Sir David Attenborough famously explains that: “we are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we all have a responsibility to care for our Blue Planet. The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.”

At the core of The King David School Mission statement is “the provision of an environment that promotes the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of children … and protects them from abuse, harm, neglect, and the threat of harm.” 

We cannot hold true to our mission while ignoring the reality that without radical change, our students face a future that is different from what we would hope for them. We need to do what we can to protect them from harm and to protect their future quality of life.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt, but unabated we know that they will become dramatically worse. 

While Australians have been shown through numerous surveys to genuinely care about climate change, there is inertia that prevents those who know about the problem from taking steps to reduce their emissions.

This is likely due to multiple reasons. Chiefly, the problem is so overwhelming and scary that this can lead to paralysis of action. Secondly is the belief that authorities will take the necessary steps to address the issue. Finally there are many people who would like to take action but do not know where to begin.

Climate anxiety is a significant issue that can impact on our sense of safety and optimism for the future. The challenge with this is that fear of the future is a rational response to developing an understanding of this existential issue. However, the antidote to fear is taking action in a way that allows one to feel part of the solution rather than the problem. This leads to a sense of purpose and helps foster positive belief about our capacity to address the emergency. 

This is one reason why I am so proud to work in a school community that is dedicated to doing what it can to become a leader in taking positive action to support a better future for us all.

In partnership with the Jewish Climate Network (of whom I am a board member), King David is working towards a bold goal of becoming a zero emissions school by 2025. The Jewish Climate Network has adopted a Zero Emissions Community Project that aims to encourage institutions and individuals within the Jewish community to take steps to reduce their net emissions to zero. 

In order to achieve this, we are working with an organisation called Pathzero to map our emissions across every aspect of our operations. Once we are aware of where our emissions are coming from, we will be able to seek alternatives to actively reduce and/or offset these emissions where no reduction is possible.

We already took a significant step to reduce our footprint with our installation of solar panels. This can be improved through installation of batteries. We are also partnering with Waste Ninja, a company that converts biodegradable waste into energy while capturing the emissions produced in the process. We are communicating with our bank and financial services to ensure that any school funds are ethically invested and avoid the promotion of fossil fuels.

In addition to the systemic adjustments and operational decisions that will facilitate these changes, the process will enable students, staff and parents to become engaged and educated on this topic. This has already been the case with our Zero Emissions Working Group which contains staff from the ELC, Junior School, the Senior School and the School’s administration also containing the Tikkun Olam Va’ad representatives of the Hanhagah.

The path to zero will not be easy. However, how wonderful it is for us all to feel that we can and will make positive changes that will help deliver a brighter future for our students.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marc Light