From Kindergarten Letters to 35 Bird Species, Stonehill International School Makes Sustainability Part of Learning

Joe Lumsden, Head of School at Stonehill International School, says the Bengaluru campus is combining student led action with solar energy, water reuse, biodiversity monitoring and waste reduction after receiving the Eco Schools Green Flag Award.

Most kindergarten students are expected to write about animals, stories or experiences from home. At Stonehill International School in Bengaluru, a group of young learners instead wrote persuasive letters to school leaders asking for a green space where they could plant trees, observe biodiversity, watch butterflies and learn outdoors.
The idea emerged during a Primary Years Programme inquiry around the role every living thing plays within its environment. Students spent several weeks observing insects and birds, caring for plants, exploring biodiversity across the campus and considering human responsibility towards the natural world.

For Stonehill International School, the exercise represents how sustainability is being brought into everyday learning rather than treated as a separate environmental activity.
The school recently received the Eco Schools Green Flag Award from the Centre for Environment Education, India, recognising its work in sustainability education, environmental stewardship, student leadership and school wide participation.
The recognition follows a wider set of initiatives across the campus covering renewable energy, water conservation, biodiversity, waste management and student led environmental action.

Much of this work is coordinated through Stonehill’s Sustainability Committee, comprising staff members and student representatives.
Students have participated in e-waste upcycling and recycling, audited paper consumption, measured food waste generated by the school, worked on improved waste segregation and collected plastic bottles for recycling.
Infrastructure has also become part of the learning environment.
A sewage treatment plant allows a significant proportion of water used on the campus to be treated and reused. Solar panels generate part of the school’s electricity requirements, giving students direct exposure to systems designed around resource conservation.

The campus is also being treated as an ecological space rather than simply a collection of academic buildings.
Tree coverage has increased by approximately 10%, creating additional green areas for recreation, observation and outdoor learning.
Students regularly document bird species found on campus as part of biodiversity surveys. A bird census recorded more than 35 species.
Frequently observed birds include Bulbuls, Bee-eaters, Mynas, Kites, Barbets and Drongos. Kingfishers, Orioles, Hoopoes and Small Minivets have also been recorded among migratory and less commonly spotted species.
The exercise allows students to examine the relationship between habitats, urbanisation and ecological balance through direct observation.

Sustainability education at Stonehill also extends beyond the campus.
Students participate in lake cleaning activities, interact with environmental organisations, attend workshops on responsible resource use and work on environmental issues through inquiry and service learning projects.
Joe Lumsden, Head of School at Stonehill International School, said, As educators, we are also committed to ensuring that our curriculum provides quality opportunities for students to learn more about sustainability so that they prioritize such initiatives when they are in positions of influence in the future.
He added that the school intends to continue expanding this work, while recognising that further progress remains possible.

Waste and consumption are another area of attention.
Students and staff are being encouraged to use reusable alternatives to disposable products. The school is working on food waste management, composting, hydroponics and vermicomposting activities that allow students to examine how discarded material can be reused.
These activities also introduce students to ideas associated with circular economies and responsible resource management through practical applications.
Stonehill has begun measuring and tracking its greenhouse gas emissions through a partnership with Sustainext.
The resulting analysis has contributed to plans to introduce six electric buses into the school’s transport fleet and expand solar energy capacity.

Several of these activities also align with the sustainability priorities of Embassy Group, Stonehill’s parent organisation, and its Environmental, Social and Governance commitments.
The school’s larger objective, however, lies in how students carry these habits and decisions beyond their years on campus.
The kindergarten proposal for a new green area provides a simple example.
Students identified something they wanted to change, considered its value to other living things and communicated their proposal to people capable of acting on it.
That process turns sustainability from a subject students study into something they can participate in, whether through planting trees, documenting birds, reducing waste, conserving resources or questioning how their surroundings can be improved.

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