Environmental Practices at
NOLS Southwest

In operation for the past 15 years, NOLS Southwest occupies what was previously an Arabian horse ranch, a ten-acre property at the base of the Catalina Mountains where Gila monsters and javelina are regular visitors.

The facility is made up of spacious rations and equipment rooms, a climbing wall, two recently-built straw bail houses, and an open air, covered ramada, where students eat their meals and prepare for their courses.

What we're doing:

Recycling

• We recycle all bottles, cans, plastic, paper, and cardboard.
• We use environmentally friendly paper.
• NOLS Southwest participates in the Adopt-a-Highway program, donating time to pick up trash along nearby roads.

Efficiency

• Motion sensors on outside lights reduce use when not needed.
• Solar hot water heaters, low flow showerheads, and no flush urinals make our new shower house super efficient.
• We use solar rechargeable battery system for cave headlamps.
• The strawbale staff housing requires no heating or cooling and is built from renewable resources.

Transportation

• We improved the efficiency of evacuations and town runs by purchasing a Subaru in fall 2005.

Being Organic

• Our rations room purchases environmentally friendly toilet paper and cleaning supplies, while also committing to purchasing more organic food.
• All laundry is hang dried on clotheslines.

Goals

• Set up a compost system that is not accessible to rodents.
• Create an adequate system for utilizing rainwater to water plants.
• Install solar panels on the main house.
• Build sustainable staff housing (four 200 sq ft huts) made from Durisol ICF blocks which are recyclable and rammed earth with solar power on each hut.
• Convert the entire NOLS Southwest campus to solar power!