Environmental Sustainability

The Key School community is committed to achieving environmental sustainability through research, education, and action.

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  • Did you know Key is 100% wind powered?

    Posted April 26, 2013

    And, thanks to the leadership of its students, has been since 2010? Recently Key's green energy provider, Clean Currents, highlighted the school's commitment to environmental sustainability in its blog.

  • Harvest Market Day Helps Key Eat Local

    Posted November 1, 2012

    Key’s most recent Harvest Market Day on Friday, October 26 was a tremendous success! Prior to the official opening of the market to parents, faculty and staff, Key’s first graders had the opportunity to speak with the owners of Blue Tomato Farms to learn about the sustainable horticultural practices of this environmentally friendly farm located ten miles from Key. This is one of many authentic real-world interactions that supports the students’ studies in science. The conversation with the farmers about their decision not to use pesticides, herbicides or genetically altered seeds was meaningful to the students who are currently learning about food sources.

    During the community Harvest Market, the atmosphere was festive, with locally grown pumpkins, squash, sweet potatoes, red and blue kale, eggs, carrots, beets, radishes, kohlrabi (cross between turnip and cabbage), and purple Peruvian potatoes from the farm on sale in the Smith House Yard. Buying local was never such fun!

  • Farmer's Market Day at Key!

    Posted October 22, 2012

    On Friday, October 26, Key School will host a local farmer from Blue Tomato Farms in Harwood. Our first graders will have an opportunity to meet the farmer and ask questions in support of their Food and Nutrition Unit. Afterward, the market--full of fresh fall produce, pumpkins and eggs--will be open to the Key community.

  • Key Families Offered Complimentary Tickets to SustainaFest Film Festival - October 6, 2012

    Posted October 1, 2012

    Key School, along with Living Classrooms and Washington College, has partnered with SustainaFest, a new, local, non-profit organization that seeks to leverage the power of art and entertainment to educate and inspire direct action on the most pressing social, environmental and economic issues of our time. Students in Key’s Environmental Awareness and Cultural Awareness activities began working with the organization last spring to identify opportunities for student involvement and members of Key’s faculty have been researching curricular intersections that would connect the School with Living Classrooms and SustainaFest.

  • International Partnership Strengthened: George and Wendy Waymouth Visit Tanzania

    George and Wendy Waymouth at Chumbageni Primary School in Tanga, Tanzania
    Posted March 21, 2012

    Instrumental in initiating the tri-school collaboration known as the Chums partnership six years ago, veteran teachers George and Wendy Waymouth continue to be a powerful team in the sustained effort to maximize global learning experiences for students at Key.

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  • Interdisciplinary Teaching Highlighted in Environmental Education Initiatives

    Students discuss the drip irrigation system installed in Key's Kindergarten gardens
    Posted March 21, 2012

    A hallmark of Key School is the interconnectedness of its curriculum. Providing the framework for its dynamic program, these connections are woven throughout the curriculum in two fundamental ways. The “vertical” strands enable students to build upon what is learned from grade to grade as concepts become increasingly sophisticated, while the “horizontal” strands provide the knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships among the various academic subjects being studied in any given year.

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  • Community Celebrates Greenhouse Dedication at Head of School Picnic

    Mary Jane Milner inside Key's new Greenhouse, dedicated in her honor
    Posted March 21, 2012

    Key’s new Greenhouse was dedicated in honor of former Lower School Division Head Mary Jane Milner, who returned to Annapolis to join the celebration.

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  • Pre-School Playground Earns National Certification as Nature Explore Classroom

    Posted January 4, 2012

    Key is pleased to announce the Pre-School playground has achieved official certification as a Nature Explore Classroom. This national distinction is awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, and acknowledges the successful creation of outdoor classrooms designed according to educational research and principles that call for incorporating nature into student lessons. Key’s playground has ten distinct stations, including a Nature Art area, a Messy Materials area, a Building area, a Music area, and more. Upper School students and Key School parents worked on the construction of the playground, completing a significant amount of the work on Earth Day 2010. Click here for photos. And click to read article about the certification in the Greater Annapolis Patch.

  • Harvest Market Day Helps Key Eat Local

    Posted November 7, 2011

    Key’s first Harvest Market Day, organized by Middle and Upper School students in the Environmental Activity groups and faculty in the Environmental Sustainability Study Group, was a tremendous success!

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  • An All-School Greenhouse

    Posted June 3, 2011

    Construction of Key’s new greenhouse is almost complete! Located near the Amphitheater, the greenhouse has thermostatically controlled ventilation and will soon be outfitted with potting benches of varying sizes to accommodate all of Key’s scientists, from Pre-Kindergarten through grade twelve. This exciting addition to Key’s campus was made possible by a generous benefactor in support of the faculty’s vision of campus greenhouse and in honor of former Lower School Division Head Mary Jane Milner. The dedication of Key’s greenhouse will take place at the Head of School Picnic in the fall.

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Highlights

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  • 'Green' Barn Renovation Earns Media Attention

    Posted October 18, 2010

    The degree of student input and the focus on environmental sustainability in renovating Key School's Barn captured the attention of reporters from The Capital, The Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Examiner.

    Visit the Barn Renovation page to read the articles and learn more about the project.

  • Making a Difference-Students Initiate Key Kilowatt Kickoff

    Posted December 3, 2009
    Whether participating in classroom discussions or finding ways to address global concerns, you can count on Key students not only to come up with innovative ideas but also to roll up their sleeves and take action.
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  • Chickens Have a Play Date at Key

    Posted December 3, 2009

    The Pre-K 3 garden served as temporary housing for two of the Kudner family’s six chickens during their visit to Key for a few days in November. Students, teachers and parents of all Divisions enjoyed observing the friendly, feathered visitors.

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