Sustainability

Bertschi School has a strong commitment to sustainability. This focus is woven into the school’s curriculum, operations, and the choices of the school community as a whole. Our sustainable curriculum means that each grade level focuses on different aspect of humanity’s impact on the environment.

In second grade, for example, students study the connection between our earth and table by visiting an organic farm, a food market, and a food bank. They put on their very own “green” market, donating the proceeds to a food bank or another part of the Pike Place Market community.

Operationally, Bertschi strives to minimize its impact on the earth. Some of our practices include energy conservation and organic gardening with a school wide focus on paper conservation. The School uses green cleaning supplies, rainwater captures, and composting/waste reduction. In addition, the Bertschi Center epitomizes our focus on sustainable practices. The Bertschi Center, which is the first Gold LEED certified elementary classroom building in Washington State, is a real life example of sustainable building technology. Students have the opportunity to interact with this real-life sustainable environment as they go to classes in the Bertschi Center.

Bertschi reaches out to parents and the community by encouraging carpooling or “green” transportation, waste free lunches, highlighting sustainability issues in the parent update, and continuing to educate parents about what we can do at home to protect our earth. For more information about sustainability, see our sustainability resources page.