By Stephanie Liu, Staff Writer
// In an era in which protecting the planet is more critical than ever, Earth Day takes on a whole new meaning. As the generation that will mature as environmental crises reach an imminent tipping point, a new urgency underlies the old admiration of Earth’s wonders.
Earth Week, run by the Leadership Environmental Board April 22-26, consisted of a series of lunchtime events to provide awareness about ecological problems and promote sustainable, eco-friendly living.
These lunchtime events included gardening on Monday, painting succulents on Tuesday, a clothing swap on Wednesday, and watching a movie and videos on Thursday and Friday.
The gardening event, in particular, attracted the attention of students. Although there is a gardening club on campus, the turnout for that one Monday was greater than typical participation.
“Although I’ve been in the gardening club all year, Monday afternoon was the first time I saw so many people come to help us work on improving the garden,” senior Riana Mutabdzija said.
Earth Week a major event the Environmental Board is in charge of, and the board implemented newer ideas to refresh the idea of Earth Week.
“We have been planning for earth week since the beginning of the school year,” Environmental Board member Sophie Krayna said. “Our plan was to not create very much waste. We used more sustainable advertising methods like printing on the back of already used fliers and chalking.”
The events allowed students to try different courses of action they could take to improve their impact on the environment.
“Most people are aware of environmental issues, but it’s a whole other thing for them to act on that awareness, so Earth Week events, in particular, are important to get students working collectively to improve the environment,” Mutabdzija said. “Individual action beyond these events isn’t guaranteed, but they’re a good first step.”
Student participation shows promising signs of students taking climate change and environmental problems into their own hands.
“If I got anything out of the experience that is relevant to Earth Week, I’d say that the event showed me that there are a lot of people willing to dedicate their time and energy for the sake of improving the environment, and such dedication could be used outside of school too,” Mutabdzija said.
Earth Week represented a small but crucial step towards creating a more environmentally conscious generation.
“Students themselves can’t simply end global warming, but they can cut back on how much they are adding to it,” Krayna said. “It is our choice to decide if we want to be environmentally conscious.”