Submitted by Kelly Miller, Olympia High School intern to ThurstonTalk
The halls of Olympia High School seem eerily quiet on a Wednesday morning late start. Some people use that extra hour for sleep, others to stop and get a coffee before first period. And yet, in certain classrooms, students fill the desks to discuss the most important issues of their clubs. Whether it’s the Key Club, the Dungeons & Dragons Club, or even the Gluten-Free Club, these brave students rise out of their slumber to participate in these organizations. One of the clubs that is particularly influential in the community is Earth Corps.
Members of Earth Corps meet at 8:15am, sharp. Students patiently wait inside the biology room in hopes that today will be filled with the hot-button issues facing our community and environment. Recently Earth Corps held a cell phone drive at OHS. The idea was simple. Get kids to donate their old or broken phones to be recycled properly. But how would these people be enticed? The incentive of course was… cookies. Cell phones flew into the donation boxes! Without this wonderful idea, many cell phones would have been left in some drawer or under a bed. But thanks to Earth Corps, we can sleep easy knowing those phones are safely recycled.
As the members take their seats, the leaders of the group take the stage. Or at least the whiteboard. Immediately we dove into the first topic. This topic involved Olympia’s local park, LBA. The grounds behind LBA are filled with mossy trees and many trails. But recently a national developer applied to build housing in this spot. The city has rejected the offer, but there is word that the developer is going to try again soon. There is a petition that currently has 655 signatures on it. Earth Corps discussed how to get the word out about this and decided to create some posters, education the impact on the park’s urban wildlife.
The discussion then shifted to recycling and composting. At lunch, there are bins for trash, recycle, and compost. Some members sacrifice their lunch period for the good of the Earth. When students incorrectly place the leftovers of their lunch, Earth Corps members use tongs to sort the trash into the correct bin. Not the most glamorous duty, but an important one to say the least.
Finally there was a call to action. A local student is planting trees and was asking for volunteers. Hands shot in the air for a chance to help. Carpooling was offered without thinking. “This will be so fun!” exclaimed one student. And with that the meeting was adjourned.
They were off to fight the battles for the environment. Even if it is a small thing, like making sure a leftover orange peel gets into the compost, I know I feel better with the members of Earth Corps supporting our community, tongs in hand.
