Sustainability

Unity Charter School

340 Speedwell Ave
Morristown, NJ 07960

973.292.1808 (tel)
973.267.9288 (fax)
email us

Sustainability

The mission of Unity Charter School is “to teach the importance of protecting and improving the environment by educating our students on the principles of sustainability, ecology, and diversity in a way that celebrates and honors this planet and all its inhabitants.”

At Unity, sustainability has been defined in the following ways:

a state in which all humans, now and in the future, can meet their present needs within the limits of what nature and human creativity can provide, and without compromising human and environmental health somewhere else or at some later time;
capable of being maintained or kept in existence over a period of time; or
the harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

At Unity, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards are met through the ever-present theme and practice of sustainability. We explore the effects of human activities on the ecosystem, and on each other, so we can develop means to meet the needs of all people, while preserving and restoring the Earth’s ecosystems.

Unity Charter School has adopted the following seven principles of sustainability, which are reflected in the actions of our commUNITY in the testimonials that are included.

Sustainability- The vitality of the planet, all living things on it persisting in perpetuity.

I recognize that everything is interconnected and that all my choices impact my surroundings (like ripples in a pond).

I am part of the solution for social problems through activism, voting, and supporting political candidates.

I show kindness to animals and pets, who in turn, love me back.

Ecology- Mineral, plant, and animal life being cared for through the existence of communities of diverse interconnected elements without resource depletion or pollution buildup.

I am part of the solution for social problems through activism, voting, and supporting political candidates.

I purchase low emissions vehicles, high efficiency appliances, and biodegradable products.

I help clean up Speedwell Lake.

I eat nutritious food that my body depends on for its vitality.

Livelihood - The well-being of present and future generations in societies in which all individuals have a means to provide for themselves and contribute without the degradation of human lives through poverty, malnutrition and debt.

Students participate in educational activities regardless of their ability to pay the financial cost of those activities.

I encourage others to feel successful about what they do.

I see the value in all I and others do.

Humanity - The appreciation of diversity and respect for individual spiritual expression and human and civil rights.

I vary where I sit at lunch to create opportunities to get to know different people.

I consider things from another person’s point of view.

I grease the wheels of other person’s creations by helping to make it happen.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle - A conscious and reduced consumption which takes into consideration, not only the needs and desires of the consumer, but the future hidden costs to our earth, our societies, and future generations.

I use a mulching mower to reuse the grass clippings as mulch.

I compost kitchen scraps and leaves and recycle only what is acceptable in my town.

I take my own bags when going to the market, either cloth bags or the disposable bags from my previous trip to the market.

Education - A learning system that makes the principles of sustainability available

I model sustainable practices.

I organize field trips to provide opportunities for students to observe ecological degradation and to discuss ways of solving environmental problems.

I included information about sustainability on the UCS website.

Personal - Each individual taking personal responsibility for the future by putting into practice the principles of sustainability in accordance with their highest understanding of them.

I explain to the grocery cashier why I brought my own bag.

I eat low on the food chain, eating more of organic, locally grown food.

I don’t spray my mixed lawn of grass, violets, clover, etc.