Green Team revamps itself with the start of the school year

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Neil Bai

The Green Team advises students to keep in mind all rules for the Wet and Dry trash system. The Green Team announces its Green Tips every week during school meeting.

by Neil Bai, Copy Editor

The Green Team announced the first of their weekly Green Tips during the school meeting on Monday as a part of an effort to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

The Green Team is a student-based club that aims to increase awareness of environmental issues and promote a more sustainable campus and community. This year, the leadership team consists of President Kshithija Mulam (12), Vice President Satchi Thockchom (11), Public Relations Officer Rachel Cheng (12), Secretary Anika Banga (11), Green Tip Chair Sanjana Marce (12), Earth Week Chair Lindsey Trinh (12) and Picnic Chair Aria Coalson (11).  

“[The Green Team] has a lot of great ideas this year,” Green Committee Co-Chair Dr. Kate Schafer said. They’re going to sponsor some service trips that are related to sustainability and green activities, and they’re going to be part of the coastal cleanup in September.”

During the school meeting, the club advised students to bring their own reusable forks instead of using the plastic ones provided by the school, which are not compostable. The use of plastic forks began when the school began remodelling the kitchen, which included the dish station.

“Using plastic forks every day during lunch isn’t preferable, but we are doing what we can to remind students to correctly place their paper bowls and plates in the wet bin, and their plastic forks in the dry bin,” Lindsey said. “If everyone brought their own reusable forks in for lunch   every day, this would help the school reduce its carbon footprint.”

The Green Team advised students to bring their own fork from home rather than wait in line to obtain one in the lunchroom. The Green Team announced the first of these Green Tips on Monday.
Neil Bai
The Green Team advised students to bring their own fork from home rather than wait in line to obtain one in the lunchroom. The Green Team announced the first of such Green Tips on Monday.

One of the goals the Green Team set for this year is a larger social media presence. In addition to posting student tips on saving resources at school on Facebook, they also created an Instagram account, which they use to publicize green initiatives and connect club officers with the student body more effectively.

“We decided to become more active and accessible in social media this year in order to get the entire Harker community involved, including the middle school,” Lindsey said. “Everyone can do little things in and out of school to help the environment, and social media is the most effective way to publicize our green tips.”

Sophomore Rohit Mullappalli believes that the Green Team has had a positive effect on the student body, but prefers using the plastic forks.

I think the Green Team is doing a good job in the distribution of waste and recycling,” he said. “I prefer the plastic [fork] because it is more convenient to use and now people don’t just throw away the silver forks accidentally.”

Students can check out the Green Team’s bulletin board or follow their Facebook and Instagram @harkergreenteam to learn more about the club and receive updates on activities the Green Team will be hosting.