Walking into Room 252 the day of the first Green Team meeting of the year there was a sign-up sheet that went around the room and it was an impressive turn out. A PowerPoint presentation was up on the screen and Ms. Hill, the club’s sponsor, was giving a pitch for future green team projects.
She explained that the purpose of Green Team was to learn more about the environment and environmental issues and educate others about them, as well as to improve the efficiency of this school.
Last year, the Green Team’s biggest project was starting a school garden that produced a variety of vegetables and herbs that have been used in the foods classes at our school. They even made the local news. Back then, the entire Green Team participated in the cultivation and harvesting of the garden. This year, Ms. Hill has something different in mind.
She split up the room into three groups: Garden, Energy and Other, now christened “Sustainability.” The goal is for every student to find his/her “niche” in the club so that their talents and interests may be useful and so that people can stay interested in the work they are doing. The Garden group will be taking care of the community crop this year, continuing, and hopefully improving, the success of the oasis that they created.
Energy has the responsibility of improving the efficiency of the school. Hopefully reducing the amount of unnecessary energy used.
Sustainability or “Other” gets everything else. That includes making a commercial to publicize the club and improve energy awareness around the school. Allie Wood and Kayswanna McCoy offered their services and they hope that it will be a good commercial. If it’s at all like any of Wood’s other productions, it won’t disappoint. The cafeteria has also been targeted as an area in dire need of some recycling. Maybe getting rid of all that Styrofoam is an option? Things like a dumpster dive and a water audit have been successful before and they are planning on doing it again.
A Facebook group has been created under the name “Bryan Station High School Green Team.” It is an open group, so anyone can join and receive information about the club, join meetings and participate in events. Ms. Hill is the administrator, but you will be receiving e-mails from Arion Wright, a senior who has taken it upon herself to be the club’s secretary.
Jeremy Davis and Cory Banta, two Green Team enthusiasts with a passion for photography, decided to be the clubs historians. They will be documenting the clubs activities and hopefully get some good pictures as well.
There is no club president or vice president, however, each “club within the club” will elected a chairperson to be in charge, have the strongest voice and facilitate discussions.
It looks like the Green Team will be busy this year, but they know that it is for the greater good and welcome the challenge with a smile on their faces.