Staff Spotlight: Warren Biggins
If you are part of an environmental club initiative on campus or are interested in gathering specific data about the school’s carbon footprint and energy consumption levels, Warren Biggins is the person to go to for extensive knowledge and guidance. If you’re not, you may still want to have a chat with him, as his insight and passion for sustainability is enough to have made an impact on everyone who has had the opportunity to work with him.
Warren Biggins, Manager of Sustainability and Natural Resources as part of Facilities Management, works to engage students in sustainability initiatives on campus. He also works closely with colleague Sustainability Education Coordinator Jason BreMiller as co-chairs of the Environmental Stewardship Strategic Planning Committee, one of the school’s five main branches for Environmental Stewardship. Together, they organize major environment-related school events, initiatives, and reflect on the Academy’s vision in regards to its climate action plan.
Prior to coming to Phillips Exeter Academy, Biggins has been working for four years as Sustainability Manager at Pitzer College, a small liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Before studying to earn his master’s degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability at Illinois Institute of Technology, he worked for three seasons for the National Park Service at Grand Teton National Park in Jackson, Wyoming. He has also lived in Chicago’s suburban areas, taking part in hands-on restoration work within its park districts. Furthermore, throughout his professional career, he has participated in environmental advocacy work for the Wilderness Society, an organization that collaborates with local communities in order to protect and preserve America’s national forests, wildlife refuges, and public wildlands.
Biggins’ role on campus encompasses coordination with sustainability clubs, initiatives, and school-wide events. He is in charge of the school’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting and tracks the school’s overall electricity usage. He has recently worked on creating a comprehensive carbon emissions inventory for the school that could be used to track their progress in the near future. Additionally, Biggins role extends to the ecosystems of the Academy’s property. As BreMiller explains, “[Biggins] chairs the natural resources committee, he’s responsible for determining how we’re managing our fields and forest, our trail system, and such... he manages the more plant-related systems to ensure that they are as environmentally friendly as possible.”
Specific projects that Biggins has helped support and coordinate include the Green Umbrella Learning Lab, events for Climate Action Day, and the RedBikes bike share program launch, which he and BreMiller both provided assistance for.
Biggins also supervises the Exeter operations of Green Move Out, an initiative to reduce end-of year waste generated by students in colleges and boarding schools by donating objects to Goodwill. He also assists with Green Graduation, which similarly helps reduce the waste produced from graduation events, and works as a liaison between the Waste Management team and the custodial staff in order to ensure that plans run smoothly. “We compost and recycle the vast majority of things during graduation. I work with dining and custodial on waste recycling and composting,” Biggins explains.
He has also helped many of the student-run environmental clubs with various projects. He is the club advisor for Exeter Climate Lobby, which “provides students with opportunities to engage with climate activism through the political system,” ECL co-head Erin McCann explains.
Last September, ECL organized for a student trip to attend the Climate Strike event. McCann notes Biggins’ assistance with the event: “Biggins was very helpful in handling the logistics for the Strike, such as finding transportation and communicating our plans to the Dean’s office to receive permission for students.”
Upper Bea Burack, another co-head of the Exeter Climate Lobby, commented, “I think he has a lot of really good insights on how different sustainability measures will work on campus. He’s always there to help out whenever we need advice.”
Senior Harrison He, who became more closely involved in the topic of environmental sciences after taking the Green Umbrella Learning Lab classes during fall term, received help from Biggins for a dorm composting project with a few of his classmates. He recalled, “a lot of the time, we went to Biggins for advice on logistics and how to implement our pilot program. He helped us in that regard, and he also helped us with [acquiring funding for] our project.”
Along with his contributions to organized sustainability initiatives across campus, he spends a portion of time talking with motivated students. Biggins explains this in detail: “Mr. BreMiller and I also host Sustainability office hours, which is once a week this term, to advise some of the different student groups we work with, such as the Exeter Climate Lobby, E-Proctors, and we talk with students that have questions or ideas on sustainability initiatives they’d like to see on campus.”
Outside the workplace, along with his consistent consideration of the school’s sustainability programs, Biggins enjoys live music and goes to watch shows at the Stone Church in Newmarket or Prescott Park in Portsmouth from time to time. Additionally, he stays active. “You can catch him torturing himself on the Versa Climber or in the weight room at Love Gym during the week, and out for runs or hikes on the weekends,” PEA photographer and videographer Christian Harrison says.
Biggins’ drive comes from his understanding of the importance of sustainability and the need for Academy students to study it and raise awareness. He commented, “The sooner students become aware of sustainability and what needs to happen, the sooner they can make it happen.”
Although a relatively new staff member, only joining PEA last year, Biggins is quite committed to the school’s sustainability efforts. As He notes, “I can tell that [Biggins is] obviously really passionate about sustainability. He’s someone that not a lot of people on this campus know about. He should definitely be recognized more.”
Reflecting on his time spent so far at the school, Biggins comes back to the students. “Working with students is probably the most rewarding part of my job, because it connects me to the educational mission of the Academy,” he says. “It’s especially rewarding when I am able to help a student turn their idea for a sustainability initiative into a reality.”