SEATTLE – The installation of Bishop Blanchet High School’s new solar panels shows how one school is trying to live out its Catholic faith and minimize its carbon footprint.

After beginning fundraising at the school’s auction in March 2023, the idea came to fruition this summer when A&R Solar installed 238 solar panels, covering 38,000 square feet of Blanchet’s U-shaped roof.

Julie Gallaudet, director of marketing and communications at Blanchet, said the solar project was inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, “Laudato si’,” and is a response to the pope’s appeal to all of us: “The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development.”

“I think the pope’s call for us to engage in not just the climate crisis but other environmental issues as issues of social justice, in addition to sort of esoteric environmental issues, is really powerful,” said Andrea Seeley, science teacher and Green Team advisor at Blanchet. “And it’s one thing that the kids can really connect to in learning about their faith.”

Students in Andrea Seeley’s AP environmental science class admire the new solar panels on Bishop Blanchet High School’s roof on Friday, Sept. 13. The solar panels are expected to cover an average of 25% of the school’s monthly power bill. (Photo courtesy of Julie Gallaudet/Bishop Blanchet High School)

While the plan to install solar panels at Blanchet was already in motion, students in Seeley’s AP environmental science class spent their final project designing “a green version of Blanchet.” According to Seeley, many of those projects included solar panels on the roof, not knowing funding for that had already begun.

Students have continuously encouraged decision-makers at the school to seek new ideas and alternatives to become more sustainable, Gallaudet said.

After installation was completed in early September, Seeley and four students in her AP environmental science class were able to go on the roof and inspect the solar panels. A video of their visit can be viewed here.

“This was a project that really resonated with kids,” Gallaudet said. “Actually doing something that is this meaningful to the younger generation has really been profound in terms of the excitement the project has created in the school.”

Seeley said that when the AP environmental science class started in the 2013-14 academic year, only 13 students signed up for the course. This year, 180 students signed up, causing the school to add another teacher to instruct the course.

Andrea Seeley, middle, talks to students about the newly installed solar panels on Bishop Blanchet High School’s roof on Friday, Sept. 13. Seeley is a science teacher and runs the Green Team at the school. (Photo courtesy of Julie Gallaudet/Bishop Blanchet High School)

“Student interest in studying environmental science and engaging in environmental issues has really ballooned in that time period,” Seeley said.

The school is waiting on Seattle City Light to finalize everything on its end before the solar panels are turned on.

Once on, the power generated by the solar panels is fed back into the grid with Blanchet receiving credit for the respective amount of power they send in. It’s estimated that the 238 panels will cover an average of 25% of the school’s monthly power bill.

While the panels are a step in the right direction, Seeley hopes to see more work done at Blanchet to make it a more sustainable space.

“Blanchet’s not done, we’re not green now and we’re not sustainable now because we put up these solar panels,” Seeley said. “The solar panels are amazing, and I think they’re a really good sign to the rest of our community that we’re serious about making progress, but it’s not done yet.”

Seeley mentioned that her dream project for Blanchet is to replace the single-pane, metal-frame windows with something more insulated. For now, the school is focusing on improving its consistency with using recycling, compost and trash bins appropriately.