Mountain Campus

Rendering of redesigned classroom building for the Mountain Campus.
David Mooney, Architect and Burr and Burton parent 

While construction is complete on Phase I of the Mountain Campus plan, work continues on the planning and fundraising side for Phase II. The parking area, landscaping and bridge over Jones Brook have all been completed this fall, and the cabin is nearing completion. The cabin will be used for ongoing programs until the Mountain Campus project is completed and in full swing.

Some key features of the redesigned building are:

• Natural day-lighting
• Geothermal heat pump
• Solar
• Renewable Energy Heat Generation
• Vegetative Roof
• Possible living wastewater system
• Smaller footprint, more compact design
• Working towards Platinum L.E.E.D. certification

Cutting the ceremonial ribbon were Sunny Wright, faculty member
and wife of trustee Mark Wright, Headmaster Mark Tashjian, former
Headmaster Chuck Scranton, and Tony Whaling, trustee and head
of the Mountain Campus Committee.

Ribbon Cutting at the Mountain Campus October 23

Celebrating the completion of Phase I of the project, Burr and Burton Academy marked the opening of the entry to the Mountain Campus in Peru on October 23 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a small reception on the site. Attending were trustees, Advisory Council members, and other invited guests including former Headmaster Chuck Scranton and Mountain Campus Committee members Mark Wright, Jack Phillips, and Tony Whaling.

"Today's ceremony marks an important milestone not only in the development of this project, but in the history of this school,” said Headmaster Tashjian stated “It brings us one step closer to creating a program that will provide authentic, powerful opportunities for students to engage in hands-on scientific research and environmental studies, develop leadership skills, and instill an abiding appreciation for the magnificence of the natural world."

Small groups of students will begin to visit the campus this coming winter for special environmental education projects. A post and beam cabin is currently under construction which will serve as a temporary shelter for ongoing programs. Plans for a permanent, state of the art, energy efficient L.E.E.D. certified building are underway.

I'm so excited to be involved in such an integrated learning experience. What a great opportunity for our students to be real field biologists.
Cindy Mowry
Mountain Campus faculty

Course Description: Humanities at the Mountain Campus
The Mountain Campus curriculum is a work in progress as we begin to make headway on the physical facilities. The following is a course description for Humantities at the Mountain Campus which will be headed up by Wil Mackey.

The Humanities course will include some historical novels that chronicle humans interacting with the land, such as The Grapes of Wrath, as well as adventure stories like White Fang and Call of the Wild. We'll read nonfiction, such as essays by Wendell Berry and Aldo Leopold, as well as poetry and works by Vermont and local authors like Robert Frost and Walter Hard.

We'll look at historical changes in the way humans perceived and interacted with the land and what brought about those changes, as well as how those changes affected the way authors wrote and artists created art. A few examples might be the Industrial Revolution, or the United States' purchase of Alaska, or the designation of the first National Park. We will use our historical understanding to look at contemporary issues and propose solutions to problems we face today.

Students will write about their first-hand experiences studying the land with Cindy Mowry or adventures with Paul Kelly; they will write reports using their own data; they will conduct research and write letters to the editor and op-ed pieces, as well as critical essays analyzing what they read and synthesizing material they cover in order to organize and make sense of it. Students will work independently and in groups; they'll give presentations, have discussions and learn from each other. Most important, students will think in ways they hadn't before.

Pilot Courses Launched This Fall
Two new pilot courses are being offered this year to introduce the curriculum at the Mountain Campus. Man and Nature in America is being taught by Wil Mackey, one of the faculty who will be part of the team at the Mountain Campus. This course will explore the ever-changing perception of nature in America with a goal of arriving at a better understanding of what is and what should be man's relationship to nature.
Community Ecology of the Forested Landscape will examine the ecological dynamics of Vermont's plant communities. Cindy Mowry, also a Mountain Campus faculty member, will be teaching this course and plans to spend much of class time outdoors in the woods.

Mountain Campus Trustee Committee
Sharmy Altshuler
Jack Phillips
Sanfra Weiss
Tony Whaling
Mark Wright

Fundraising Steering Committee
Susan Heckman
Dick Lechthaler
Jack Phillips

Burr and Burton Academy Mountain Campus Faculty
Paul Kelly
Wil Mackey
Cindy Mowry

Burr and Burton Academy Administration
Mark H. Tashjian, Headmaster
Cynthia H. Gubb, Director of Advancement

Click here to download a copy of the latest Mountain Campus newsletter.