High School Sustainability Leadership

Hurricane Island programs embed students in experiences that leverage the art and practices of science as tools for leadership and social change. Through personal and group explorations, students explore their own strengths as transformative leaders who can address the sustainability challenges facing our world today.

Our Sustainability Leadership program is a week-long experience packed with hands-on learning for rising 9th-12th graders interested in consciously affecting human impacts on the world. Our program uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework as participants are challenged to explore the infrastructure of the island and interact with scientists and sustainability professionals. Throughout the program the students will learn about our sustainable systems including composting toilets, greywater marsh, solar power collection, gardens, and aquaculture farm as they evaluate our systems and create a needs assessment. After gaining a foundational understanding of Hurricane’s sustainability, the group will develop their own projects to tackle a sustainability challenge of their choosing and determine how to take their work back to their home communities. The program will culminate in a presentation of those projects for friends and family.

Sustainability Leadership activities include:

• Learning about solar power and solar thermal hot water systems as alternative energy sources

• Discovering edible species through foraging, and participating in the planning and implementation of sustainable food systems

• Exploring the practical application of constructed wetlands for greywater treatment, and learning about composting toilet systems

• Designing and installing new, sustainable systems to add to Hurricane Island’s infrastructure

• Developing leadership skills through coached role plays and communication exercises

• Creating action plans for sustainability in their local communities.