As the weather starts to clear and the sun begins to shine, it’s a good time to celebrate the little things we can do to take care of our planet. Earth Day, April 22, originally called Arbor Day, first started as a celebration for communities to come together to plant and preserve trees, but it has evolved into a global movement. Upper School students do their part to keep its momentum alive.
“I was interested in starting a project to help my environment, so Ms. Laura Day, our director of the Institute of Social Impact, put me in contact with Ms. Rodgers, director of the Fourcast and helped me set up a unique newspaper recycling project that benefits animals,” Freshmen Athena Wen said.
Wen has stationed a newspaper collection box outside the Upper School Registrar’s office to collect unused newspapers. She donates them to Texas Parrot Rescue, a nonprofit organization. There, volunteers line the bird and guinea pig cages with newspaper to ensure a healthy habitat for the animals.
“It’s tremendously helpful when people can make a small habit adjustment and put newspapers in a designated spot instead of just leaving them on the tables or throwing them in the trash,” Wen said.
In Hockaday’s Environmental Chemistry class, students also champion efforts to find solutions to protect the environment as an integral part of their curriculum.
“It’s amazing how common environmental issues are even in our neighborhood,” Sophomore Naomi Odogwu said. “We visited the Wesley Rankin Community Center in West Dallas where we tested air quality using indices such as AQI (Air Quality Index), PM10 (Particulate Matter 10 microns) and HCHO (formaldehyde, an important carcinogen in inhaled air), and we’ve taken on the task of designing a solution to help purify the air in that vicinity.”
Hockaday even became home to a hive of Italian honeybees this year, incorporating education for all divisions about the role of these avid pollinators in promoting biodiversity on campus.
“The bees are thriving,” Day said. “I think it’s because we have so many native plants newly planted on campus and Mrs. Crowley is working with students to get a Blackland Prairie area behind the softball field.?The bees have already created 50 pounds of honey and will have another box added because they are making so much honey.”
This year, the Dallas based non-profit, EarthX will host an unprecedented Congress of Conferences at the Hilton Anatole Hotel on April 22-26 with registration open to the public.?The event will bring together thousands of people to collaborate on actionable advocacy and celebrate the theme, “Planet over Plastics,” in honor of Earth Day.
Odogwu said Earth Day is important to her because it reminds her of how vital it is to justly treat our environment.
“I think Earth Day is such an important reminder of how we should be taking care of our planet and I know our Hockaday community has helped support that tremendously,” Odogwu said.
(Source: EarthX.org)
