A parent-led environmental committee at the Ross School will host its first annual Climate Clapback Festival on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the school’s Goodfriend Drive campus in East Hampton. The event is free and open to the public.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Paul Gartside, a parent of a Ross seventh grader and chairman of the 24-plus-member committee, including students, that began last year. “There’ll be music, food trucks, activities for kids. And the great hall [the gym] will be filled with tables occupied by local environmental groups — the Carbon Crew people, the ChangeHampton people, the [East Hampton] town energy and sustainability people, and the American Institute of Architects, who are espousing green buildings and solar energy, and also various local farmers. It’s a fun event with a very serious purpose,” he said, adding that the goal of the festival is to answer the question, “What can I do?”
A press release from the committee invited everyone in the community “to engage with a wide array of local organizations working hard on this issue, learn about the exciting work they are doing, and how you can help. Learn how you can live more sustainably in this beautiful but vulnerable place. Learn how to develop your own Personal Climate Action Plan. . . . Any of us paying attention to the news these days should be aware of the seriousness of the problem of global temperature rise caused by our ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide. The science is clear, the alarm bells are ringing, the need for urgent action obvious.”
Mr. Gartside, a boatbuilder from Canada, explained by phone that the committee was formed in the hope of returning to the principles of Courtney Ross, the school’s founder, who had championed a sustainable community and lifestyle. Last year, the committee organized tree plantings and beach cleanups, and it was also successful in getting the school to include a sustainability statement as part of its planning vision. “We will empower our students to be informed and active citizens for the protection of our ecosystems through meaningful engagement with the East End environment,” the statement reads.
However, the Ross School’s vast number of international boarding students who travel to faraway destinations several times a year, exposes a less-than-exemplary carbon footprint for the school — a fact that’s not lost on Mr. Gartside. “Hopefully, that’s one of the things to come out of this. We’ll have to examine every aspect of the school operation and figure out what changes we can make,” he said, adding that many independent boarding schools around the country are addressing this issue.
Mr. Gartside explained that one of the reasons he has put his energy into this school initiative, and remains hopeful that changes will be enacted, is because, “they’re small and self-governing so they can actually do stuff.” Sunday’s climate change festival is a way for the committee to “put flesh on the bones” of its vision.
“We need to take action for the sake of our children on climate change. This is about raising consciousness and talking about how we can collectively step up and meet this challenge. Challenge and opportunity,” he said.