The Environmental Action Club hosted its first Day of Climate Action on April 2. The event consisted of a series of assemblies in the auditorium.
During A-block, the club did a presentation about the effects of food production on the environment as well as how personal choices can affect climate change. Invited speakers, including State Representative Frank Smizik and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Curt Spalding, presented on various environmental issues during the remaining blocks.
The club had multiple goals for the day, which they had been planning since October.
The broader goal was an “increased awareness of all the problems that are happening” that could potentially lead to action, according to senior Bianca Hutner, a co-president of the club.
“I hoped that people would be inspired to take at least personal action,” Hutner said. “I think with an increased awareness, that’s what the political drive comes from to make a difference. If more people are aware of the consequences, they’ll be more motivated.”
Hutner provided some examples of possible ways to take action: voting, protesting, becoming involved in social groups around the high school or Boston, and meeting with representatives to voice opinions.
Spanish teacher Emily McGinnis, who took her class to the event in part because she is passionate about the issues, also hopes students will get involved.
“Hopefully, there will be continued discussion and continued questioning, so students can learn more about how complicated it is, but also what we can do in the face of the challenges that are globally shared,” McGinnis said. “There are so many levels of involvement: individually, locally, and worldwide. I heard about different ways of getting involved, which I thought was a really great part of the day.”
McGinnis said she especially liked the B-block assembly, during which Smizik presented state-level climate change initiatives.
“We heard that joining together in a group and doing writing campaigns can be really useful and can actually help move legislation, and that’s a really simple thing to organize,” she said.
Apart from awareness, the Environmental Action Club also used the Day of Climate Action, specifically the last assembly of the day, to launch a campaign, according to senior Tal Scully, a co-president of the club.
Scully said that there is a company called Next Step Living that is helping them with a program called Sustainable Energy Education Drive, which provides free home energy assessments. A free home energy assessment, when signed up for, means that people will come to one’s house and give him/her more energy-efficient light bulbs, low-flow showerheads and special sockets that save electricity, according to Scully. This saves energy and money, and every time someone gets an assessment, the club gets between $10 and $50. Scully said the money raised is put toward purchasing a recycling compactor for the quad, which costs $6,000.
In addition to this endeavor, which will continue for the rest of the year, the club hoped the event would attract new members since, as of now, after the seniors graduate, only one member will be left.
“We really want to leave the club in the hands of people who care a lot about the environment and who will carry on with the effort,” Scully said. “So a lot of it was about transferring our passion to other younger people who can continue the effort.”
Scully said she thought the event went well overall.
“Everyone who went to an assembly who I’ve seen has told me that they really liked it,” Scully said. “I think people were really interested in what they were hearing.”
Alex Johnson can be contacted at [email protected].
