Administration helps curb environmental impact

Though the administration has policies in place to help fight against climate change, the path to sustainability is ongoing. For example, our school recently installed low-flow auto shut-off faucets, low flow water closets and low-flow urinals to reduce water usage. Every day, custodians are in charge of throwing trash into the disposal bins to be picked up. Nationwide, up to $5 million in school food waste is produced every day. A future initiative the school could implement is adding recycle bins onto campus. 

Clubs such as Environmental Care Global Awareness (ECGA) host cleanup events, nature hikes, and informational presentations to help spread awareness and deal with climate change. Based on a survey of 204 students, 29.9 percent of students have volunteered to help the environment this school year, with 60 percent of those students participating in a cleanup. 

The district is in the process of applying for an electric vehicle (EV) charger grant and all leaf blowers will eventually become electric, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Matt Torres. From the same survey, 50.6 percent of students would be more likely to buy an EV if there were EV chargers at school. “I believe that the people have the power. Kids aren’t going to change until they’re educated about change. In that light, we need to have our district and our school take on responsibility,” science teacher Kathy May said.