Battlefield is home to many clubs that give back to the community: Key Club, National Honor Society, Humane Society, STAR Club, Acts of Random Kindness Club, and more. One club though, that physically gives back to the community, is the Environmental Club.

Sponsored by Mrs. Carney, an AP Environmental Science and Biology teacher at Battlefield, the Environmental Club meets twice a month to recycle materials collected from the classroom bins or to listen to a guest speaker. When talking about the club, senior President Laila Kennedy says, “I was drawn to Environmental Club my freshman year because I have always been very passionate about sustainability and environmentalism, and I was intrigued by the fact that there was a service club dedicated to helping in that way.” The highlights of the Environmental Club are the stream clean-ups and the outdoor activities. The club commits their time to going and cleaning up any trash or harmful materials found in the streams back behind Battlefield.  “It’s such a tangible way to get involved,” Kennedy says. “Most of us in the club are very outdoorsy people who are really interested in nature.” The Environmental Club is also currently planning for Earth Week, which is their biggest week of the year considering it is an opportunity to get the whole school involved in going green.

Hartley Hall, a senior and the Vice President of Environmental Club says, “I wanted to join Environmental Club because I was in APES (AP Environmental Science) and I wanted to take the things I learned and apply them to our school.” A big part of the club is being in charge of the school’s recycling. Hall says, “We are the individuals that are solely responsible for all of recycling in the school. Our bins have saved so much material from ending up in landfills.” Environmental Club is planning a school-wide clean up for this upcoming Earth Day, which will involve a competition on decorating recycling bins. Whoever’s bin in the most noticeable wins.

Recently, the club went and presented an activity for children at the STEAM Fair this year. At the event, the club created what they called “Candy Mining.” They took pieces of candy and put them in a bin of sand. They then asked the children to “mine” for the candy using spoons. The children then learned that they could not get to the candy without hurting the habitat on top – the sand. This led them into a lesson that the club taught on other ways to use energy such as wind or solar energy, which also prevents wildlife loss.

Since Carney is an APES teacher, many of her students like to get involved in Environmental Club. Junior Amber Mahmood says “Mrs. Carney requires an ‘action item’ once a quarter, an activity where you take action on something in the environment. Recycling seemed like an easy option, so I did it once and it was fun. I then decided to join the club. The officers and sponsors are very nice, and even though it is a small club it’s important because we are making a difference.” Mahmood is also a member of Key Club at Battlefield.

Overall, Environmental Club continues to find ways to give back to Battlefield’s community. “Anyone who is potentially interested in joining Environmental Club should most definitely come check it out,” Kennedy says. “It’s open for anyone to join at any point in the year, and it’s so much fun. You don’t have to be an upperclassmen or an APES student either. The club is for anyone interested in getting involved and trying to make the community better.” Be on the lookout for Environmental Club’s upcoming projects and Earth Day events!