Walking through the Science Quad on Thursday, Apr. 25, one would’ve seen students artfully adding to an Earth day mural with brightly colored chalk, while answering trivia questions related to the environment or climate change.
This event was one of many organized by MVHS’s Green Team to celebrate Earth Day, which took place on Apr. 22. Green Team, a club that aims to promote sustainability and awareness of climate change, held multiple activities throughout the week that allowed students to educate themselves on the environment and participate in events related to increasing sustainability.
Junior Addy Kopp, the president of the club, said the goal of the week’s activities was to appreciate nature, but also look forward to changes that can be made to rectify climate change and promote sustainable behaviors.
“I think it’s really important to recognize our natural environment and the fact that we use resources from it every single day,” Kopp said. “Earth Day should bring attention to the fact that individuals, communities, and our political systems should be currently pushing for changes to be made [regarding climate change].”
The club also organized a biking trail for students biking to MVHS on Apr. 26, which consisted of a route through many residential neighborhoods in Mountain View and Los Altos. Donuts were provided to students who participated, as well as smoothies made in blenders powered by bicycles. Although Green Team hosts Walk or Wheel days every month, days when students are encouraged to use carbon-free means of transportation to commute to school, Kopp said this one was special. Many students participated, taking bikes or public transport to school as opposed to cars.
“It celebrates the people who do make those decisions every day, which is really important because we have a large majority of the student body that gets to school sustainably,” Kopp said. “If it inspires a couple more people to walk or bike, then that’s great as well.”
Additional events held throughout the week included a creek cleanup at Adobe Creek on Apr. 27. A video about the importance of composting and waste management, made by the club, was shown to students during the Tutorial period on Apr. 26, Kopp said.
“We should be recognizing our impact on the environment and the fact that we are in a situation where we’ve created a problem and are not doing enough to rectify it,” Kopp said.
