By Paige Jackson ’24
Clubs are starting up this September alongside classes, and the Green Club already has a plan for the 2022-2023 school year. This club is striving to reduce our school’s carbon footprint, and here’s how they intend to do so.
The Green Club’s first order of business is to inspect the composting process after it leaves the dining hall. It’s a true mystery. Where does it go? Is it even actually composted? The investigation will begin shortly. The club wants to teach students more about how composting works and possibly make the process more interactive.
As for the long term, the Green Club is looking into gardening and plant life on campus. Whether it is adding fruit trees, a wild flower garden, and some bushes. They intend to spruce up the Gunn wildlife with some extra color and liveliness. The club hopes this will also help diversify plant species in the area, while also helping out our local pollinators.
“I’m really excited at the idea of a wildflower garden because I think it’s an awesome project for people to get involved in, it will increase biodiversity and encourage pollinators on campus, and it will look pretty,” Erin Whitney told Highlander News.
They will also be trying to educate students on how to be more eco-friendly. For example, with the use of single use water bottles and individually wrapped snacks. Signs will soon be posted around campus to remind students what is and isn’t recyclable.
The club is also interested in bringing in a guest speaker to talk to the school about the environment. This could include scientists, environmentalists, and green activists. In addition, they are considering reaching out to local representatives to investigate sustainability in Washington.
“All I hope is that we can identify a problem on campus with sustainability that students are interested in,” said Ms. Graveley, Green Club leader and Gunn science teacher. Ms. Graveley will be running the club along with Ms. Hagymasi and Mr. Fladager.
The Green Clubs’ debatably most exciting idea is a dorm competition: which dorm is the most sustainable? The winner will receive a currently unannounced prize. The intention of this is to encourage students to really make an effort to recycle.
When asked about her hopes for Green Club this year, Anna Damosy replied that she “hope(s) that (she) can learn more about our environment, and ways to create a sustainable lifestyle even on a school campus,” Damosy also wishes to achieve some positive change in our school community, especially when it comes to environmental awareness.
As of right now, Green Club is still unsure of which of these ideas will be their main project for this year, but rest assured that it will make a positive impact on our campus and community.
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