Sustainability at ECS

ECS currently has three campuses in which each building was "recycled." This means that the organization did not rebuild, but instead took what was currently available and transformed the property to be suited for the school's needs. Each building has its own green features and unique history:

Primary School (Park Place)
The ECS Primary School, originally Park Place School, is located in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh and was built in 1903. The school closed in 1979 and was sold to the Pittsburgh Housing Authority in 1981. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and it briefly functioned as an apartment building later on. In 2012, the Environmental Charter School renovated the building back to its original purpose - educating young minds.

Intermediate School (Milton)
The ECS Intermediate School, formerly the Milton School, was built circa 1920. While very little is known about the history of the building, ECS purchased the property in 2008 as its first building. Since acquiring the property, ECS has transformed the outside areas into a garden and provided space for its edible school year program. The Milton Street School resides in the Regent Square community at one of the Frick Park entrances. Its proximity to the park laid the foundation for many of ECS's practices.

Middle School (Rogers)
The school, built in 1914 at Columbo Street near North Negley Avenue, was designed by architects Janson and Abbott. Rogers operated as an elementary school for forty years, closed in 1980, and then reopened in 1982 as a magnet middle school for the creative and performing arts until it closed once again in 2009.

After sitting vacant for almost a decade and enduring years of neglect and vandalism to the point of significant disrepair, the building was purchased in 2018 to be developed for the Environmental Charter School (ECS).

Originally designed to function as a school, the more than 100-year-old building already had many programmatic room types and features that lent themselves perfectly to ECS's curriculum. While utilizing the infrastructure as much as possible, a few strategic modifications and updates were made in order for the building to function better for its 21st-century occupant.

Although the original chalkboards and some of the architectural details of the classrooms were removed over the years, the Rogers School's rooms were restored to their original intent -spaces for learning. Non-Original windows, clouded with age, were replaced with historically contextual, thermal replacement windows. Contemporary, flexible furniture and state-of-the-art technology allow historical spaces to function for modern-day students.

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems for the school are designed with the intent to reduce the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of the building. ASHRAE 90.1 2010 requires a bse EUI of 92. The Rogers School system was designed with an EUI of 32.8 which is a reduction of 64%.

The HVAC system is decoupled into heating/cooling or ventilation. As people and sunlight heat the Southern side of the building during the shoulder months, the warm air is moved to the cooler Northern side of the building and vice-versa.

This can be done with very little energy via the building's Variant Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system which uses refrigerant for heating and cooling to provide an on-demand approach to heating and cooling.

Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV) are used to intake fresh air and expel stale air. To provide better air quality for students, COs monitors are coupled to the fresh air system. Fresh air is brought into the building through louvers above the windows. These were designed in conjunction in order to fit both components into the existing masonry openings.

Supplemental heating and cooling are provided for non-shoulder months during the school year. Fresh air enters the ERV system and is preconditioned by utilizing the energy from the exhausting outgoing air. Preconditioning the air in the HVAC system provides further energy savings.

At its core, sustainability is about balance and how our needs can be met in a way that maintains or creates balance. Inspired by a quote by David Sobel, "If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it," ECS is committed to embedding sustainability in every educational and academic opportunity.

At ECS, students learn about The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through age-appropriate activities. This could range from a variety of topics including students participating in self-discovery and mindfulness in K–2, learning about food conservation in 3–5 Edible School Yard, middle school students advocating for climate action, and student-led groups investigating inequities and prioritizing sustainable solutions at the high school level.

Overall, the theme of sustainability gives depth and purpose to tECS’s programs by strengthening our relationships with each other and strengthening the connection between our students and the world beyond ECS.

ECS Students of all ages have several opportunities to take part in clubs and school activities that not only promote sustainability but also enhance students’ knowledge of effective practices while allowing them to actively support the communities in which they reside.

Many clubs offered at ECS are made possible by partner organizations and their dedication to aiding ECS in its mission.

At ECS, we value sustainability in our community, and we strive to support local businesses through partnerships, events, and student activities. Our partnerships provide ways to build connections and promote student engagement in Pittsburgh's East End. View our Partnering Organizations.