Focus Shifts to Environment After Golf Course Nixed; Ecology Program May be an Alternative
By Fatema Maswood ’11
News Reporter
“What is the philosophy of the schools today toward the hills? Gradually, in many of the public schools, there is growing up a mature appreciation of their full meaning…in the independent schools, there is rarely found anything deeper than a philosophy of recreation in regard to the hills, or the fundamental values for which they stand. Too often, they are looked upon as areas on which youthful energy can be poured out through channels that are seldom creative or constructive, and more often than not there is a trail of litter and thoughtlessness left behind.” This passage, written by John Ed Wilfong in an essay entitled “A School and Its Hills,” refers to the same hills Choate students walk upon each day, as well as the rest of the 450 acres that encompass the Choate Rosemary Hall campus. Wilfong, chairman of Choate’s Science Department from 1928 to 1953, was very conscious of environmental issues that still face Choaties today. For example, a golf course that would have used a large part of campus was in discussion until just a few weeks ago. The course would have taken up those same hills, and “youthful energy” in the pursuit of a good game of golf would likely have left quite a “trail of litter and thoughtlessness” behind. Since the project was scrapped, new developments have brought the possibility of a more environmentally friendly alternative.
Preserving Unused Land
Mr. Herbert Kohler, chairman of the Board of Trustees, believed a golf course would preserve the remaining unused land on campus, said Mr. Ian Morris. Now that the course is no longer in talks, trustees and faculty members are brainstorming to find alternative uses for the land. Increased awareness of environmental deterioration is forcing the group to think about the ecological impact of such alternatives, and the current plan is to create a “green” program for the school.
Although the specific program would be original, the concept of “green” programs is not unique to Choate. The Mountain School, which is owned by Milton Academy but operates independently, offers a program run by Alden Smith, a Choate faculty member from 1994 to 1999. The Mountain School’s program takes 45 students from schools all over the country and relocates them on a remote hilltop in Vermont. There, students take challenging classes, work on an organic farm to raise plants and animals, and “seek to make the invisible visible,” according to Mr. Smith. “Things that you may not be able to see at Choate Rosemary Hall—where your food comes from, how your buildings are heated, who cleans up the campus, how important faculty decisions are made—are daily parts of the life of a Mountain School student.” Many classes meet outdoors, and every student takes a course in environmental science and tends to gardens and farmland where their food is grown. While most students who attend the program are already interested in nature and the environment, according to Mr. Smith, this daily immersion in nature can create a new or greater appreciation for sustainability and preservation.
Ecology Involves Everyone
Another school with a thriving ecological program is the Bosque School of New Mexico. Located on 45 acres along the Rio Grande River, Bosque “not only has a traditional academic setting, but one that is planned to retain the environmental integrity of the land that works in harmony with the surrounding wildlife habitat,” according to the school’s web site. The school has an educational and research partnership with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP), a “long-term ecological research” program which uses K-12 students and their teachers to monitor change in the Rio Grande riparian [riverbank] forest or “bosque.” Over 2,500 students from more than 40 schools assist in collection and processing of data that later goes to several United States and New Mexico agencies. At the end of each school year, students make presentations detailing their findings and present them to a student congress. All these efforts are made “to increase their [the students’] understanding and appreciation of science and the riparian ecosystem” and “supporting science education reform efforts,” according to the school’s website.
Program Appeals to Community
Although the Mountain School and BEMP offer similar experiences, the programs differ in the audiences they cater to. The Mountain School provides an exclusive, in-depth program, available to a few eligible students. BEMP, on the other hand, enlists a larger group of people and is available to any who want to be involved. Dean of Faculty Stephen Farrell related this difference to an idea presented at a recent Trustee Meeting. “One compelling idea was to think of the PMAC as an analogy; when the building was built we had a dramatic work of architecture. A program was created to be the equivalent of that building, and it created knowledge of Choate’s belief in and passion for the outer world.” Now, Choate offers an art program for all students, which is available to the greater Connecticut community, as well as a more intensive, focused Arts Concentration program for Choate students. BEMP’s approach is similar to Choate’s general art program, offering an opportunity to a wider range of people, while Arts Concentration is similar to the Mountain School in its exclusivity. If Choate creates an exceptional method for teaching students environmental consciousness, whether it caters to all students or just a select few, it may achieve a significance similar to that of the arts program.
Mr. Ian Morris, who has been a major environmental advocate in his last 25 years of teaching, said he still believes in the values John Wilfong taught the boys of Choate more than 70 years ago. “Most think we should use assets out there to generate something, but with Wilfong’s philosophy, the hills have value in themselves.” With the right kind of support and facilities, students may find more ways to appreciate the green hills at Choate.
