Junior Roots and Shoots member Leila Raymond said she decided to join the club’s newly-created recycling team in order to promote sustainability in the Park community.

“It was an initiative that a few of us (took on) because Roots and Shoots can impact the city and things (on a large scale), and it’s kinda crazy that we aren’t actually doing it in our school that we’re in every day,” Raymond said. “To bring environmental awareness in the big picture, we need to start small, and starting in the high school is the best way to do that.”

Raymond said that the recycling team recently met with Tom Bravo, head of facilities for the St. Louis Park district, to discuss the high school’s recycling program.

“(Bravo) told us that the school is supposed to be fully outfitted with a recycling program, but it’s just gonna actually take time to get the higher percentages of recycling happening,” Raymond said. “We are hopefully going to talk to students and teachers and teach them about how to recycle, and hopefully that will help more people in the high school recycle.”

According to club member Lukas Wrede, one of the pushes behind implementing recycling is that recycling helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

“Recycling is the fourth largest contributor to greenhouse gasses in the city, and in terms of the climate action plan for the city, we want to address that because it’s something really important that we can do.”

According to Wrede, the best way students can promote recycling in the Park community is to educate themselves.

“Students who want to help out can keep an eye out, help each other, because the people who help out and know what recycling is all about are going to make a big impact,” Wrede said.

According to Raymond, Roots and Shoots is a club for people who care about the earth and want to actively promote change.

“I love nature, and I love that it’s not far away. Making change is tangible through Roots and Shoots, and you can really affect the world around you, and I love being apart of that.

According to Wrede, the next Roots and Shoots meeting takes place at 8 a.m., Nov 21 in A315.