Written by: Tijana Paunovic
Edited by: Sabreena Ahmad
As the school began its gradual transition from March to April, Knights 4 Justice felt inspired to dedicate their club activities to involving the school in various eco-conscious activities to celebrate Earth Month.
Commemorated throughout April and culminating on April 22nd, with ‘Earth Day,’ Earth Month is recognized as a time to promote environmental awareness and take various calls to action regarding environmental care. Various prominent environmental organizations, such as National Geographic and the Earth Day Network, provide resources on actions one can take to live more sustainably to celebrate the occasion.
Knights 4 Justice took on similar roles and committed to providing the school with various forms of action and educational resources.
For every week of April, two representatives of K4J were brought onto the morning announcements to engage students in a school-wide trivia game, with questions based around facts about the environment, as well as influential celebrations and figures related to eco-activism. The activity was meant to raise awareness on environmental topics and spark interest and conversation around such matters. Such topics discussed as part of the game were sustainable consumerism, recycling, and the causes of climate change.
On Earth Day, various students were seen around school grounds in the latter half of the day with gloves and garbage bags, participating in K4J’s “Earth Day Clean Up.” Students met in the chapel to pick up materials needed to aid in their clean-up, and worked together to help cleanse the school’s greenery of garbage caught in tree branches, on the fields, and lining the perimeter of the building. Various clubs signed up to participate in the clean-up, including Xavier Times.
To mark the end of Earth Month, K4J organized one final celebration event for May 9th, a clothing exchange that took place after school within the gymnasium. Students were encouraged to bring in unwanted shirts, pants, shoes, bags and other accessories and exchange articles of clothing with others. Such an activity was meant to promote sustainable consumerism practices within the school community.
Though Earth Month serves as an amazing opportunity to engage in productive discussions and action about the environment, we are called to continue serving the planet in this manner every month of every year. The work toward an eco-friendly community does not end with April 30th, and the activities hosted to promote such awareness should be carried out regularly to ensure long-term sustainability and a healthy future.