The Moravian Academy All School Sustainability Committee is dedicated to implementing green initiatives from conservation, recycling, and composting, to powering our Merle-Smith Campus with green, renewable solar energy. As an Academy, we are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint and developing our students into good stewards of Earth's precious natural resources

Here are just a few examples of our on-going sustainability initiatives:

 

Solar Array
On our Merle-Smith campus, 4,532 solar panels sit on nearly seven acres producing an estimated 1,657,377 kilowatts in the first year of production. Activity from our solar array is monitored at http://rgs.kiosk-view.com/moravian.

Composting 
At the Upper School, food waste that is collected by both Dining Services staff and students is sent to local farms where it is turned into compost.

Apiary
We currently have four colonies of honeybees to our Merle-Smith Campus. Two faculty members, who are experienced beekeepers, guide this initiative and help Upper School science classes monitor the colonies' habits, measure honey production, and harvest honey each summer. 

The Athletic and Wellness Center
Our 40,000-square-foot facility holds a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification.

 

Wind Turbine
Purchased through funding provided by PPL, a wind turbine was erected in clear view of the Upper School science labs to generate electrical energy, which is the focus of study for students in our Physics and Advanced Physics courses.

PVC Solar Panels and Passive Solar Panels
While Upper School students are studying the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy through observation of our vast solar array, smaller PVCs have been purchased for classroom study. Computers connected to voltage and current probes provide measurements that allow students to determine the point to which these cells produce electrical energy with maximum power. Students also study how passive solar panels collect light energy from the sun and convert it into heat, which can be transferred from the panel to the place where the thermal energy is required.

 

Environmental Sustainability Research Units
Two environmental science units are offered at the Upper School allowing students to research thermal conductivity of building materials, thermal insulation, the effect of human bodies on heating a room, and to study rainwater collection.

 

One-to-One Technology Program
At the start of the 2012-2013 academic year, Moravian Academy launched a One-to-One technology program in the Middle and Upper Schools; it was so successful that we expanded the program to equip all Middle School students and faculty with iPads, and all Upper School students and faculty with Macbook Airs. This program reduced our use of physical textbooks and paper.