A Pre-Kindergarten - Grade 12 co-educational independent day school in Westchester County, New York

Sustainability

We commit to being stewards of our planet.
 
Sustainability at RCDS creates a climate of environmental awareness and helps students understand that they can effect positive and lasting change in the world by becoming lifelong stewards of our planet. We seek to foster understanding of the world around us, to act in accord with our school motto, Not for Self, But for Service, and to promote moral responsibility as citizens of the planet. This occurs through identifying avenues within the curriculum and beyond that create educational opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to teach and practice sustainability as they expand their understanding of the need for and purpose of responsible environmental practices.
Director of Sustainability

Kerry Linderoth

Contact

Sustainability in the Curriculum

Lower School

Students have opportunities, through various clubs and projects, to become environmental ambassadors and leaders by example. Starting in Pre-K, students recycle and compost as part of their daily routine, laying a foundation of environmental awareness. Gardening is an integral part of the Lower School, and students donate their harvest to local organizations and communities committed to sustainability and social justice. Students also enjoy experiential learning through field trips such as the Kindergarten trip to a farm, the first grade trip to a botanical garden, and the third grade trip to the Hudson River and Blind Brook Stream. 

 

Middle School

A guiding question for RCDS Middle Schoolers is: How I can I be the best version of myself while living altruistically and sustainably on earth? In the Middle School, environmental learning dovetails with the RCDS STEAM initiative as students begin to make cross-disciplinary sustainability connections in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. For example, in Grade 5, students engineer lamps, from design to production, out of recycled materials. Students also connect public purpose with sustainability through various projects that explore the greater systemic causes for a range of environmental issues, such as water access, farming/gardening, and pollution, among others. From working in RCDS gardens to leading environmental clubs on campus, nature journaling, data-collection projects, and launching conservation initiatives, Middle School students learn and act with a paradigm of citizen science. 

 

Upper School

RCDS Upper School students exercise active environmental citizenship with passion and knowledge. Students have various opportunities to learn about and take action on causes about which they are passionate. From the Environmental Club, local and global collaborations, and advanced data collection and analysis to environmental science course work and student-led projects, Upper School students employ critical thinking and cognitive reasoning to solve complex real-world problems. Their work is supported by a foundation of sustainability knowledge and an awareness of current events and how they fit into the landscape of environmental citizenship. Cutting across disciplines, sustainability challenges students to transfer knowledge readily and apply skills thoughtfully. The intersection between social justice, equity, and sustainability is examined in the Upper School to encourage students to think broadly and critically about power dynamics that influence current environmental issues affecting communities near and far. Rye Country Day students graduate equipped with the knowledge, analytical skills, and practical experience to support their continued development as engaged and active lifelong stewards of the planet.

Awards & Recognitions

2011
  • Westchester County Earth Day Award
2013
  • United States Education Department’s Green Ribbon Schools Award
2016
  • Schoolyard Habitat Certification through the National Wildlife Federation
  • School Garden Grant from the Whole Kids Foundation
  • Monarch Waystation
  • Green Restaurant Certification (Flik) 
  • Green Cup Recycling Challenge (1st place)
  • Green Cup Video Challenge (1st place) 
2017
  • Recognized by the Town of Rye Sustainability Committee as a Rye Healthy Yard
  • National Wildlife Federation's Trees for Wildlife Program Grant Recipient
  • Campus Solar Panels Featured on NYSAIS
2018
  • Rye Sustainability Committee Leadership Award Recipients
  • Westchester County Eco-Award