Every day, we walk through the halls without noticing anything we pass. However, even the most commonly seen objects have a story. Recycling bins in each classroom. Plants throughout the school. The “growing green” posters that popped up seemingly overnight. All of these things are the work of the Environmental Awareness Club. The club is aimed at students interested in environmental sustainability, and tailors it to KHS. They do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, but club sponsor Mandy Melton said their smaller impacts are leading to long-term change.
Melton, science teacher, is not the first to create this type of club. She said there have been multiple forms of eco-awareness groups for years, but the club Melton sponsors stemmed from the environmental sustainability class that she teaches. Involvement in this type of activity has fluctuated over time based on student interest, but Melton said that they have been very active for the past few years.
“Anytime someone’s been interested in [starting] a similar club, they tend to come talk to me,” Melton said. “We’ve been really lucky the last couple of years with Alina [Garcia, senior] and the rest of the gang that have taken over in the leadership, so we’re beginning to be more and more active.”
The original environmental awareness group was the first to implement school wide recycling, and today’s members are still carrying on their sustainability efforts. Jenna Braun, junior and one of the club leaders, joined her freshman year. During her three years as a member, Braun said the club has made many positive impacts around the school, such as bringing recycling back to KHS.
“During COVID, they took [away]all the recycling bins,” Braun said. “[Later] we got to move some of those back out. People are finally recycling again, and it’s really exciting.”
When Braun joined the Environmental Awareness Club, she said it was a disorganized mess. Since all of the seniors in charge of the club graduated, Melton offered Braun a leadership position. From that point on, Braun said she and her co-leader Garcia have worked hard to improve the club as much as possible.
“Me and [Alina] decided to [take it] and build it from the ground up,” Braun said. “Last year was our first year as leaders, and this year we have more of [a feel for it].”
The aforementioned “growing green” posters outside of classroom doors are part of a campaign started by the Environmental Awareness Club. According to Garcia, it is the club’s way of motivating classes to be more environmentally friendly, and each level represents how sustainable those classes have been.
“Every so often we send out a questionnaire that has a list of things you can do that are beneficial for [the environment], and based on those questions, you get a point ranking [on the poster],” Garcia said. “Teachers have been really loving it.”
The Environmental Awareness Club is open to everyone, and is always looking for new members. Melton said students do not have to attend every single week, so they can come whenever they are available. This year, the club is planning on doing projects such as making beeswax lip balm and planning events for Earth Day.
“We are a very friendly group, and so we’d love for kiddos to come out anytime that they can,” Melton said. “We do a lot of service activities on the weekends; we’d love to have people pop out.”
