Beginning April 22, NC’s environmental awareness club, EcoWarriors, hosted an Earth Day-inspired spirit week for all students to participate in. Since 1970, people worldwide have celebrated Earth Day in hopes of educating citizens about environmental consciousness, honoring the natural elements of Earth and bringing environmentalists together. EcoWarriors used their spirit week activities as a leeway to encourage students to donate to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) — a non-profit organization tackling climate change, pollution and other environmental concerns through community-funded research.
Throughout the environmentally-inspired spirit week, students dressed up according to daily themes that incorporated numerous environmental concepts. Monday, EcoWarriors wore green to celebrate the official Earth Day. Tuesday, scholars entered school in thrifted outfits to defy the use of fast fashion, which commonly results in environmental destruction. Wednesday, students wore floral outfits, representing their love for Earth’s natural beauties. To elaborate on this theme, EcoWarriors met in the courtyard for an Earth Day-inspired scavenger hunt paired with an eco-friendly campus clean-up after school on Wednesday.
“We were inspired to create an Earth Day spirit week in order to celebrate Earth, spread awareness about how certain things affect the Earth and allow other people to learn about our club. We can all make a difference whether that comes in the form of picking up trash or even just turning the light off when we leave a room. Our campus clean-up theme this year was ‘Plastics vs. Planet.’ We pick up plastics and trash in various areas around the school like the football bleachers and in bushes,” magnet junior and EcoWarriors President Isabel O’Connell said.
Thursday, NC’s classes split up to wear grade-specific earth-toned colors. Freshmen entered school in bright yellows, symbolizing the importance of sunlight. Sophomores wore brown tones, representing Earth’s nutrient-dense soils. Juniors styled themselves in pasty white to resemble air, gas and Earth’s protective atmosphere. Last but not least, seniors dressed in deep blues, which mirrored Earth’s vast oceans and seas.
To end the week off with a laugh, EcoWarriors encouraged students to wear outfits inspired by characters from the environmentally aware movie and book, “The Lorax”, for Friday’s theme. To further commemorate their efforts towards environmental awareness across NC, club members and newcomers met after school to watch The Lorax movie in their costume attire.
Around NC, numerous clubs prepare for the end of the cloudy spring season and the entrance of bright summer days through varied environmental projects; NC’s gardening club Greenhouse Gang will host a plant sale beginning May 8, and EcoWarriors will continue hosting club meetings after school to promote environmental consciousness.
“Everyone has an impact on the environment and we can all make environmentally conscious decisions such as choosing not to litter, stepping away from single-use plastic, picking up the pieces of trash that we see outside and more. All of these actions help make the world a greener place and we can all do that one step at a time. We [EcoWarriors Club] meet on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in room 220. Any is welcome to join,” magnet junior and EcoWarriors Vice President Riley Kennard said.
