There is no doubt that humans have impacted the environment in numerous ways. From using high levels of fossil fuels through transportation to simply throwing trash on the ground, humans are polluting the earth daily. However, it is crucial to be mindful that there is only one planet. There is no plan B.
The Modern Environmental Movement took place from 1960 to 1990 and was the first time Americans began recognizing the impacts of their actions on the planet. During this time, the United States passed multiple acts towards the protection of our environment. These include the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act. This movement inspired Earth Day in 1970, an annual event celebrated on April 22. Every year, EARTHDAY.ORG coordinates a wide range of events to celebrate and promote the protection of the earth.
Students of Richard Hampson’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science classes participated in a school trash pickup this Earth Day. The 2023-2024 school year is Hampson’s first year at Pennridge, and he is already striving to make a difference. He has four Advanced Placement Environmental Science classes and took each of his classes outside to pick up trash around the school. Hampson mentioned how the trash his students picked up was “blind pickup,” explaining, “It’s one of those things where you become numb to the trash that you see. So, we’re just trying to have a cleaner building all around.” Students used trash grabbers as well as gloves to collect trash. He took students to the pond, the water basin, the stadium, and the trail that circles the school. Among his four classes, they filled 21 eight-gallon bags with trash. Hampson does what he can to do his small part in promoting sustainable practices. When asked about his actions, he stated, “I have made a fully sustainable homestead down even to rainwater harvesting, composting, zero waste. I only have one trash bag per week due to recycling.”
Pennridge offers environmental science classes at the AP level as well as the academic level. These classes aim to not only study the environment but also to inform students on how they can save the environment. When asked what the most important thing taught in his classes, Hampson responded with, “Applicability. Like how you play a role in it and how each individual thing will impact you and will affect you directly or indirectly.” In addition to these science classes, Pennridge also has an environmental club. The advisor of the club, Kimberly Reese, a mathematics teacher at Pennridge, is a huge advocate for environmental protection. She says, “America is one of the more wasteful countries in the world, and what we’re doing now isn’t going to affect my life and my lifetime, but it’s going to affect you and your kids, and I think it’s something you should be thinking about.” The club has worked on renovating the courtyards which is still a work in progress. They have spent time re-landscaping and adding tables where students can work. Reese hopes that classes will utilize the courtyards more often.
Pennridge is taking steps to preserve and protect the environment. To succeed, everyone must do their part, no matter how big or small. Conserving water, choosing sustainable products, and avoiding pesticides are just a few ways to begin. If practices don’t change, we are going to destroy the only home we have.
Sources:
https://www.earthday.org/history/
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/earthday.html
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/earthday.html
