By Tricia Boyle
On Friday, April 25th, Sacred Heart Greenwich hosted their 4th Annual Earth Day Celebration. The event will brought together the entire student body, faculty, and special guests for a morning of immersive, hands-on workshops and outdoor activities designed to inspire environmental stewardship.
This year’s celebration featured more than 30 workshops, led by 72 student presenters and 31 faculty leaders, covering topics such as moss science research, bluebird habitats, composting, tree planting, and the much-anticipated return of the beloved baby goats. Guests from Network schools St. Philomena and Stuart Country Day School were also in attendance.
Sustainability in Action
Sacred Heart Greenwich has emerged as a regional leader in environmental education through programs such as beekeeping, a student-run herb garden, and a bird-watching club. This spring, the school will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its first-ever chicken coop, marking another step in its commitment to sustainable practices. Sacred Heart Greenwich’s commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability is rooted among our mission and goals, stating that students of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to a social awareness that impels to action and promise to be effective stewards of the earth’s resources and work to alleviate the climate crisis. To learn more about our program, visit our sustainability website.
Acknowledging the Land
As part of this year’s Earth Day celebration, Sacred Heart Greenwich will formally present its official Land Acknowledgment for the first time to the entire school community. Developed over the course of three years through in-depth student research and guided by faculty member Chris Gerrity, the statement honors the Wiechquaesgeck peoples, the original stewards of the land Sacred Heart Greenwich has occupied since 1942.
This moment marks a significant step in recognizing the school’s connection to the land and its historical context. In collaboration with Audubon International and through a long-standing partnership with the Greenwich Land Trust, Sacred Heart Greenwich continues to preserve and restore its natural surroundings. Ongoing efforts to remediate pastoral landscapes across the property reflect a conscious and active commitment to honoring the past while informing a more sustainable future.
Grounded in Goal III of the Sacred Heart mission—“Justice calls us to accept responsibility for the care of God’s creation”—the Land Acknowledgment serves as a call to action. It affirms our role as environmental stewards, accountable for the care of the land once shared with Indigenous ancestors. Rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, it emphasizes the sacred relationships between people and the earth—the soil beneath our feet, the skies above, and the waters that sustain life.
Audubon Certification
Sacred Heart Greenwich was certified in 2022 to be an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. We are one of only three schools in the country to receive this designation. This shows our school’s strong commitment to sustainability and stewardship in five different categories: environmental planning, wildlife, water, resources, and education.
