On Monday, Spain experienced a stunning collapse of its power infrastructure when approximately 60% of the national grid shut down in mere seconds. The economic machinery of the country ground to an abrupt halt – as did Proctor en Segovia students, traveling to Granada aboard Spain's extensive high-speed rail network. As Spanish authorities launched an investigation, friends shared their experiences of being without electricity for up to 24 hours, relying on battery-powered radios for updates while their cell phones and internet access ceased functioning.
Beyond the immediate inconvenience and economic implications, this crisis illuminates our profound dependency on electricity, particularly as we become more reliant on cooling in summer, server farms for generative AI, and other energy-intensive technologies. The most illuminating outcome of this crisis was how the sudden digital silence created space for an awakened awareness of the natural world, just as many of us experienced during pandemic restrictions and lockdowns. We find ourselves more digitally connected than ever before, yet increasingly disconnected from face-to-face relationships, the natural world, and an understanding that we exist not as separate but as an integral part of the Earth's living systems.
Thursday's Eaarth Day at Proctor (yes, "Eaarth" with two a's, a term coined by Bill McKibben to signify that our planet is changing so much that it requires a new name) offered our community the perfect opportunity to press pause on the hectic nature of boarding school life – to put away technology, get outside, and reexamine our relationship with our environment. We paused regular academic classes to engage in campus-wide projects and experiential learning. This year's celebration, led by Science Department Chair and Environmental Coordinator Alan McIntyre with assistance from Rosanna Eubank, Heidi Thoma, Molly Leith and so many others, also welcomed visiting artist Rebecca McGee Tuck, a fiber artist and ocean activist from Massachusetts, whose colorful sculptures transform discarded ocean plastics into powerful social commentary and messages of hope.
The day began with an Eco-Movie Festival on Wednesday evening, featuring films like "Plastic Earth," "Food Inc 2," "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," and "Youth v Gov." In our dorm screening, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" captivated us with its powerful portrayal of how environmental crisis intersects with human ingenuity – showcasing forests stripped bare for fuel and farmland, increasingly erratic rainfall devastating crops, and a young boy who used creativity and determination to solve a seemingly impossible problem.
On Thursday, faculty and students joined together in three types of activities designed to "increase appreciation, elevate awareness, and deepen understanding of social, economic, and ecological aspects of environmental issues and systems":
- Stewardship projects allowed students to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty managing woodland trails, cleaning up the Route 4/11 connector as part of our "Adopt a Highway" commitment, spreading mulch with our facilities crew across campus, and volunteering at regional nonprofits and community organizations.
- Excursions transported groups beyond our campus boundaries to explore the natural world – hiking to the legendary Bulkhead cliff in the Proctor Woodlands with its “falcon-eye view” of campus, perhaps catching a glimpse of a beaver at Butterfield Pond, and participating in a traditional Lakota Inipi ceremony at Elbow Pond.
- On-campus projects allowed students to learn the chemistry of creating biodiesel fuel from used cooking oil, craft all-natural skincare products, upcycle discarded clothing into wearable art, weave single-use plastics into colorful tapestries with visiting artist Rebecca McGee Tuck, conduct the annual Proctor Pond health study where students waded into water with nets to collect macroinvertebrates, and more!
The day culminated in an "Eaarth Extravaganza" where advisory groups visited eight different stations in a festival-like atmosphere, collecting stamps on their "passports" while learning about on-campus environmental initiatives such as geothermal heating and cooling in the Brown Dining Commons, reexamined everyday habits through, and participated in hands-on activities that deepened their connection to the natural world.
Alan McIntyre and his colleagues have thoughtfully guided our community to reimagine environmental action beyond doom-and-gloom narratives. Rather than letting concern and worry result in overwhelm and inaction, we instead focus on the positives through the lens of imagination. Psychologists have identified a phenomenon called "eco-paralysis," where climate distress becomes so overwhelming that people freeze into a state of apparent apathy or total inertia. This happens because the scale of the problem feels insurmountable, and individuals doubt that their actions could make any meaningful difference within such a massive global challenge. Another particularly insidious barrier to climate action is the "diffusion of responsibility," where individuals assume others (corporations, governments, or other countries) should take necessary action first, leading to collective inaction. While it is not fair to put this burden solely on individuals, we can consciously choose to make meaningful contributions collectively while still advocating for systemic change. By reframing our approach to ask "What would a truly sustainable future look like?" we transform paralysis into possibility.
This approach reminds me of a recent podcast interview and 2022 TED Talk given by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson that reframes climate action from merely preventing disaster to an opportunity to build "a safer, cleaner, more connected world" rather than just avoiding catastrophe. Johnson's Climate Action Venn Diagram offers a helpful framework consisting of three overlapping circles:
- What you're good at
- What needs doing
- What brings you joy
Finding the intersection of these three areas is key to sustainable climate action. Rather than everyone doing the same things – voting, protesting, reducing carbon footprints – Johnson suggests we each contribute our special talents or "superpowers" to climate solutions. This approach mirrors how we structured our Earth Day activities, allowing students and faculty to choose projects that matched their interests and abilities while still contributing to our collective environmental awareness. Johnson rejects being labeled simply "hopeful" or "optimistic." Instead, she describes herself as "determined." "I think back to the civil rights movement and if people were just like, 'eh, seems too hard to try to get rights,' that's not the viable way forward." Rather than focusing on hope – a feeling that fluctuates – Johnson suggests concentrating on how to be useful with our unique skills: "Instead of thinking about having hope or not, if we just take the option of quitting off the table, then the question just becomes what can I do to make things better?"
As we reflect on Earth Day 2025, let's embrace Johnson's invitation in her recent book to imagine what it would look like if "we get it right." The digital disconnection that our friends experienced in Spain was imposed by circumstances. However, our Earth Day activities demonstrated the value of intentionally stepping away from our screens to reconnect with nature and each other. Perhaps this reconnection -- the restoration of our biophilia, as E.O. Wilson called it -- is one of the most important elements of Earth Day.
Johnson's framework reminds us that individual action truly matters – incremental progress adds up to significant change when addressing planetary-scale challenges. This approach perfectly complements Proctor's ambitious institutional goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2038. As Johnson reminds us, this is "the work of generations," similar to other great societal transformations. Success isn't measured by individual recognition but by the positive ripple effects we create in our communities and society.
Learn more about Proctor's sustainability efforts here!
- Environmental Stewardship