The Green Team hosted the second annual Earth Week from Monday, April 20, until Friday, April 24. Throughout the week, a number of activities and exhibits were held in hopes of educating and provoking thought in the student body.
“The purpose of Earth Week is to encourage and
inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment,” Green Team Co-President junior Flora Champenois said.
The Green Team works throughout the year on environmental projects around the school. However, members consider Earth Week to be their biggest event because of its opportunity to influence students.
“This is our biggest event of the year, and we usually plan months in advance for it,” Green Team member sophomore Andrew Carp said. “We’ve also learned what to do and not to do from past Earth Weeks, so we’re prepared.”
However, according to Andrew, last year’s Earth Week was not as successful as the Green Team had hoped. The disappointment led the Green Team to strive to ensure that this year’s Earth Week was more enjoyable and informative for the students.
“Last year we didn’t do as good a job,” Andrew said. “But we think we have it better planned out and better activities this year.”
The activities that the Green Team held during the Monday and Tuesday lunches, focused on objects that were beneficial to the environment and the owners of those objects who strongly believed in the need for environmental change.
“The imprint we’re leaving behind is not right,” Doug Brentlinger said, owner of a 1984 Dodge Rampage that he customized to use an electric engine. “It needs to change.”
Brentlinger’s car was one of the several vehicles highlighted Monday focused on transportation. Several electric cars, as well as a solar powered vehicle, were displayed in the quad, along with a Honda Civic from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that runs on natural gas. However, the main attraction for the students was the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car that can go 220 miles without charging.
“The Tesla is the rawest (sic) car I’ve ever seen,” junior Kyle Landes said. “It’s fast, energy-efficient, colors are nice and it’s good for the enviroment.“
On Tuesday, objects that harnessed solar power were shown. Students were able to enjoy fresh cookies and popcorn made by several solar cookers, as well as learn about solar heating from a representative of Horizon Solar Systems.
“Bike for Breakfast” was also held on Tuesday, which replaced Pedal for Prizes from last year. Students who biked to school received free breakfeast from the members of Green Team.
Earth Day was Wednesday, April 22. To celebrate, the Green Team invited Scott Catamas, an Emmy Award-winning speaker who works for The Climate Project. He gave a speech at 7 p.m. in the Eagle Theatre. To encourage students to attend the presentation, many teachers in the Science Department gave extra credit to a student if they went, and according to Flora, the event was well attended.
“I didn’t expect such a great turnout,“ Flora said. “We went from a movie with only 30 people last year to a speaker with 300 people.”
The Green Team plans to gather and discuss this year’s accomplishments soon.
“We’re going to have a meeting and see what went well and what didn’t,“ Green Team adviser Greg Stoehr said.
Overall, the Green Team is pleased with how Earth Week went this year. However, the club still feels that there is room for improvement. According to Flora, they would love to recieve more student input and participation, so that next year’s is even more enjoyable.
“I was really happy with the results,” Flora said. “The Tesla was a big selling point with the teenagers, but we can still improve … [we can] add some more activities next year.“