Earth Day Honors
Thacher receives an award from Ventura County Board of Supervisors for its sustainability efforts.
Thanks to years of hard work by many administrators, teachers, and students at Thacher, the School recently received a 2018 Ventura County Earth Day Award, an honor given by the Board of Supervisors to “individuals and organizations that go above and beyond to support sustainable living and environmentally sound practices in Ventura County.”
The five Earth Day Award recipients, Thacher among them, were honored at a board meeting on April 17. Head of School Michael Mulligan and Director of Facilities Ed Bennett were in attendance on behalf of the community.
An article published on the Ventura County News Channel website stated:
The Thacher School is a leader in sustainable practices and prepares their students to take action, develop bold solutions, and act as lifelong stewards of the planet. Projects exemplifying those practices include: A new 745 kilowatt solar array generating more than 95 percent of the school’s electricity; the completion of a horse manure and food waste composting facility eliminating the trucking off campus of 1,200 tons of manure and instead composting it on-site for use as mulch on the school’s pastures, fruit trees and landscaping; and, reducing campus water usage to 56 percent of previous years, saving up to 550,000 gallons of water per year by using laundry greywater to irrigate trees, and the installation of a water-conserving athletic field which uses about 40 percent less water than a traditional field.
Further, a recent grant allowed Thacher to host a greywater workshop for 30 technicians, resulting in the design and installation of a 5,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system on half of one of the campus barn roofs. As the program continues to expand to other campus buildings, just three inches of rain will provide the potential to collect the 600,000 gallons of water the Horse Program uses annually.
“These actions demonstrate a remarkable commitment to sustainability and earn the Thacher School well-deserved recognition,” said Supervisor Steve Bennett.
A huge thank you to all those in our community who had a hand in making this award possible through their daily, weekly, and yearly efforts to make our School more environmentally sustainable.
More About Thacher
Interested in learning more about Thacher? Sign up for a virtual visit here.
A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.