In the 2008 Pixar Animation Studios film WALL-E, a solitary trash-compacting robot toils to clean up an uninhabitable planet Earth 800 years in the future, left behind by the megacorporation that evacuated all of humanity centuries earlier to save it from a global ecological disaster caused by rampant consumerism, corporate greed, and environmental neglect. The daily grind of the forlorn but resilient robot, a Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-class, inevitably tugs at viewers’ emotions, as he explores the barren landscape, occasionally plucking nostalgic keepsakes and trinkets from the vast expanse of garbage he fruitlessly attempts to rein in. It’s hard not to feel for this brave little survivor, the last witness to the polluted catastrophe that humans have made of their home.
The message of the acclaimed film, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, is impossible to miss, according to Colorado Academy’s Assistant Director of Operations and Sustainability Lead, Jerel Dalrymple: “Our Earth is not in a healthy place, and the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
The costly environmental effects of human-created non-recyclable waste, greenhouse gases, and resource depletion are undeniable in 2024, he explains. But, “By recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings and the ways that all of our actions matter, we can take responsibility for ensuring future generations inherit a healthier planet. When we cultivate empathy for our world, our children, and our children’s children, we are more likely to support sustainable practices, advocate for equitable policies, and inspire others to join this movement.”
As CA’s chief advocate for environmental stewardship, Dalrymple oversees a team of five custodial and waste management professionals, directs the operation of “Guster,” an advanced on-campus biodigester, educates students and employees about recycling and composting, and pushes green initiatives, such as CA’s sustainable ditch-water irrigation system and low-impact turf, plant, and landscape maintenance practices.
The sprawling program has grown with surprising speed since Dalrymple was handed the task of getting a recycling program up and running on campus in 2018. And it has come about largely as a result of his personal passion for spreading the gospel of sustainability to anyone who will listen.
An unlikely hero
At the beginning, almost nothing was certain about how CA would make good on its stated commitment to the green revolution—or who would lead the charge.
“I had zero background in this field when I was asked to look at recycling here on campus,” he admits. Few would have known anything at all about Dalrymple’s background: As a member of the school’s Operations team—those responsible for everything from maintaining the grounds to fixing clogged toilets, emptying trash bins, and shoveling snow—he was one of what he terms the “ninjas of the night,” the mostly unseen employees who work late hours, day in and day out, to make sure CA is always as beautiful-looking as it is safe and welcoming for students, teachers, staff members, families, alumni, and guests.
Dalrymple is the first to acknowledge that he was already an under-the-radar sort of employee, with arms covered in intricate tattoos and a tough “biker” look that belies what he says is his real “teddy bear” persona.
But in doing his own research on effective school recycling programs, the unlikely eco-hero quickly found the spotlight as CA’s true believer in the power of sustainable practices. A member of the ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association), he had access to an array of resources and frameworks that could help shape waste management improvements. He partnered with eager parents and donors to identify pilot programs that would fit with CA’s mission. He worked with teachers to plan campus-wide educational events and “field trips” for students to see what he was up to. And he advocated for new roles on the Operations team specifically dedicated to the school’s sustainability work.
The results of Dalrymple’s leadership speak for themselves: Guster, the biodigester, turns 200,000 pounds of Dining Hall food waste each year into compost; a glass crusher and sophisticated material screener add to the biodigester’s capabilities; CA’s landfill waste rate has dropped from 90% (with only 5% each of recycling and compost) to just 15%; education efforts have brought participation in recycling and composting in the Lower School to nearly 100%, with the Middle School and Upper School close behind; the use of commercial fertilizers and chemical cleaning supplies has been discontinued; two environmental clubs have sprung up to assist with campus programs and offer new ideas; and a plan to install a fleet of electric vehicle chargers is underway.
Dalrymple says there’s one achievement of which he’s most proud: Two waste management specialists whom he trained now hand-sort every bit of compostable waste, recycling, and trash that is collected daily from every classroom, office, and hallway at CA—nearly 900 bins’ worth—before it is sent to the next stop on its journey, whether that is the biodigester, glass crusher, or trash pick-up service.
And, he goes on, that’s not to mention the secondary impacts of all these efforts—such as reduced need for fuel and machinery required in commercial trash removal or composting, lower greenhouse gas production, and, of course, growing awareness of sustainability issues in the households of CA students, faculty, and staff across the region.
“What we’re doing today as a school has snowballed to a scale that I never would have imagined,” he attests. As only the third educational institution in the country to install an Advanced Thermophilic Aerobic Digester from Assured Renewables, CA is modeling what environmental stewardship looks like for other schools both near and far.
A personal appeal
The tattooed teddy bear has personal reasons to be so invested in CA’s efforts to go green. He grew up a child of a loving but poor single mother, in a home where, by necessity, everything was reused. “You were doing what was sustainable, but you didn’t even realize it,” he recalls. Today, his own son is a nuclear engineer in the United States Navy, working in a fascinating area of green research and development that makes the father-son bond that much closer.
Indeed, a commitment to environmental stewardship feels distinctly personal for Dalrymple—something that’s crystal clear when he is talking to a group of young students about how they can help save the planet. “The kids are like little sponges,” he says, “and it’s such a huge reward for me when I see them taking something they’ve learned back to the classroom. The huge improvement we’ve seen in recycling and composting in the Middle School? That’s mostly due to the Lower Schoolers I’ve worked with, who have now graduated to the Middle School and taken that knowledge with them.”
Fifth Graders annually participate in a culminating unit of study dubbed “Voices of Change,” which challenges them to research real-world issues and design their own solutions. Last year, Dalrymple proposed topics for the students to address, including improving retention of CA’s bus drivers and making the disposal of compostable food items in CA’s Dining Hall easier for the youngest Mustangs.
“The Fifth Grade students blew my mind,” he recounts. “They ran with their ideas, and this year we actually implemented them.”
Dalrymple knows that his own team members are just as critical to the sustainability equation, and he wants them to feel a personal stake in the school’s success, too. He speaks Spanish with his mostly Spanish-speaking crew, and, along with his “left brain,” Custodial Supervisor Nelly Fernandez, they treat the team to dinners out and even surprise rewards, like the custom “Ninjas of the Night” t-shirts Dalrymple had screen-printed for everyone.
“My staff—they’re the ones doing the hard work behind the scenes. Without them, my ideas wouldn’t amount to anything. I wish everyone at CA was aware of how much they do to make this a better place.”
Dalrymple makes it a point to bring recognition to the work that his colleagues do late at night and early in the mornings, whether it is by encouraging Lower Schoolers to celebrate their efforts on National Custodian Day (October 2) or reserving dedicated time to share his enthusiasm during regularly scheduled professional development sessions.
Like WALL-E, CA’s sustainability whisperer isn’t afraid to inject a little emotion into his appeals to help save the planet. Empathy is a catalyst, he reiterates. “If I can get others to feel a little bit of the passion that I do for this movement, then I think we’ll be okay.”
In the end, Dalrymple observes, he’s essentially an optimist. “If we can do what I’ve seen CA do in just the past five or six years, then anyone can. If one pebble can make that kind of ripple, then another pebble can make ripples anywhere.”
He adds one caveat: “Or else we’ll just have to grab a bigger rock.”