Park’s Environmental Club centers its efforts on promoting sustainability within Park through weekly meetings, discussions and planning initiatives.
According to junior Kaylee Rice, the most recent meeting was held on Nov. 20, which focused mainly on the recycling program.
“Right now our main project is trying to get the recycling program back up and running,” Rice said. “We struggle with recycling, that program just went downhill because of COVID.”
Environmental club advisor Emily Rennhak said every meeting brings something new and exciting.
“Our meetings look different every week. Our past couple meetings have included making specific covers for our recycling bins to help people recycle properly,” Rennhak said. “We also did a community cleanup two weeks ago, in which we cleaned up the parking lot. We’ve brought in guest speakers from the city and partnered with SOAR to talk about things like environmental racism, so I’m proud of every meeting.”
According to freshman Hannora Crouse, the main goal of the club is to advocate for a more environmentally friendly community by helping Park recycle more.
“The mission of environmental club is to promote sustainability throughout Park and work towards a more sustainable future,” Crouse said. “Right now, we’re working on making toppers for recycling bins so people actually recycle. We’ve been doing that for a while because we have to make so many.”
Rennhak said a way of enhancing more green space in the community is through the creation of new homes for pollinators.
“Mass production is having a huge impact on our environment,” Rennhak said. “One way we’ve tried to tackle that is by adding more green space to our community. Instead of focusing more on buildings and concrete, we’re looking to create more spaces for our pollinators to live.”
According to Rice, the club is prioritizing one task at a time, maximizing efficiency and effectiveness.
“A lot of things we struggle with have to do with carbon emissions, we also struggle with recycling and we’re looking into solar panels,” Rice said. “We’re just taking baby steps right now.”
Crouse said one aspect to work on is establishing a stronger presence within the community.
“Something we can definitely work on is raising awareness through the whole school,” Crouse said. ”Right now, it’s very much like only people that are in the club know about it.”
According to Rennhak, the club’s most remarkable aspect is the level of enthusiasm displayed by its members.
“My favorite thing as a teacher is just watching students do this work because they are so passionate about it. As an advisor, you need to do very little to spark interest in them,” Rennhak said. “They already come in with skill sets, passion and knowledge about this topic that they are trying to bring to the table to make change.”
The club’s next meeting is on Monday, Nov. 27 in room C371.
