The clubs that a school offers are a fundamental pillar of the student community. School clubs provide students a chance to connect themselves with other individuals who share similar interests and passions, or students who are interested to learn about a given topic, and simply need a place to start.
The Environmental Club, led by 11th grader Matthew Lee and Daniel Lee, focuses on reducing the environmental impact Stevenson has, is one of the up and coming clubs. It is quite similar to the Green Team, which is more oriented to be in collaboration with the Student Council. Matthew Lee originally started the club, as he believed that “Stevenson didn't have enough environmental initiatives that students could lead.”
Since starting the club last year, founder Matthew Lee (class of 2026) and co-founder Daniel Lee (class of 2026) have produced numerous projects that aim to improve the environmental impact of Stevenson, as well as educating students on the importance of sustainability. With Mr. Tretter as the faculty sponsor of the club, who is the head of the science department, Lee has been able to headstart projects involving science that aim to teach students and faculty alike about the importance of being environmentally friendly, while also helping them reduce their environmental footprint.
A project the club conducted last year that is planned to continue this year is shoe recycling through the “gotsneakers” organization, which is one of the easiest ways for students to get involved in reducing waste. Through donations from students and teachers, Lee was able to ship off a total of 10 bags of sneakers containing 107 pairs of shoes which would have otherwise been thrown away, allowing them to become repurposed and reused. All in all, this effort would save 241,499 gallons of water and 3,210 pounds of carbon dioxide. This is roughly equal to 12 full pools of water and 169 gallons of gasoline.
As the year progresses, the club will develop a garden to be planted near the temporary science building. This garden will be planted on top of raised plant boxes that will make moving the plants to the new science building when it is completed easy and efficient. The aim for this project is to get students and teachers more involved with the planning and planting process, with the hope that individuals will learn the process it takes for food to go from being planted to being eaten. This would in turn encourage them to reduce their food waste, as they recognize the effort it takes for them to be consuming the food.
Another project Lee and other members of the environmental club are looking into is the use of Fungi, particularly Mycelium, which “has the capability to be the future of sustainable versatility in fields from aerospace to material fabrication.” The use of Mycelium would help efforts regarding cutting down non-recyclable waste, as not only is Mycelium biodegradable, but it can also fit many shapes and forms. In the current Stevenson community, the club hopes to make others aware of this material, hopefully leading to more and more projects using mycelium, such as creating chairs, that can hopefully contribute to cutting down Stevensons environmental impact overall.
To Matthew Lee, one of the biggest issues regarding clubs at Stevenson is participation, but he believes that there are ways to curb this issue, such as potentially offering community service hours to those who participate. This is an incentive that will certainly incite some students to join the efforts, especially those who are 9th graders or sophomores who have a 10 hour community service requirement to fulfill each year. Another possible incentive for more engagement would be the opportunity to lead the club in a few years time. As Matthew is a junior who will graduate in 2026, he hopes that other individuals will “extend this cause and continue” with the initiative.
Additionally, Lee brings up the lack of “recycling schemes” at Stevenson, Lee believes that there are always “more efficient ways to control the waste,” and that “there’s always improvement.” This issue can be mitigated through efforts to educate students about recycling, says Lee. He believes that learning how to recycle effectively can lead to numerous benefits as students grow older, as knowing how to recycle can “save a lot of money” while also giving individuals insight into how to get rid of excess clutter such as “appliances, electronic devices that includes” and other items that “you have a bulk [in] at your home.”
Overall, the club's goal is clear: to establish good habits within individuals in the hope that they can guide smarter environmental practices among students and teachers alike. But without the help of the community, this initiative will not be as effective. Everyone’s contribution is needed in order to become a more environmentally friendly school. For those interested in contributing to the Environmental Club though the garden project or any other project, reach out to either Matthew Lee or Daniel Lee, and they will add you to the email list.
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