Thinking Green:

NHS Ecology Has Started A New Year With Fresh Ideas

By Laurie Borst

Four weeks into the new school year and the Ecology Club at Newtown High School is already busy. Members of the club participated in an ocean cleanup at Calf Pasture Beach on Long Island Sound in Norwalk on September 15.

During the club’s second meeting of the year on September 18, students built and painted birdhouses and bird feeders. The students will take the feeders home; the birdhouses will be placed around the high school property.

Club members will be observing the houses to see which species of birds visit and which move in and lay eggs. The club will be sending its data to Cornell University, which is doing a study on birds. Participation in the study will continue throughout the year.

More than 20 new members have joined the club this year, according to Karolyn Baumgartner, science teacher and club advisor. Jack Blossom, library/media specialist, also advises the club.

The new members join longtime members Lindsey Jones, founders Kelly Lindell and Marleigh Sullivan, and treasurer Tori Mead. These young ladies, all seniors, have been involved in the ecology club since their freshman year.

One area the club will focus on this year is educating people on environmental issues. Tori and Marleigh spoke to the high school faculty about recycling in the classroom. Paper is easy to collect and recycle, but it cannot be recycled if it is contaminated with other items, especially food.

Four freshman — Lauren Berko, Jen Smith, Brenna Calderara, and Jane Ellen Anderson — have set up a display case by the library covering facts on several areas, including oceans and fish, sky and clouds, and recycling. An ecology Tip of the Day will be posted outside of the library, too.

The students and their advisors all agree that improving recycling at the high school is of utmost importance, including creating a better situation in the cafeteria. They are planning fundraising events to purchase a recycling station in the cafeteria and to provide individual rooms with recycle bins for paper.

Katie Serock, a senior who attended an environmental studies camp over the summer and is taking AP environmental science this year, will be heading up the recycling initiative as her senior project. She will determine things like where to put bins, costs involved, and other elements.

“We plan on working with the kitchen staff and greenery people to set up a compost bin,” Ms Baumgartner said.

“We are trying to change the culture, not just from the top down but from within,” added Mr Blossom. “Funding for a composter is a humble start but it’s something. The kitchen staff will be composting scraps from food preparation.”

The club members plan to participate in Kids Day America again and to hold an Earth Day Fair. There has been some talk of a Denim Drive, collecting old denim items which are then converted into green insulation used by Habitat For Humanity. And, of course, there is raising money for environmental causes.

Ms Baumgartner said she would like to take the students on field trips, but the constraints on time in an after-school club format makes it difficult.

There has been some interest expressed by new members in gardening at the school, and improving ecoliteracy, understanding “buy local.”

Mr Blossom said the students have expressed an interest in green construction in the new addition at the high school. Members have been learning about LEED Certification, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, a program of environmentally sustainable construction introduced by the US Green Building Council.