Trinity High School


Trinity High School awarded 2011 Acorn Award.  

Trinity High School was honored at Brightside's 25th Anniversary Green Tie Bash celebration at The Olmsted on Friday, March 4.

Acorn Awards were presented to nominees in four categories. Trinity was one of four finalists in the category of "Green Leadership - Non-Profit." WHAS 11's Renee Murphy announced Trinity as the winner before several hundred local and regional supporters of Brightside.

Gill Holland, from Acorn Award sponsor The Green Building, and Congressman John Yarmuth presented the award to Joey Porter '78 and Dr. Michael Bratcher '97, who were present to accept on behalf of the school.

Being green is not just a school color at Trinity While our students learn about the church's teachings on environmental stewardship and study ecological issues, we strive to turn lessons into action. "Sustainability" is a hot buzz word these days. Concerns over carbon footprints, arguments over climate change and the Gulf Coast oil spill catastrophe make this a prime time to pay attention to Trinity's impact on the environment while setting a good example for students. Our initiatives fall into several categories:

Heating, cooling and lighting
We burn a lot of energy heating, cooling and lighting our buildings. Energy audits assist in finding solutions that produce the kinds of results we need. Fortunately we have been able to reign in our consumption using several techniques:
  • Our boilers and cooling units are very new. Extensive upgrades and new installations over the past decade have increased the efficiency of our equipment.
  • Thermostat controls allow us to automatically control the units during periods of use and non-use.
  • We have replaced light fixtures, bulbs and ballasts with energy-efficient products.

    Materials
    We incorporate the latest energy-smart materials in new construction and replacement of old. Some examples of materials we have used that assist in our effort:
  • Most all roofs are covered with light-colored materials that work best in warm or cold weather. Insulation is added when new roofs are installed, which also increases energy efficiency.
  • Windows, whether those used in new construction or those that are part of our multi-year replacement program, are energy-efficient with the best ratings possible.
  • Low-flow commodes are used in new construction and in the remodeling projects of the bathrooms in the existing classroom buildings.

    Recycling
    With 1,500 people on campus each day, it stands to reason that we produce a lot of "stuff" each day. Our recycling efforts have been in place a long time and more are added each year.
  • The student-led Environmental Club collects white paper each week from classrooms and offices and takes it to a campus recycling collection center where it is picked up by an outside partner. Offices have paper collection centers where contents are eventually shredded for recycling.
  • We recycle cardboard and receive reductions in our waste collection charges for doing so.
  • Computers and related equipment are collected by a recycling partner and disposed of properly.
  • Along with recycling efforts, we are trying to reduce the amount of paper used by moving to as many paperless transactions as possible.
    Trinity High School and Kentucky farmers.  
    Adam Muntzinger and the food service staff of Trinity High School, prepared an all Kentucky lunch for students using food provided by Kentucky farmers on May 12th.
    Photo by Tyler Bissmeyer, Special to The Courier Journal May 12, 2010 issue.
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