Just outside the classroom windows, major construction efforts are underway, creating a new buzz of conversation within the Hackley community. With a generous gift intended to expand Hackley’s athletic center and programs, Hackley’s new construction project for the new Health and Wellness Center has been underway since late April. However, the forest destruction has become a very controversial topic among students and faculty with many attempting to understand the balance between the benefits of a new athletic center and the clear-cutting of trees. Although the forest may have originally seemed worth replacing with this new facility, now that construction has officially begun, new and varying sentiments are rising.

Many students strongly oppose the construction and have termed it as “deforestation.” Some even suggest that placing a camera outside the construction site would provide fruitful footage for a deforestation documentary.

While many students and faculty may find this construction upsetting, there are plans to incorporate nature and new trees into the new facility. Assistant Headmaster Phil Variano stated that “while it’s disappointing and upsetting to see trees cut down, many new trees will be planted to replace them, and we are hoping that the end result will be ecologically responsible and very attractive.” He adds that these plans will hopefully maintain Hackley’s environmental values and blend with the rest of campus, saying the completed construction will have a wellness garden and “many new trees and gardens to help the facility blend into the hilltop it sits upon.”

Driving past the chainsaws and fallen trees everyday, this sentiment has especially rung true among juniors. “When I walk past the deforestation, it doesn’t look like our school,” said junior Lila Wolfe. Junior Jack Clark added that “we cannot neglect the significance of the flora in the area. We often hear about deforestation all over the world but it’s weird to see it happening right in front of us.” Taking all the fields that Hackley has recently built into consideration as well, junior Carolyn Miller notes that there has been little renovation to the performing arts center and wonders “when there will be some improvements to the PAC such as an actual dressing room and more space backstage.”

Many students and faculty also believe that this goes against Hackley’s character and values. Reflecting on his first years at Hackley and describing the campus as a naturalist’s utopia, Middle School science teacher Andy Retzloff said, “It was very magical. You came in and there were overarching trees on both sides of the road … I just fell in love with the place.” Now that a lot of the forest has been cleared away, Mr. Retzloff says, “it reminds me of the Joni Mitchell song that goes “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Similarly, HEAL Leader Karina Franke said, “I don’t think the clear-cutting of tree-dense land and the destruction of nature trails is a step in the right direction in terms of wellness, sustainability, or environmental appreciation. This decision seems out of character for a school such as ours that regularly invests in and promotes sustainability.”

With 285 acres of land, science classes are very interactive and often take trips outside to learn about the nature and wildlife on campus. Some Biology and Ecology classes, and the 5th graders in particular, often spends class time learning from the nature on campus. In addition, the forest was an exciting play area for younger students. “When I used to run my nature programs in the Middle School, this [site] was where the kids would play hide and seek, capture the flag, and sardines. It was just this perfect place for the kids to run wild in the forest and have fun,” said Mr. Retzloff.

Some students also seem very enthusiastic and supportive of the construction efforts and believe a new athletic center will be an important addition to Hackley. Sophomore Nicole Heyward compared the current gym to the new one and said, “I understand they are getting rid of a bunch of trees, but it’s to build a new gym. If you look at the current gym, the facilities are lacking, so I think it will be good to have a new gym and in a more central location.” Taking a more realist stance, sophomore Caroline Stevenson commented, “I think overall it’s been done for good intentions to get us a new gym, but I do think it’s a little disheartening to see all the trees going. In an ideal world we could create a new gym without having to do anything to the forest, but this is the reality of what has to be done.” In a similar statement, freshman Cole Wyman speaks from a greater viewpoint saying, “when it is put into perspective with the amount of trees being cut each day, or the number of trees originally cut to build the Hackley campus, the environmental effects are quite slim.” To counter the construction, however, Cole adds, “I think it would be cool to see us Hackley students give back and maybe spend a day planting trees and helping the environment somewhere.”