With schools having gone virtual, the Environmental Club is still going strong and organizing many events, with even more in the works.
Marriotts Ridge has seen many classes and clubs change while adapting to the virtual environment. The environmental club is making the most of this situation by organizing school-wide events to spread awareness about environmental issues, such as climate change. The club is administered by Ms. Kol with co-president Grace Filson. Future event announcements can be found on their Instagram @environmentalclub.mrhs.
“I think that the events we have organized this year have brought lots of awareness to what our club is trying to do. We are trying to provide eco-friendly/sustainable ways of living so that each person can reduce their carbon footprint. Since we are not in person, we can not do the things we normally would,” senior Kaylyn Flyr said. “These online-based events allow students to continue to participate in eco-friendly activities, while also learning how small changes, such as using a reusable water bottle or reusable bags, can help keep our environment safe.”
The club has recently completed an eco-friendly Halloween event, where participants were asked to make a costume out of household items, and a “What’s Sustainable in Your House?” event, where students sent in pictures of reusable things in their houses to help identify eco-friendly items and lessen their ecological footprint.
“The organized events are very impactful and are great if you need volunteer opportunities, since there are fewer events overall due to COVID. It seems that a lot of people have participated in these events,” freshman Serena Huang said. These bi-weekly meets offer students the ability to branch out and stay active in the club.
The club is currently working with administrators to try and implement more sources of renewable energy at MRHS.
“Our main goal right now is to persuade and work with our school’s higher ups to install solar panels on our school’s roof, as there is plenty of empty space that otherwise does nothing [that is] sustainable,” senior Micheal Wade said. The club is constantly looking for new ways to make the school more eco-friendly.
Another big aspect of the club is awareness, getting more people to realize and understand the risks to our environment.
“My hope is that [the meetings] can inspire people to change their everyday habits. It doesn’t necessarily have to be huge things, but it would be cool if they could get everyone to participate in, say, reducing energy usage by a little bit each week,” sophomore Colin Wang said. By everyone pitching in, a great deal can be done to help the environment.
With more free time, it is hoped that more students will see and take note of being more mindful of the environment.
“Historically (aka during in-person learning), many students tended to ignore our signs and very easy ideas of how to save the environment, [choosing] not to follow them. I’m hoping this time at home will give them a chance to reflect and make some environmentally conscious changes in the things they do everyday,” Wade said.
Environmental Club is a place where people who are passionate about the environment can come together and spread the word about climate and environmental issues. The members hope to inspire people to change their harmful everyday habits, as well as help everyone be a little more mindful of how they could aid the environment.