One of the core values of Little Brown School is stewardship. We have always been committed to taking care of the environment, minimizing our footprint, and using safe, sustainable products and cleaning methods. More importantly, we integrate stewardship into our curriculum. Our students start by learning about their local environment, spending time exploring and observing the saltwater ecosystems, the estuaries and the cypress wetlands, all of which can be found on short walks from our campus. As the students become more connected to their environments, we start exploring the concepts of conservation, preservation and the importance of sustainable practices through hands-on experiences that are a natural part of our school day.
A few of the many things that we do at LBS to practice stewardship:
A few of the many things that we do at LBS to practice stewardship:
- plant and harvest organic fruits and vegetables to use in our food program
- purchase only re-usable plates, glasses and silverware
- use all-natural cleaning products throughout the school buildings
- select paper goods made from recycled materials
- wash only full loads of dishes and laundry
- recycle in every classroom and spend time teaching the students about recyclable materials
- paint buildings and classrooms with low/zero VOC paints when repainting
- minimize the use of paper and communicate electronically when possible
- shop locally at the Farmers' Market
- choose locally sourced, organic foods when available
- use CFL or LED lights instead of incandescent bulbs
- refrain from the use of lawn chemicals or fertilizers
- re-purpose materials instead of sending them to the landfill
- hang dry towels
- use both sides of paper for drawing
- set programmable thermostats to conserve energy during closing hours
- turn off lights when not in use (and involve the students in this practice)
- bring re-usable bags to the market and store instead of receiving plastic bags
- use rechargeable batteries