent bulbs and fiberglass insulation.”

While many BWHS students have embraced and become passionate about going green, Reiss singled out the efforts of senior Bridget McCurdy of Upper Arlington, describing her as “just amazing.” Two years ago, for example, during the annual locker cleanout, Bridget worked from 7 in the morning until 5 p.m., long after the other students had departed, in gathering abandoned materials from the lockers for recycling.

In all, she gathered 1,000 pounds in binders and notebooks that were donated to inner city schools, Reiss said.

“I just feel like it’s a way for me to give back,” Bridget said last week. “I feel as if I should do something.”

“The combination of environmental stewardship, good fiscal management practices, and hands-on learning opportunities make going green an encompassing challenge with significant benefits for the entire Watterson community,” according to Mar.