Teens Turning Green

The Redwood Bark

Environmental club works to make campus greener

By Izzy Bronstein

December, 2008

The Environmental Action Club is currently exploring the option of switching out the whiteboard pens that are used by most teachers for a recyclable and refillable alternative as part of an environmental program called The Healthy Schools Initiative.

The program, which started at The Branson School, aims to “green” four different sectors of school life, including classroom materials, school grounds, cleaning products and the cafeteria’s food packaging. 
Redwood already uses the cleaning supplies specified by The Healthy Schools Initiative, and has reduced its water use by putting in Astroturf on the football and on the varsity baseball field. The Environmental Action Club has chosen to focus primarily classroom materials and the cafeteria, according to president of the Environmental Action Club, junior Elli Pearson.
“We are focusing on the Expo pens right now, and if we are successful we will move on to the cafeteria,” Pearson said.
The club is currently putting together a cost analysis about the price of the new whiteboard pen alternative, called AusPens, by going to all the departments to find out how much they spend on pens per year, and comparing it to the price of the AusPens.
One of the main problems with the Expo pens, according to Pearson, is that they are cannot be recycled.
“Every Expo pen that is thrown away ends up in a landfill somewhere, but the AusPens are recyclable and refillable,” Pearson said.
The Healthy Schools Initiative is part of the Search for the Cause organization, which also operates Teens for Safe Cosmetics. Pearson and junior Lauren Faccinto, the club’s co-vice president, became involved with The Healthy Schools Initiative after learning about the group at a Teens for Safe Cosmetics summit last year. 
 Pearson and Faccinto then worked on a presentation with other high school students about The Healthy Schools Initiative, which they later presented to state assemblymen including Jared Huffman.
According to Pearson, the group is also hoping to work on the food sector of The Healthy Schools Initiative, which would consist of removing the cafeteria’s paper meal trays, and replacing the plastic utensils with biodegradable utensils made from potato starch. 
According to Environmental Action Club adviser and science teacher Joe Stewart, the Healthy Schools Initiative is a good way for students and teachers to become involved in environmentalism.
“It is something that can be done at a grassroots level that students can get involved in, and doesn’t require a major change in the district,” Stewart said.