OUR PLACE AND THE OYSTER

Set your course at the river.

Christchurch School’s 125-acre campus sits on the Rappahannock River, in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Exploration and investigation of the watershed is central to the school’s Great Journeys curriculum and development of modern, flexible skills for each student. The river and bay are living classrooms where we learn about the geography, ecology, economy, history and culture of our region through hands-on exploration. The river is an ever-present reminder of our responsibility to the natural environment. And, of course, the river is fun. It is the perfect place to make friends and discover new interests through activities like sailing, crew, canoeing, fishing, crabbing and adventure trips.

Heart of an Explorer

CCS students have the hearts of explorers. They are driven by curiosity and the will to make a difference. They face the smallest moments of each day with wonder and curiosity and bravely face challenges, ask questions, understand their surroundings and make a positive contribution.

The Sustainability Fractal

Sustainability is the foundation for everything that we do at Christchurch, and the sustainability fractal is an important tool for our community. Students and faculty use it across the curriculum for exploring communities and systems and gauging sustainability in terms of equity, economy and ecology.

Oyster Restoration at Christchurch

Christchurch School students learn by doing, by asking questions, by making connections and by getting their hands dirty. And the Virginia oyster plays a big part of that. In 2009, when the Crassostrea virginica was in trouble, we committed to making a difference. Oyster restoration plays a critical role in creating a balanced, healthy ecosystem in our watershed, and we’ve nurtured and planted more than 500,000 oysters on our reef at the school’s waterfront. Each adult oyster filters up to fifty gallons of water a day – that’s up to 50 million gallons of clean water we’re sending down the Rappahannock River to the Chesapeake Bay, every day! With our Waterfront Director and Sustainability coordinator, Will Smiley, in the lead, we also partner with Restore Urbanna Creek in their important mission to restore a thriving population of oysters to the creek.

Cans for Oysters

With students taking the initiative, we collect and recycle aluminum cans, using the money to purchase spat for our aquaculture. Students work every aspect of the farm, from nurturing the spats to marketing and managing the books.