Our Power, Our Planet

On Tuesday, April 22nd, the Indian Hills Environmental Club celebrated Earth Day in the courtyard to honor our Mother Earth and spread awareness. The Environmental Club’s mission is to educate and inspire students to make small choices that will lead to big changes. Gabriella Romm, the president of the Environmental Club at Hills, explains how “If everyone on Earth becomes 1% more environmentally conscious, it would drastically improve our climate situation, and it can start with our generation.”

Members of the Environmental Club designed awareness posters that displayed information about recent climate news, fun facts, and statistics for each day in April leading up to Earth Day. Mrs. Marateo-Gonzalez, the Environmental Club advisor, emphasized that she is “proud that the students have put together a series of PSAs for every day of Earth Month. My hope is that by sharing this information, each student takes away one idea of how they can help the planet.” These PSAs and environmental awareness posters could be viewed in the 600s wing, on Schoology, and were read aloud in the morning announcements every day, a reflection of the Environmental Club’s commitment to improving the current climate situation. 

Since February, the members of the Environmental Club had also been preparing for an Earth Day celebration. Students organized a wide variety of games, activities, learning resources, and volunteer opportunities for those wishing to deepen their engagement. In one of the activities, students could choose to make an art piece out of plant stencils and cyanotype paper (a type of paper that changes color when put in direct sunlight). With these materials, students made intricate designs using leaves, flowers, and other recycled materials to block out different portions of the paper when laid in the sun. Other activities students could participate in included rock painting or making bracelets with handmade beads, created by Environmental Club and Interact members, out of recycled newspapers, magazines, and glue. 

For students looking to play a game in a group, there was a jumbo-sized Jenga set hand-painted with flowers near the center of the courtyard. Also nearby was a game dedicated to learning about recycling. Students were assigned a discarded material, like a plastic bottle or used tea bag, and had to choose whether to dispose of it in the recycling, trash, or compost. Students who got it correct won a prize. On the other side of the space was a trivia table hosted by Seulgi Park, Marianna Adragna, and Jacob Lee, where students could win a prize if they answered a trivia question correctly.

 
“My favorite part of working with the Environmental Club are the crafts and activities I am able to do and create to help our planet. I believe that as of now where the focus is on other matters, it is really important to remember to take care of and appreciate our Earth as well. Through activities like making beads or creating trivia questions for Earth Day, I am able to learn so much about the Earth and how to protect it.” – Seulgi Park
 
“I am excited to ask everyone the questions Seulgi and I created on Earth Day because I found the facts interesting myself. I hope a lot of people learn something new and gain motivation to help our planet! I also enjoyed making some of the PSAs for Schoology and hope reading the tips was enjoyable for students as well.” – Marianna Adragna
 

Finally, there was a table dedicated to providing the Indian Hills student body with learning materials and volunteering opportunities related to environmental conservation. At the center of the table was a large display of volunteering flyers that included information about the events and who to contact if interested. These opportunities were framed by a display of student-made trifolds that each discussed a different environmental issue, created by the environmental science classes. Students who wished to participate in the corresponding raffle, with the hopes of winning a gift card, could fill out a pop-quiz sheet that inquired about the information on the trifolds.

The Environmental Club’s Earth Day celebration was “a huge success,” says Mrs. Marateo-Gonzalez, and it succeeded in spreading awareness about the environment to Indian Hills students in a fun, interactive, and exciting way.