This year the Environmental Club is promoting environmental awareness by taking action within the school and by organizing school wide events, such as America Recycles Day.

The club kicked off the school year by replanting the ozone gardens located outside the front entrance and cafeteria entrance of the high school. The purpose of the gardens is to show the effects of ozone, a harmful gas, on plants. Each garden has about five to seven plants and an information sign describing the ozone garden project. By charting and observing the plants’ leaves, the Environmental Club can track the damage caused by ground-level ozone.

Ozone is not only harmful to plants but to humans also. For people with asthma, breathing in these pollutants can be detrimental to their health. Extensive exposure to ozone can also cause chest pain, coughing, nausea, and in extreme cases permanent lung damage. As the effects of high ozone layers can lead to various health risks, the Environmental Club has assumed the responsibility of informing the school of the weekly ozone concentrations. The students and faculty can check the level of ozone by looking at the ozone flag hanging outside the front balcony of the high school. The color of the flag indicates the current ozone levels in the area. For instance the green flag represents low ozone levels and the red flag represents high ozone levels.

The Environmental Club is also preparing for America Recycles Day on November 15. The club members are celebrating this event by selling and distributing “environmental” candy grams. From November 11-13 in the lunchroom, candy grams will be on sale for $2.00 and distributed on November 15th.

“Our main goal this year is to get as many students involved as possible,” states Suzannah Pazdan, the Environmental Club President. In order to achieve this goal, the club will focus on including the other divisions in events and fundraisers. “This year is going to be about taking action,” adds Suzannah, “and I am excited to see how the upcoming months will unravel.”