Living the Marianist Mission: Service, Justice, and Integrity of Creation at Chaminade College Preparatory, West Hills, CA

Guided by the school’s Marianist values, Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills, CA, is championing environmental stewardship and community engagement through extensive native plant distributions, sustainable campus upgrades, and active service initiatives for its students and staff.

Chaminade College Preparatory (CCP), West Hills, CA, began the 2026-27 academic year by emphasizing the Characteristics of Marianist Education of Service, Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation for all its educators as they guide young people to seek justice, build peace, and care for our common home.

CCP, West Hills, is making remarkable strides in both environmental stewardship and community engagement, highlighted by the extraordinarily productive year of the school’s Nade Plant Society. Over the past year, the society championed regional biodiversity by distributing approximately 4,000 native plants, which fueled widespread ecological projects including a hillside planting at a Westlake HOA, six diverse test plots stretching from Simi Valley to the Los Angeles basin, and restorative partnerships with water districts like Las Virgenes and West Basin. Their philanthropic reach extended even further through vital plant donations to the Ventura and LA chapters of the California Native Plant Society, lawn-to-habitat conversions, Surfrider Foundation dune restorations, the Tiny Nature Reserve, the CSUCI STEAM fair, and the Santa Monica Fund.

Mirroring this deep commitment to the natural world, the CCP campus is undergoing a comprehensive green transformation. Classrooms and facilities are becoming significantly more energy-efficient through updated thermostats and a campus-wide shift from fluorescent lighting to eco-friendly LEDs, complemented by the continued installation of two new filtered water-refilling stations each year to combat single-use plastic waste. This holistic ethos of service and sustainability is further woven into the fabric of the school's culture, from the Center for Excellence engaging K-5 students with a Going Green summer camp focused on the 3 R's (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic), to a newly introduced faculty benefit that empowers educators with a paid day off to actively participate in approved community service projects.

Update sent by April Risteff,

Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters,

Theology Department,

Chaminade College Preparatory, West Hills, CA