Nueva’s environmental citizenship program helps students develop an empathetic bias toward action that is based on an understanding of the interconnected web of natural and human-made systems to which we all belong. It is a pillar of Nueva's learning approach and draws on the sciences, humanities, and arts to understand complex environmental challenges and develop students’ mindsets as empathetic, innovative, and resilient solutionaries.
Environmental
Citizenship
Nueva’s commitment to environmental citizenship brings together the concepts of advocacy, compassion, and empowerment as we strive to take care of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live.
Environmental and outdoor education are foundational aspects of Nueva’s curriculum. The environmental citizenship program, launched in 2019, builds on this tradition while allowing the school to advance its embrace of environmental awareness in its operations and in partnerships with other key educational programs and values, including design thinking, equity & social justice, global citizenship, and social emotional learning.
Students engage in environmental citizenship across divisions and throughout the curriculum. The environmental citizenship program equips students with robust knowledge, experiences, and mindsets that enable them to be proactive, empathetic and resilient citizens well-versed in systems thinking and problem solving.
The immersion in environmental citizenship at Nueva begins in pre-kindergarten, and students build on their skills throughout their years in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Through a stage-appropriate curriculum that includes outdoor play and exploration, investigations in disciplines such as ecology, marine biology, and earth sciences; design thinking projects and study trips focused on environmental topics; and independent studies, the environmental citizenship program pursues the following overarching transfer goals:
- A Mindset of Environmental Citizenship
- Proclivity Towards Nature
- Knowledge and Use of Systems Thinking
- Ability to Design and Evaluate Solutions
The Environmental Center
We are in the final stages of constructing a PreK–12 environmental center on the Hillsborough campus. This indoor-outdoor learning facility will serve as a think tank, where students will practice sustainability, conduct environmental and social studies, and debate solutions to a broad range of environmental challenges.
Click on the video below to hear more about the new environmental center.
IN THIS SECTION
Lee Fertig
Head of School
"It is important to empower students to nurture the place in which they live and learn: their local neighborhood, regional environment, and global ecosystem. With increased awareness of devastating climate change and acknowledgement of the unsustainability of certain patterns within the human condition, environmental citizenship and the development of this mindset in schools are now core necessities in the educational process."