The Eco Reps hosted a day of workshops to unite the BB&N community in the fight against climate change
Every year during the week of Earth day, BB&N’s Eco Reps initiate a day of workshops to promote environmentalism and sustainability in the BB&N community. The Eco Bash occurred on April 20th and hosted 46 workshops. The day began with an upper school assembly where Harvard student speakers spoke about climate activist groups and gave us insight into their passions and goals for the climate. Then, students were able to attend workshops, which varied from options like Vegetable Orchestra to Eco Friendly Robots. The Eco Bash brought together the BB&N community to focus on promoting climate awareness and compel students to join the fight against climate change.
Students started off Eco Bash with a 45 minute long assembly from Harvard students Jeremy Ornstein and Klara Keummerle. Klara is a BB&N alumna and a climate activist within the community. Jeremy Ornstein explained his story of how he became passionate about saving the climate. The speakers talked about one of the movements they are involved in: The Sunrise Movement. The Sunrise Movement is a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. They take action by organizing protests and pursuing the Green New Deal.
After listening to an insightful presentation, students attended their respective workshops. Some workshops focused on how the average person can reduce their carbon footprint. For example, the Environmental Impacts of Fashion workshop focused on presenting ways the average person can reduce their carbon footprint by buying recycled or secondhand clothing. The clothing industry produces 10% (1) of all annual carbon emissions, and consumers need to take initiative to make a change. They also stressed the importance of doing laundry efficiently to reduce the amount of microplastics the average person will pollute into the environment.
Other workshops highlighted the feasibility of living more sustainably. The Sustainable Baking workshop worked together to bake vegetarian pancakes and waffles. This workshop explained how the agriculture industry contributes 11% (1) of all carbon emissions yearly, and the benefits of vegetarianism. They stressed the importance of finding local businesses which sell sustainably made products.
There were also many field trips that took students off-campus. Workshops like Identifying Wildlife at Fresh Pond took students to explore the ecosystems of Fresh Pond. The Freshwater Ecology workshop brought students to the Charles River to collect samples of water in order to learn more about the importance of freshwater, water quality, and pollution of water sources.
The Eco Bash is a staple in the BB&N community and an impactful event. Students take initiative to learn how to live more sustainably and create goals to create a more environmentally friendly community, hopefully feeling impassioned to take action in the fight against climate change.
Bibliography:
1. US EPA. Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions