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Treading more gently on the planet, Springside students, faculty, and alumnae are proud to think globally, act locally, and step greenly.

• Springside began its ongoing weekly recycling in September 2005 and was the first school in the city to recycle all paper, plastic, glass, metal, and cardboard with RecycleBank. Weekly recycling efforts have taken over 320 tons of cardboard, paper, cans, plastic, and glass out of the waste stream since the program was initiated.
• Springside has received $400,000 in the form of a grant called “Energy Harvest” made available through the Department of Environmental Protection. These funds will be added to those raised from last spring’s Parents’ Association event and the Class of 1966’s generous reunion gift to allow the school to move forward on an exciting project to blanket the roof of the Vare Field House with photovoltaic solar panels. Ours could potentially be the largest non-profit project of its type in this region. Read more....
• Springside students compost the food scraps from the kitchen on a daily basis, thus helping to reduce the amount of garbage going to landfills.
• Students have planted over 225 native trees and ferns and 2,400 flowering bulbs.
• In conjunction with the Fairmount Park Association, students have restored and redirected trails in the section of the Wissahickon adjacent to Springside School.
• Every student has designed a melamine plate for use in the cafeteria. In addition to cutting down on the use of disposable Styrofoam plates, students enjoy the artistic expression the plates provide at mealtime.
• Three giant 100-year storm recharge beds—taking water from our roof and parking lots and bringing it back into the ground slowly—have been created under school parking lots and the playing field. They were designed to eliminate runoff and erosion on Springside’s property and the adjoining Wissahickon.
• Springside was the first school in the state to receive "Bird Habitat" recognition from Audubon Pennsylvania.  The program involved creating a rain garden, utilizing a fenced garden, and creating habitats that allow opportunities for student data collection and analysis of bird life, insect biomass, vegetation, etc. Audubon also plans to use the model gardens and landscaping practices Springside students have created as showcases for other area schools that might want to do the same.
• Working with the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), 5th and 6th grade students installed a Traffic Circle Rain Garden in the parking lot in the back of the Lower School. This project is a demonstration site that shows how planting islands in parking lots can calm traffic, help control runoff, and reduce the heat island effect of large patches of asphalt. The garden features native plants known to attract birds and pollinating insects and will clean the school stormwater runoff before it flows into the Wissahickon Creek and Schuylkill River.
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• The science and art departments created an independent study course for Environmental Art Design and Engineering students. In working with the Philadelphia Water Department, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and visionary environmental artist Stacy Levy, a working downspout sculpture was created that will demonstrate how water comes off buildings and needs to be treated so it has a low impact on our natural surroundings.
• Each year scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency visit with Springside's fourth graders during their wetlands unit.  Part of this time is spent doing various tests together in the Wissahickon watershed adjacent to the school.  In fall 2008, Springside parent and EPA employee Stephanie Branche-Carter expanded the normal discussion into a presentation on global warming for the entire Lower School, with the assistance of her co-worker, environmental scientist Garth Connor.
• Springside received a $1,500 grant from SWEP (Southeastern Women’s Environmental Professionals) to plant native trees and shrubs around the bird blind. Lower School students transformed the grassy slope that borders the Wissahickon into a place for trees and shrubs to grow, thus attracting more birds, slowing down stormwater runoff, and providing an educational site to teach students about the benefits of plant species diversity.
• “Green” was the theme for all 2007–2008 Middle School community service and each grade level is collaborating in hands-on education and service projects with an environmental and /or sustainability focus. Students worked with Weavers Way Co-op and Farm, Mill Creek Urban Farm, RecycleBank, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation/Delaware Estuary throughout the year. The 7th grade spring coordinate service day allowed Springside and CHA students to select from a range of service opportunities with an environmental focus.
• Organic foods are offered daily in the cafeteria and a new contract with Pennsylvania Flat Rock Farm allows the cafeteria to offer fresh, seasonal, local produce and includes reusing Springside’s corrugated boxes to transport fruit and veggies.
• Paperless communication with school constituents is now the primary method for sharing news with parents and alumnae using the weekly Virtual Mailbag, e-mail blasts, and the school web site.
• Once-loved school computers and cell phones are collected and parts are sold or retooled.
• New bulletin boards in the Lower and Middle School hallways are made of a renewable, sustainable, nature-friendly product called “Forbo,” which is ranked first in an eco-balance product analysis.
• The wainscoting in the Lower School hallways is made from earth-friendly sunflower seed husks.
• Prior to construction of the new academic wing, rubble from the former Upper School building was sorted and separated. Metal and rebar was recycled and the remaining cement was crushed and used in the sub-surface of the main visitor parking lot.
• Springside’s tables and chairs were given a new lease on life when the school updated the cafeteria furniture and donated all of their old furniture to local public schools.
• Through a grant from RecycleBank and Coca-Cola, Middle School student tech leaders created two short public service announcements where they wrote and produced an environmental message using state-of-the-art technology to promote “thinking green.”
• Springside received a $1,500 grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (EPA) to study factors impacting water quality in the Wissahickon Creek. The result is a yearly collaborative effort between 12th grade Chemistry II Honors students and 3rd grade scientists. The Chem students teach the younger students about the chemistry of water testing and the 3rd graders teach the Chem students about the biotic index of the stream.
• A faculty sustainability committee has been formed to discuss and act on ways to cut down on Springside’s impact on the environment. The committee is working on increasing our use of recycled products, cutting down on the use of Styrofoam in the cafeteria, and encouraging reuse of materials in the classrooms.
• Special parking spots for hybrid and HOV vehicles (High Occupancy Vehicles) have been set aside to encourage car pooling and reduce the use of vehicles on our campus. Anyone with two or more licensed drivers in their car is encouraged to use these conveniently located spots.
• Faculty and students are blogging together to plan events based on the "Focus the Nation" events in January and February.
• SCA Tissue supported a grant to buy a tumbling composter small enough for Pre-K and T-K—our youngest environmentalists. Additional funds from the grant helped buy plants for a garden upgrade of native plants for the compost to be spread on.