Bellarmine College Preparatory has earned the distinction as a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (ED-GRS), one of only 26 schools (and one of two high schools in California), 11 districts, and four postsecondary institutions nationwide to be so honored. Additionally, for the second time since 2021, the school has been designated as a 2023 California Green Ribbon School (CA-GRS), the corresponding state award for the U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools recognition.
As announced by Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Green Ribbon program recognizes schools and school districts across the state for environmental excellence and demonstrated achievement of the three Pillars of ED-GRS, as follows: Pillar I: Reduce environmental impact and costs; Pillar II: Improve the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff; Pillar III: Provide effective environmental education, which teaches many disciplines, and is especially good at effectively incorporating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), civic skills, and green career pathways.
“Bellarmine is enormously proud of our institutional commitment to environmental sustainability,” noted Dr. Sonya Arriola, Bellarmine’s principal. “It is our deepest desire that our students and community see this recognition as a continued call to action – to use their collective talents to study, and ultimately address, the complex challenges facing our world around climate and sustainability.”
Among the many examples of Bellarmine’s sustainability programs are its unique garden, which is used for outdoor course instruction that has included Botany, Marine Biology, and California History; use of biodegradable and environmentally friendly products in the kitchen; use of refillable water bottles instead of single use, disposable plastic; installation of rooftop solar panel systems; and the use of a co-generator for electrical power for the main campus and, as a byproduct, heating of the 600,000 gallon swimming pool.
Bellarmine builds student capacity for eco-literacy within its sustainable engineering projects in its Maker Lab and Advanced Placement Environmental Science courses. Between the two courses, almost every student participates in some form of environmental literacy education.
"The challenges posed both by the pandemic and by climate change have driven home the importance of modernizing school facilities, embracing sustainability, prioritizing health and wellness, and improving learning conditions for students, especially in underserved communities,” said Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education, in the announcement about the national Green Ribbon Schools. “I want to congratulate the educators, school leaders, students, families, and advocates engaged in this work for showing the nation that any school in any community can strive to be a green school, and in doing so, empower the next generation to build a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable nation."
As noted earlier, Bellarmine had been named a California Green Ribbon School Gold Level honoree in 2021 and was previously recognized for its sustainability efforts, having received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for several of its facilities, including the Sobrato Center for Humanities and the Arts, Br. Wally Ryan, S.J. & Fr. Bob Shinney, S.J. Student Life Center/Patricia and Steven Schott Athletic Center, and the Lorry I. Lokey Academic Center.