The Conservation Proctor Program signals the next step of a more environmentally conscious community on campus. The program was introduced by the Sustainability Committee at the end of the winter term. This committee is a group of students and faculty who strive to keep the school updated on the pressing global demands that face campus.
The students that were selected to be C-Proctors will work in conjunction with adults in the community who are very involved with preserving the environment. The advisers of the C-Proctor Program are Steve Cahoon, Head of Facilities; Katrina Linthorst Homan, science teacher and co-chair of the Sustainability Committee; and James Elsworth and William Morris, both science teachers.
“The C-Proctor program was created to help educate the community about current environmental topics as well as accomplish projects within those topics that are of interest to the students and the community,” said Ms. Homan. “It offers leadership roles to students that care about preserving the world they live in, and have an interest in raising awareness of prominent ecological issues.”
Though only a few meetings have been held, the C-Proctors have not hesitated to get started with their efforts to make the Choate campus more “green.” “We have split up into many different groups to work on various projects,” said Lizzie Needham ’09, a member of the C-Proctors group. “I find this to be particularly rewarding because we, the students, are given the opportunity to figure out how to go about doing each of the tasks. The whole program is very student-run.”
The C-Proctors have much in store for this Spring, including more food waste measurements and possibly more tray-less days. With the HydroCup coming up at the end of April, the C-Proctors are working together with the Student Council to ensure school-wide participation in the water conservation competition. Last year’s HydroCup successfully motivated students to reduce their water usage, whether it was by taking shorter showers or turning off the water while brushing their teeth. Water usage will be measured in each dorm; the winner of the competition will be the dorm with the greatest percentage reduction of water usage. The C-Proctors and the Student Council are working out the logistics of the HydroCup, exploring incentives, guidelines, and how to get day students more involved.
In order to cut down on Choate’s plastic consumption, the C-Proctors, in conjunction with Students Against Climate Change, are also researching the option to offer reusable bags designed by Choate students at the school store. The C-Proctors are also currently investigating the possibility of determining Choate’s Carbon Footprint. And as many members of the community are unsure about the correct recycling regulations, the C-Proctors are planning to spread the word about recycling as well as addressing questions students, faculty, and staff might have with regards to proper recycling procedures.
Just in time for spring cleaning, members of the C-Proctor Program are interested in running a clothing drive as an effective way to reuse clothes that otherwise would have been thrown away. Similarly, the program is looking for a way to increase the amount of student items recycled or reused at the end of the school year, to help decrease the number of usable items thrown out and make them available to others the following year.
Many Choate students have been very responsive to the recent addition of the Conservation Proctor Program. Mary Hawkins ’09 states, “I think it’s a great idea to have the C-Proctors on campus, because the program really seems to address a vast array of environmental issues.”
Within the next few weeks, C-Proctors will be meeting with each other to organize these plans and get them started. Mara Mellstrom ’10, a member of the Conservation Proctor Program, is excited about her involvement in the Choate community: “The C-Proctors are a dynamic group of students, and it seems as though we will be able to get a lot done. I personally wanted to be a C-Proctor so that I could make contributions to my community while doing something that’s important to me at the same time.”
