Food Services

我们的餐饮服务合作伙伴, 梅斯烹饪管理, 是专门用新鲜的吗, nutritious, 本地采购的食物肉类和奶制品来自 PA Preferred program. We work to reduce waste through a comprehensive recycling and composting program, 教学生使用不同颜色的箱子进行回收, 堆肥及堆填区. While strategic menu planning helps to minimize food waste, our partnership with 412 Food Rescue 确保任何多余的食物都有助于消除我们社区的饥饿. We also have reduced plastic bottle usage by encouraging the use of reusable water bottles and the installation of water refilling stations on each campus. 2019年，SSA中学食堂获得了 可持续匹兹堡餐厅金牌称号.

Facilities & Grounds

LEED认证建筑
SSA's Senior School campus include two buildings that have achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. 绿色建筑委员会. The 麦克罗伊科学与创新中心, 于2018年开业, incorporates numerous sustainable features that reduce environmental impact while creating teaching opportunities, 比如为电网供电的屋顶太阳能电池板, 收集雨水的雨水花园, 动作感应照明的, 节水管道, 自动控制和高效率的窗口. In addition, Rowe Hall, 建于近一个世纪前, became the first high school building in Pennsylvania to earn LEED Gold certification in 2006 after a $6.800万环保改造.

节能升级
在过去十年中, a major effort has been underway to make Shady Side's beautiful and historic buildings more energy-efficient. 漏水的旧门窗已被更换, 运动感应LED照明和节水管道已经安装, 暖通空调系统已升级为更节能的型号. 这些升级不仅减少了学院的碳足迹, 而且还能显著节约能源成本.

乡村走读学校

• PK students explore how native animals live throughout the year and they examine the life cycle of plants by planting peas and pollinator-friendly flowers in the garden. 孩子们还在工程项目中使用再生材料.
• Children in grades 1-5 explore sustainability by visiting the nearby creek while learning about the water and rock cycles, exploring how energy changes form and hiking in the woods to reinforce regional ecology concepts.
• 四年级学生每月去比奇伍德农场旅行, 附近的自然保护区, 他们在哪里清除入侵物种, harvest seeds and plant native species as well as participate in educational programs. 

Junior School

• The first grade edible schoolyard curriculum includes planting beans from seed, 观察和绘制不同的生长阶段, dissecting seeds, 制作萝卜籽项链.
• 所有的学生都有机会帮助照料五个花园床.

Middle School

• Sixth graders explore the environmental impacts of gas drilling and windmills in the interdisciplinary Energy Quest project and do water quality testing on campus streams with the 西宾夕法尼亚保护协会.
• Seventh graders study the role pollinators play in our food system by tending to our pollinator garden and planting native plants that attract butterflies.
• 在八年级的环境科学课上, 学生学习人类与环境的相互作用, the biosphere, ecosystems, 污染和能源使用.
• 每年的全球行动日, the entire school devotes a full day to hands-on learning around global sustainability topics, 包括水资源短缺, 空气质量和粮食不安全.
• 一个学生回收俱乐部在校园领导回收工作.

Senior School

• An interdisciplinary Environmental Science course examines the earth as a single interconnected system, 人类对自然系统的影响, 环境问题的文化和社会影响, 工业化农业和更可持续的替代品, 粮食安全和营养援助项目.
• 在大二保健班营养单元学习, 学生们学习营养密度和他们的食物来自哪里.
• The student-led Environmental Club leads a variety of sustainable activities and initiatives on campus, 包括回收倡议和教育.

Green & 健康学校学院

SSA administrators and faculty have participated in the School Sustainability Culture Program of the 绿色建筑联盟的绿色 & 健康学校学院, a two-year, hands-on, immersive learning community that assists schools with the integration of sustainability into their buildings, 课程与文化. Through the program, a new vision for sustainability at SSA was crafted with the following goals:

• Conceptualize and implement a campus landscape restoration project that represents native ecological systems of the Pittsburgh region and our commitment to sustainability.
• Continue sustainability-focused improvement projects on our existing and new buildings, 连接绿色空间.
• Develop strong programmatic curricular connections to our campus restoration and building renovation projects.
• 建立一个连贯的意识和语言，我们的学校可持续发展.

健康学校PA认可计划

背阴书院曾两次获得 健康学校PA Recognition Award for our commitment to yearlong maintenance and improvement plans at each of our campuses. Each year, the Senior School Environmental Club works with our Facilities Department to complete a checklist of practices and goals to decrease our ecological footprint.

西宾夕法尼亚保护合伙企业

背阴书院与 西宾夕法尼亚保护协会 (WPC)，以改善校园生态. In this process, the WPC developed two major assessment reports that outline our tree species diversity and our ecosystem and native plant diversity. WPC also provided educational support to our Senior School Environmental Club and the natural science courses at each campus.