In April, everything begins to grow yet again. The bright redbud trees start to blossom, the rain rejuvenates the yellowed winter grass, and the lawns become alive with a carpet of violets, dandelions, and clover. The earth springs back to life in April, making it fitting that it is the month many choose to return their focus to the earth.
According to the National Park Service, “Earth Day is a global celebration on April 22 each year encouraging education and stewardship of the planet’s natural resources.”
Earth Day officially takes place on April 22nd, but many organizations take the entire month of April to educate others about protecting the Earth through a more sustainable lifestyle. FC environmental sustainability club sponsor Randy Hein defined living sustainability as,
“Just trying to reduce, trying to live lightly on the earth. And you don’t have to sacrifice your quality of life in order to reduce the amount of resources you use.”
Hein goes on to explain the reason he chooses to try to live more sustainably,
“We all have a big, big wish, that if we all lived a little more lightly, then we would consume less of the earth’s fewer resources that the earth provides us.””
Sustainable living can mean several things, from starting to recycle to buying clothes second-hand or purchasing food locally. At FC, sustainability efforts are mainly led by the school’s Environmental Sustainability Club, a student-run group that does a number of initiatives to promote sustainable living.
“We do the compost. The lunch ladies always sit out their leftovers from lunch, and we take out the compost from that. We also do cleanups every year, so we just go and clean up outside the science rooms,” said environmental sustainability club member Molly Spitznagel. Additionally, the club focuses on sharing knowledge about ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle and educating others about sustainable living.
“They share ideas with each other about different things, different life processes that are more sustainable, like more sustainable ways to purchase clothing, to donate clothing, or about recycling. A part of what they do is to try to educate others on how to do things with less of an environmental impact,” said Hein.
The environmental sustainability club also works to offset the school’s environmental impact, partnering with Tree Plenish to sell and plant saplings in the local area.Tree-Plenish is an organization that works with students around the country to organize community tree planting events. As tree-plenish.org said, “Tree-Plenish is committed to fostering constructive environmental and social change. We strive to educate the students that participate in our tree planting events about sustainability and climate justice.”
While the environmental sustainability club leads the efforts on sustainability at FC, they are not alone in valuing it, with Floyd Central’s landscaping team seeking to make their work around the school as earth-friendly as possible.
“We try to use battery-powered tools when we can. And we recycle bottles and stuff that we find out there and throw them in the dumpster outside of the school that recycles their stuff. We wait until trash cans are full to change them out, so we use fewer bags. And let the building admin know when outdoor lights are left on during the day to conserve energy,” said groundskeeper Andrew Engle.
Though Engle acknowledges the efforts towards sustainability already being made at FC, he does believe there is more that could be done.
“I have always thought it would be a good idea to have a garden somewhere. We have got so much open space. I know we would not mind maintaining that and build a little garden space or expanding the compost pile out there. And I like the idea of having a separate can in the cafeteria for just food scraps,” said Engle.
For students wanting to live more eco-friendly, it can seem like a daunting task, but while there are bigger life-changing ways to live sustainably, there are also small decisions that still carry a big impact.
“Students could consider carpooling to school instead of so many individual cars or have more of an incentive to ride the bus more often. Ensure that recycling paper in classrooms is being done regularly, drink out of a permanent water bottle instead of using single use ones,” said Engle.
Being more mindful of what one consumes is a main focus in the eco-friendly lifestyle, and it is something taken more literally when it comes to eating a more sustainable diet. A diet change is the first thing Hein recommended for students wanting to live more sustainably.
“The first thing is with your diet. You can decide to eat less meat. I’m not a vegan; I am not a vegetarian. But growing meat is costly. It takes more resources, more water, resources that could be directed toward feeding people. So try to eat less; maybe try a smaller portion. Maybe have a meatless Monday or try a meat substitute. And try to eat more locally grown foods. That is the first place I would start with,” said Hein.
While the impact one person has on the environment can seem minute, for those putting in the effort to live sustainably, it is substantial.
“A lot of people tend to just push it aside, thinking that it’s not that important. Like, oh, I’m just one person. But just one person does have a huge impact,” said Spitznagel.