The Going Green club has been advocating and enforcing environmentally friendly actions at RCMS, with the goal of helping the earth and spreading awareness, so other people can get involved.
Some of the projects done by the club include composting, food sharing and the active and sustainable transportation project, which encourages students to do their part.
Students in the club shared that there are compost bins located outside the engineering classroom and many science classrooms. There are also recycling bins that can be found in every classroom. Fruit and vegetable scraps, and many more items, can go into the composting bin. Riding the bus and carpooling will help with the active and sustainable transportation project.
“I’ve always wanted to help the earth in some way and I did a bunch of projects in elementary school to help the earth,” said Radhika Deshpande, 12, of the Champions team.
According to Ms. Patty Walsh, the science teacher of the seventh and eighth grade Dream team, and the pro-sponsor of the Going Green club, climate change is one of the biggest environmental issues. Issues like global warming and air pollution have shown to have a negative impact on ourselves and wildlife. According to national geographic, global warming will cause floods and droughts in regions. Air pollution can make it hard to breathe and can cause people to be permanently injured.
“If we don’t start taking action now, I think it’s hard for young people to take action,” said Ms. Walsh.
Other students shared that environmentally friendly practices like composting, recycling and clean energy can help to reduce carbon footprints. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), composting enriches soil and conserves water. Additionally, it is shown that using sustainable transportation reduces carbon emissions.
“We should preserve the earth for future generations,” said Zahabiya Ghadiali, seventh-grader, of the Champions team.
While many people support these practices, many also disagree. Some argue that making environmentally friendly efforts takes up a lot of time and money. Many people just find it hard to adapt to new habits.
“The government needs to set policies and hold people accountable, both businesses and citizens,” said Ms. Walsh.
According to Ms. Walsh, going green can prove to be a challenge for many who want to help. Starting with easy things like turning off lights when not being used, opening windows instead of using air conditioning and using less single use plastics could be a good place to start.
A few tips are riding the bus, planting trees, conserving water and volunteering in your community.
Radhika shared that gathering a bunch of people together and involving other people in the efforts will help make a positive impact on the environment.
“Stay green, go green,” she said.
