The Sustainability Council will hold several sustainability-focused events to celebrate Earth Week April 22-26. These include advisory activities, the Sustainable Fashion Show April 25 and an intersectionality discussion, according to Co-Director of Earth Week Iona Sweidan (’25).
Sweidan said the council is made up of several groups who have all been collaborating recently to work on preparation for Earth Week.
“As a council we do so much work, but the High School doesn’t really get to know much of it,” Sweidan said. “The hard effort that the council has put in has brought many events and excitement to the school regarding our world and environment.”
Likewise, Conrad Cestar (’27) said he is looking forward to Earth Week, and he hopes to develop his understanding of climate change.
“I want to know more about all these ways to improve the earth because I know I’m interested in climate change and want to make a difference by engaging with others in school,” Cestar said. “I’m really excited to see how I can show sustainable options and see how my efforts can improve the environment.”
Cestar said he is “looking forward to engaging with the community to actually then engage with our world.”
Sweidan said SusCo’s first Earth Week event was a High School assembly on April 16, where environmental artist Louis Masai presented his work and experience. Sweidan said she hoped his speech motivated people “to pursue sustainability and learn more about different ways of reaching a more sustainable world.”
Co-Director of Earth Week Milli Mathur (’24) said the speaker’s message aligned with the council’s goals for Earth Week.
“The Sustainability Council’s goal is to spread awareness about sustainability, just like Louis Masai said at our speaker’s event ‘to give a voice to the voiceless,’” Mathur said. “That really describes what we’ve been doing.”
Furthermore, Sweidan said the council has released a new energy dashboard in the school which shows real-time statistics on how much energy the school is using.
“You can see how much of an impact the solar panels have in terms of carbon and energy, which is extremely helpful for our understanding of the community’s energy use,” Sweidan said.
SusCo members have planned a clothing swap, book swap and library book display for the community to participate in throughout the week, in addition to the activities scheduled for advisory.
Other events planned include an intersectionality discussion with the Social Justice Council April 24 at lunch, as well as SusCo’s annual Sustainable Fashion Show April 25 after school in the School Center.
Mathur said during Earth Week, the school community will hear from people across many different fields regarding environmental issues and sustainability.
“We’re hoping to use this [the events] to really hear the opinions and voices of everyone in the school about things to act on when it comes to making the school more sustainable,” Mathur said.
Sweidan said she is looking forward to seeing the impact that Earth Week has on the school community next week.
“It’s been such a joy to work on this project,” Sweidan said. “I’m so excited to see it materialized next week and see the whole school interacting.”
