meenatree
Registered: May 2008
City/Town/Province: Cincinnati
Posts: 3
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“EAW?”
“What in the name of Al Gore is that?”
EAW: Environmental Awareness Week. This was Sycamore High School Environmental Club’s first endeavor of the year. Living in a socially conservative suburb, it is hard to get people interested in change; but change is what our members live for. The mission was to raise awareness within our student body on how lead a greener life. So we planned a week long campaign for the environment. Bright and early Monday morning we aired our video announcement which announced our campaign in the form of a rap: “I like big trees and I cannot lie!” We ran an article in the school newspaper on ways to stay green, had daily morning announcements, and posted daunting facts in the Commons, however most of our campaigning took place during lunch. We got everyone in a “tree-hugging” mood by playing with environmentalist songs like, “Here Comes the Sun” to the more recent, “Walk It Out.” We really wanted all of the students to feel included in the event so we handed out stickers to everyone we saw and had them sign a banner with an example of something green that they had done that day. The banner quickly filled up with “carpooled!” and “recycled my container that had my organically grown strawberries in it.” Then we held class competitions over the loudspeaker, one of which was to make your best endangered species noise. People who were formerly apathetic towards environmental issues really responded to our campaign and were enthusiastic when they participated in our green activities. There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing someone realize the importance of the environment and how big a difference one person can make. The event concluded on Friday which was the Styrofoam Tray Boycott. We placed paper trays right next to the Styrofoam trays with a warning sign on the ills of Styrofoam. People readily grabbed a paper plate; every person made a difference. In total, we reduced our normal waste output that day by seventy pounds! By the end of the week we had raised a total of $1,200 which we put towards saving fifteen acres of the Cloud Forest in Ecuador. As a fundraiser EAW turned out to be very successful but what is more immediately rewarding is the observed change in student mentality. The environment is now a common topic in conversation. People take the bus when they can and recycle their papers. They don’t take a Styrofoam tray and buy locally bought foods from the cafeteria. They recycle their cell phones, and most importantly, they try really hard to make a difference. That’s the mindset we set out to instill: You. Can. Save. The world.
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