On Sept. 8 and 9, The Environmental Club held a school supplies drive in the drop-off/pick up loop at Fenton High. The drive was an opportunity for students to pick up or donate their gently used or new school supplies such as paper, pencils, binders and folders.

“One of the Environmental Club’s missions is to help reduce waste and to encourage people to reuse items for as long as possible,” senior Joe Henley said. “The drive allowed people to not only donate their old supplies, but it also helped people that needed supplies. This helps create a circular economy within our community, where people can consume and discard their goods in a sustainable way.”

Schools throughout Michigan are working to become a Michigan Green School. To do this, schools must create a more eco-friendly, sustainable environment. To become a certified Green School, a school is required to take part in a minimum of two activities in the four categories given: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle, Energy, Environmental Protection and Miscellaneous.

“We are very close to meeting the requirements,” senior Emilia Owocki said. “We have a list of activities that we need to complete in order to get certified. We must complete 10 total activities but if you do more than 10, there are higher certification levels. If you achieve 15 points in the school year you become an Emerald School and for the highest award, you have to have 20 points and it is the Evergreen award.” 

The Environmental Club was created in June of 2019 and meets about once every month. Meetings are used to talk with the whole club about setting goals and how they plan to get there.

“I wanted to be a part of something that would help decrease waste and bring awareness to helping the earth,” senior Lily Tiong said. “I got involved when all of the plastic pollution started to gain media coverage. Emilia Owocki is the one that created the club and she is one of my closest friends and she offered for me to help her.”

With the current COVID-19 restrictions, the Environmental Club implemented safety/pandemic guidelines to keep the volunteers and donors safe.

“While there wasn’t an exorbitant amount of resources, we made sure we were staying safe,” senior Joe Henley said. “We limited the number of people that volunteered and the people who did help out had to wear a mask; we also made sure to keep a safe distance from each other. It also helped that we had the drive outside and if people were coming to get supplies we had hand sanitizer available for them.”

To join the club, contact Emilia Owocki, Lily Tiong, Bri Headley, Joe Henley or the club administrator, science teacher Kimberly Wilhite. To stay updated on events held by the club, join the club’s Remind or Google Classroom by contacting one of the people listed above.