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Students seeing green at Barron High School
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By:Student Intern Christy Rukamp
| 02/23/2007 |
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With talk about how Barron school administration wants to improve energy efficiency around the district-whether it's installing more wood boilers or plugging into a wind turbine consortium-it's important to see how conservation efforts sit with one major demographic in the academic world: students.
Walking through the halls, you may see students tossing their now empty water bottle into a recycling bin. Pop into a classroom and you'll see "turn off the lights!" signs posted near the door. These items are a result of the Barron High School student body's initiative to creating a greener school-that is, one that is more environmentally friendly and efficient.
The recycling bins are mainly the result of the efforts of David Seis, Barron High School biology teacher and, more recently, the advisor of BHS's Conservation Club. Beginning with a small group of biology students in 2005, Conservation Club has now expanded its roster and program of activities.
Conservation Club is an opportunity for high school students to promote stewardship of the land. Sponsoring many activities throughout the year, Conservation Club is designed to develop environmental awareness and appreciation in the high school.
"Conservation Club is very actively involved in the school and community throughout the year," J.P. Shultz, a junior at BHS, said. "We are striving to see large improvements as a result of small changes, for example providing recycling bins in school and posting reminders to turn off the lights when students or teachers leave a classroom."
The list of projects is long. In the past, members have assisted in end-of-the-season clean-up at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary (a wildlife sanctuary and learning center located in Sarona, Wis.), counted cranes as part of a larger research project, sponsored a "Ride Your Bike To School" Day, reinitiated a recycling project, attended the Governor's Conference on the Environment and provided outdoor recreational activities, like ice fishing and snow shoeing.
New this year, Conservation Club members are collecting used cell phones and ink cartridges as a fundraiser. Working with a larger organization, Conservation Club is able to recycle these items, receiving monetary compensation for their efforts. Lack of funding has been a major issue for this organization, and this project will hopefully change that.
President Hannah Haugesteun and Vice President Nette Goodlett both spoke of the importance of this fundraiser, saying that funding is necessary for the development of the club.
"We like to do fun things, as well," Goodlett said. "Being able to purchase prizes for ice fishing contests and hiking passes will encourage more students to join Conservation Club."
And more students are joining. Since beginning two years ago, membership has increased to include 20 actively involved members.
Barron County conservationist Dale Hanson has also seen the change.
"Youth are becoming much more aware of the environmental impact we have on the world," he said. "This is very important, as these young people are becoming of voting age. As adults, it will be their responsibility to elect politicians who will help the environment."
He went on to explain the importance of environmental literacy, saying that the nation has lost half of its topsoil since farming began in America, some 150 years ago.
Barron High School sophomores Amy Kringle and Kassie Church are trying to do something about this. As freshmen, they completed a two-year study on the effects of buffer zones on rivers and streams.
The project, part of their National Agriscience Fair display, tested different buffers (barriers to prevent runoff from fields into streams) to determine which worked best.
"It was really great discovering important information that would affect our community," Kringle said. "It shows that youth are able to create solutions that are valuable to everyone. The youth initiative is one of the greatest pushes for the creation of greener schools."
As people become more and more concerned with the state of our ecosystem, Barron High School youth are stepping up to the challenge, creating necessary solutions to an increasingly dangerous problem. As students, environmentalists and voters, Barron High School's student body is rapidly becoming an important voice in the saving of our environment.
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©Barron News Shield 2009
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