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It is the mission of the Department of Sustainability Studies to guide and prepare members of the White Mountain School community to live as active and informed stewards of the natural world and human communities.

The Department aims to achieve this mission by promoting and supporting the integration of the principles and practices of sustainability into all aspects of life at White Mountain School. In doing so, we hope that community members will be empowered to enact positive change in their world, will recognize the need for people to maintain dignity and a sense of worth, and will work toward the long-term vitality of the world’s natural systems and human communities.

Sustainability Studies is about understanding the connections between the earth's natural systems, people's economic and social systems, and our well-being as individuals, communities, and a whole planet. This is a tall order, but one which we dive into with vigor here at WMS. The department helps students build an understanding of these complex relationships by offering courses as diverse as Literature and the Land, Economics and Sustainability, and Political and Social Activism. This means that whether you are interested in sciences or politics, there is a way for you to explore these connections and relationships. However, the department extends beyond the classroom, as well. We believe it is important that students learn not just what the issues out there are and how they are related, but also how to take action to make the world a better place. You can meet the "action requirement" for the department either by participating in the Farm & Forest sport – planting onions, building a timber-frame shed, and clearing trails – or by taking an action-based class, such as Environmental Science, where you will spend much of the term in the field, learning how to test water quality or design a forest-management plan. Because the idea of sustainability is interdisciplinary by nature, the courses in the department are themselves very interdisciplinary, and many courses are cross-listed between departments.

Environmental Science

• This semester-long course takes a project-based approach to the study of environmental science. In doing so, it aims to give students the tools and base-knowledge to understand how many of the earth's systems function and how the students, as scientists, can assess, monitor, and restore the health of our natural systems. Class time is spent discussing effective project design and group work as well as science. Environmental science integrates information from many of the natural sciences, including ecology, geology, hydrology, climatology, limnology, biology, chemistry, and physics. While the weather is good, we focus our studies on our local environment. Over the past couple of years, students have been contributing to the preparation of a forest management plan for the WMS campus and have done water quality testing on the Ammonoosuc River. This year much of the course will be dedicated to continued work on the forest management plan, with much of our time spent in the field. Through a combination of lectures, labs, field trips, and field exercises, students build skills in scientific investigation, observation, and data collection and an understanding of how our natural systems function.

• (Fall term; Prerequisite: open to Juniors and Seniors or with permission of the instructor; fulfills the action component of the Sustainability Studies requirement)

Comparative Economic Development

• This semester-long course is an introduction to basic economic principles, with an emphasis on linking these to issues in the fields of development, sustainability and globalization. The first half of the course focuses on the underlying principles, assumptions, and systems within a free-market system and on the systems and institutions embedded within the globalized economy. The second half of the course applies this foundational material to better understand how and why countries have developed differently. Throughout, we will explore alternatives to the widely help assumptions about economic thinking and development.
  (Fall term; Prerequisite: open to Juniors and Seniors or with permission of the instructor; fulfills the theory component of the Sustainability Studies requirement and the Non-Western History requirement)

Modern Russia

• Russian events, actions, and ideas have had a major influence upon the rest of the world especially during the 20th century. Today, although some suggest it be in decline, Russia continues to have impact. The primary objective of this course is for students to be introduced to and explore this major culture and world power outside of our "Western" realm. Following an initial overview of Russian geopolitical challenges and of early ancient and medieval Russian History, the bulk of the course will be spent examining the development of 19th century intellectual thought, the revolutionary movement, the totalitarian state of Stalin, the Great Patriotic war, the Soviet Superpower and its demise leading to a brief democratic period and re emergence of authoritarianism.
  (Fall term; Prerequisite: open to Juniors and Seniors or with permission of the instructor; fulfills the theory component of the Sustainability Studies requirement and the Non-Western History requirement)
  

Biomimicry: The Design of Nature and the Nature of Design

• Architect and designer, William McDonough writes,

• “Could we design a building that's alive?” Imagine a building like a tree. Imagine a building or a project, a complex or a campus that accrues solar energy, builds soil, purifies water, sequesters carbon, provides habitat, changes color with the seasons, and hopefully, self-replicates…

• In this course, we will begin to understand the complexities of our natural systems and how we, as designers, may be able to mimic and use ecological principles and processes in our designs. Our studies will range from living wastewater treatment systems to permaculture food production systems to business models, each time asking the questions, “How does nature do what it is we need to do?” and “Can we design a system that does what nature does?” The term will culminate in a group project applying biomimicry design principles.
  (Spring term; Prerequisite: open to Juniors and Seniors or with permission of the instructor, does not fulfill the theory or action components of the Sustainability Studies requirement)

Climate and Energy

• Climate change is a daunting and urgent problem facing our world. In this action-based course, we will review the science and politics of climate change, and then will work to address this global problem at a local level. This work will include updating the school’s greenhouse gas inventory (building on the work done by other classes over the past two years) and developing a proposal for the Board of Trustees for an emissions reduction target and an action plan to achieve this. Additional projects are possible, depending on student interest and opportunity. This class demands high levels of self-direction and a willingness to juggle multiple projects simultaneously. Students in this class will develop skills in project development and management, data collection, communication, and analysis.
  (Fall term; Prerequisite: open to Juniors and Seniors or with permission of the instructor; fulfills the action component of the Sustainability Studies requirement)