Earth Day Inspires Moment of Reflection on Sustainability 

In honor of Earth Day, members of the Sustainability Club spoke to the School community at Chapel to provide an update on the sustainability efforts underway at Belmont Hill. Club co-heads Thomas Danahy ‘26 and Alex Zhang ‘26, and members Nathan Zhang ‘26 and David Robinson ‘27 offered a look at the full scope of work being done on campus to benefit the environment and combat climate change.

The club’s efforts balance work done in the local community and across the country. Club members participated in multiple environmental clean ups, removing trash and waste across Massachusetts to help support and protect wildlife. The club also participated in organizing a fundraiser to support the Palisades High School in California in their efforts to recover and rebuild from the devastating impact of the January fires. 

To better understand the School’s environmental impact, the club analyzed Belmont Hill’s electricity usage and carbon footprint. This included looking into the IBSC conference to be held on campus in June. Thanks to a collaboration between the club and the School’s administrative team steering the event, the 2025 iteration of the IBSC conference will be the first to hold a net zero carbon footprint, a benchmark that will hopefully set a new standard moving forward. 

During spring break, a Sustainability Trip to Iceland offered students a chance to experience all sides of climate change up close. Students saw first hand the potential of sustainable living through the country’s widespread use of renewable energy sources, and the devastating reality of climate change by visiting sites of extreme glacial melt.

While these examples and the club’s other undertakings can make the work to build sustainability seem massive in scale, the members reminded the community that the first step to becoming environmental stewards is simply spending time outside. On Earth Day of all days, it was a message easy to take to heart.