Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, and… Green?

Leadership’s Environmental Spirit Week strayed from traditional spirit themes meant to justify wearing unconventional costumes to school. Instead of raising excitement for an upcoming school dance, the Environmental Spirit Week highlighted Earth Day (April 22) and promoted activities to help students live greener. “We did an Environmental Spirit Week last year and it was super fun, so we wanted to do it again this year. It was also the week leading up to Earth Day, so we wanted to celebrate,” junior Hadley Peterson, head of Leadership’s Environmental Commission, said. 

Leadership’s Environmental Commission aims to educate students on the ways that they can positively impact the planet: “We try to spread environmental awareness through social media and different events like information sessions and documentary showings. We also have campus cleanups and make sure we always clean up after our events,” Peterson said. 

Though the Environmental Spirit Week is only one example of the many ways Leadership has advocated for sustainability throughout campus, it brought special attention to easy ways students can do their part to live greener. The spirit week included activities such as plastic bottle planting, a recycle smart information session, and treats in exchange for proof of carpooling, walking, or biking to school. “Leadership focused on showing students realistic solutions to try to combat climate change. I think practical solutions are extremely important, because not everyone can just go vegetarian, but almost everyone can carpool more and be more mindful of recycling. And altogether, the impact of a ton of people implementing very small changes is huge,” Peterson said.  

In the same vein, many students take part in initiatives to promote sustainability as climate change’s negative consequences continue to grow. Miramonte has over five clubs advocating for environmental preservation including the Small Footprints, Seas the Day, and Environmental Solutions clubs. “In Small Footprints, we work on bringing easy-to-implement daily tasks that can help make an impact on the environment. A lot of students don’t realize how much of a positive impact they can make by just making simple changes such as turning cars off in the morning while waiting for school,” junior Claire O’Connor, co-founder of Small Footprints, said

“Primarily, things that are easy for everyone to change to be a little greener– more sustainable– would be things like actively trying to reduce the amount of plastic you’re using, reducing the amount of non-reusables,” Jyllian Smith, AP Environmental Science teacher, said. “We live on this earth that has a finite amount of resources, and if we are using our resources beyond the capacity that earth can replenish them, then eventually we could run out of those resources,” Smith said.

Sustainability is crucial to maintaining a green campus and, ultimately, is the key to the future. From an Environmental Spirit Week to prioritizing campus clean-ups, Miramonte bleeds green–and not just in spirit.