Over a four week period during the annual Green Schools Alliance Green Cup Energy Challenge, Stoneleigh-Burnham decreased energy use by 13.6% to earn second place in the Northeast Boarding Schools category. (See the full results here.) In a large field of 33 schools, The White Mountain School took first place with an energy use reduction of 15.8%. Phillips Academy followed SBS in third place by decreasing their energy use by 10.9%.

 

Our school's baseline usage measured at 28,565 kWh. By the end of the four week challenge we were able to reduce our usage to 23,800 kWh. Over the four week period, our energy reductions saved approximately 10.707 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Beth Stinchfield, Biology and IB Environmental Systems & Societies teacher, explained that while the unseasonably warm winter has helped to keep our energy use low, our School's use of compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent, and our community's diligence in turning down thermostats and turning off lights when we leave the room were major factors in our successful energy reduction. While the challenge is now over, our efforts will continue. Stinchfield vows to continue monitoring our electric meter so that she can notify the entire community if our energy use increases.

 

The Green Cup Challenge, open to any public, private, charter, or independent K-12 school, creates a friendly rivalry between nearby participating schools. To learn more about the Green Cup Challenge and the Green Schools Alliance, please visit the GSA website.