Grade 7 Students Tackle Climate Change in Annual Sustainability Night

3/26/2025

Beginning to solve such a large-scale issue as global climate change may be daunting for even the most optimistic of climate scientists, but even big problems can have small, actionable steps and solutions. On one rainy night just before the March Break, Rivers Grade 7 students contributed their research and ingenuity to that effort at the annual sustainability night. Equipped with original posters and visual aids, student-made websites, and 3D models, each student made the case, backed up with research, for a solution to a climate-related issue somewhere in the world.

A trio of students introduced the night at a small reception for parents, caregivers, and professional community members in the Lewis Common Area. Guests in attendance received a map guiding them to the different locations in the Allen Building, the Yurt, Haynes, and Prince.

“The project connects across disciplines to what they have been learning in Humanities class about the culture and people of a place,” said Sarah Freeman, Middle School dean of students. “The projects build understanding and empathy for others.”

Many topics shared the same cause—global pollution and rising CO2 levels—but explored that effect on different areas and habitats. With projects spanning the globe, from Cape Cod Bay to Hawaii, Greenland to Jamaica, Italy to New Zealand, visitors learned the effects of issues such as wildfires, flooding and rising sea levels, rising ocean temperatures, melting glaciers–and what might be done about it. Given unlimited “funds” for their ideas, potential solutions got creative.

The warming climate may soon affect the growing conditions of the Bordeaux region in France—world-renowned for its wine production—the solution: climate-controlled greenhouses to provide optimal growing conditions for the grapes.

One student proposed coral look-alikes—complete with a model made from pipe cleaners—to serve as habitats for fish and other creatures suffering the effects of coral bleaching—when coral in the ocean undergoes a stress response and expels the algae living in it, turning white and becoming vulnerable.

Due to the higher temperatures, glacial ice caps in Greenland and even further south, such as in the Swiss Alps, are melting. Students proposed solutions such as leveraging the instant cooling technology that is in ice packs en masse to slow the warming of the ice on Greenland and building a climate-neutral cooling station atop the Swiss Alps that is one part fans/cooling mechanism, one part indoor forest to absorb the extra CO2 produced by the fans.

Students also had a variety of solutions to tackle the many areas of the world experiencing wildfires, such as producing fire blankets at scale to save homes from wildfire damage and building up a reserve force of volunteers to plant different types of fire-resistant trees to make the forests more resilient.

One student noted, through their research, that methane gas is one of the factors contributing to global warming, and proposed a structure where gas-producing animals to come inside and trap the gasses for other energy sources.

Sustainability night marks one of the capstone events for Grade 7 students (the other being the annual storytelling night in the fall). Students research and fine-tune their projects over nine weeks, choosing a climate change issue of interest to them.

Sustainability Night is a perfect example of how our middle school curriculum fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and global awareness—helping students connect science with real-world impact. I was truly impressed by the creativity and ingenuity our students demonstrated in their projects,” said Head of Middle School John Bower P’31.

“From innovative coral restoration models to the strategic collection of animals' methane gas emissions, their ideas showed not only deep scientific understanding but also bold, outside-the-box thinking. Just as remarkable was their ability to articulate their research so clearly and confidently—skills they’ve been honing throughout the year,” he said.

The timeframe for the presentations is around 90 minutes. With the many guests circulating from station to station, students describe their projects multiple times throughout the night. According to Grade 7 science teacher Kayley Pettoruto, this allows students to think on their feet, which is one goal of this unit.

“We wanted students to practice their presentation skills. In general, Rivers gives students lots of opportunities to practice those skills. I think our students walk away from middle school with a strong skill set in this area, thanks to the practice they get across disciplines,” she said.

Another goal of the project and research process is for students to come away with a greater understanding of worldwide issues and approach these challenges optimistically. “One of the goals is hope over despair,” said Pettoruto. “Students realize that science is powerful and there are lots of scientific possibilities for solutions worldwide. Ultimately, students gained a global perspective on climate change through the exploration of some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time and their impacts around the world.”

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