Earth Club has been very active this year, members have been doing things such as recycling for home football games and organizing voter registration rallies.
Most recently, Earth Club is expanding their reach to do park cleanups, benefitting the local community as a whole, most recently a cleanup at Broemmelsiek Park.
Earth club member and Broemmelsiek recycling cleanup participant Zachary Jose (12) believes it important to do these cleanups.
“I think it’s important that we do these cleanups, because mainly people, unfortunately in this world are kind of negligent about where they need to put trash and may say ‘Oh, I have nowhere else to put it,’ so it might as well be us doing it,'” Jose said.
Jose thinks that the cleanliness of the parks could either be a positive indicator or an omen of things to come.
“This could be a reminder of what could be taken from us if we continue to litter and what could ruin that area, and I think that having clean parks also makes this area more prosperous, as people could interpret it as a ‘green area’ and encourage people to live here,” Jose said.
Jose explains why connecting with nature is important during these activities.
“Building your connection with nature and recycling is important because it’s important to remember where all life came from basically, you and me, everything comes from nature,” Jose said.
Earth Club vice president Leah Dudley (11) details why it’s especially important to do these types of cleanups in the suburban area we live in.
“Green spaces in urban areas are just as important as green spaces in rural areas,” Dudley said. “When we think of nature and wildlife, we most often think of trees and the animals we see, but wildlife includes the weeds that grow in between sidewalks, the bugs that live in hollow stems, and the bacteria and fungus in soil.”
Dudley feels that the benefits of cleaning up at parks is mutual between both the environment and the people cleaning it.
“Going into nature, especially at these cleanups, makes me feel more connected to, compassionate for, and appreciative of nature, which serves as a positive motivator for creating change and caring for our Earth,” Dudley said.
