The Greening of the Fieldston Campus

In June 2004, the Ethical Culture Fieldston School embarked on a major architectural project on its Fieldston campus, the outgrowth of a strategic plan to benefit students and teachers for years to come. The bold, new plan included a 48,000-square-foot middle school academic building; an athletic facility (38,000-square-foot gym/fieldhouse and 12,000-square-foot pool building); and the renovation of existing spaces into a new center for performing arts, new student commons, dining hall and kitchen, and admissions suite. The path to the future had been paved a few years before with the installation of an artificial playing field in 2001, which obviates the need for fertilizers and better manages water runoff.
 
School leadership, including then head of school Joe Healey, recognized the need for planning to minimize the environmental effects of the construction on the Fieldston campus. Further, the campus expansion presented an opportunity for ECF to develop green buildings and move towards sustainability, as certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design).
 
The new gym and pool buildings opened in January 2007. The new middle school and renovated spaces opened in September 2007. This section of the ECF website provides an overview of the green features and environmental impact of the Fieldston campus expansion.