In conjunction with Laudato Si’ Week (May 21-May 28), Edmund Rice Youth Ambassadors and students from various ERCBNA schools participated in the final advocacy campaign of the year, which was focused on environmental advocacy

Iona Prep (Christine Chana)

A commitment to sustainability and environmental activism has been a strong, ongoing commitment at Iona Prep in recent years. From reducing throw away plastic water bottles and installing LED motion-sensor lights in classrooms, to moving away from natural gas and promoting composting, Iona Prep’s students have been engaged in many projects to make their campus more sustainable.

Recently, students from the ACTION team (pictured above) built a new community garden on the lower school’s campus, and have planted new crops that will be donated to local meal programs in the coming weeks and months. This garden will also serve as an educational tool for Iona Prep high school students to teach their

Recently, students from the ACTION team (pictured above) built a new community garden on the lower school’s campus, and have planted new crops that will be donated to local meal programs in the coming weeks and months.

This garden will also serve as an educational tool for Iona Prep high school students to teach their elementary and middle school peers about sustainability and ecological concerns. One of the students who helped to construct the garden, Iona Prep junior Aydan (pictured in middle, top picture), has been involved in many of these projects at Iona Prep.

In addition to his work on the community garden, Aydan has joined with fellow ACTION juniors Michael and Matt in attending Saturday morning webinars with world experts to educate themselves on the data and the details of climate change, the developed world's infrastructure realities, and the human impact as our planet's temperature warms. The United Nations Framework on Climate Change is a sponsor of this program and their tool has calculated Iona’s carbon footprint to be 760 tons emitted annually (from heat and electricity). Iona Prep's student team presented their project and proposal to reduce the school's carbon footprint on April 1st on a worldwide call involving schools from around the world.

Aydan recently reflected on this work, what has inspired him to do it, and how it has connected to his learning in the classroom:

What have you been involved with in terms of advocating for/promoting sustainability at Iona or in the community?

“I've been involved in numerous projects both in and outside the Iona Prep ACTION club. Through the club at Iona, I (and the rest of the club) have worked on raising awareness for sustainability and lower volatile organic compounds in all classroom air by putting plants in every classroom. I have also participated in numerous Gael Force Live (our morning announcement show) campaigns to raise awareness and have worked with Mrs. Chana to plant hydroponic plants in order to grow crops that could later be donated to food pantries and promote sustainable gardening practices. Recently, I was part of an effort to build a garden at the lower school where we are growing crops such as tomatoes.

Outside of the action club, I represent Iona at a global sustainability conference called One World International. One World is an initiative from schools around the world (China, Mexico, Africa, USA, Canada, etc.) to reach net zero carbon emissions. Recently, in an effort to contribute to reaching net-zero carbon emissions, we calculated our net carbon emission and energy expenditure (760 tons of carbon emissions for this year). With this information in mind, I hosted a bake sale at Iona, where we raised $604 to offset 366 tons of CO2. In this bake sale, students voted with their money from 3 options (solar, hydroelectric, wind) on what type of power the offsets should go towards and hydroelectric won. Finally, I am also involved in Westchester Green County USA, which has a similar goal of promoting sustainability within schools but is more orientated within Westchester.

In this conference, students from different schools across Westchester gather to plan ways we can make an impact within our school, as well as raise awareness outside of it. For example, most recently, I have been part of planning a conference on June 5th where we are presenting from each school involved, as well as different political figures and businesses, on what they have done and plan to do in regard to sustainability.”

What inspired you/interested you in this topic?

“I was interested in this topic from a combination of factors. Primarily, after reading about the enormous waste we output in fast fashion from my sophomore year AP Seminar class, I was motivated to continue my research the following year for AP Research in the same field. This year in AP Research, my study aimed to identify and understand the major topics of discussion under the #sustainability hashtag on Twitter and understand user engagement using statistical analysis and machine learning algorithms. From this research, as well as inspiration from my grandparent's sustainable living practices, I was motivated to contribute to my community and take part in approaching this generational problem.”

Have you been able to make any type of connection between this advocacy work and what you’ve been doing in the classroom?

“I have been able to make a connection between my advocacy work and the classroom. As part of my chemistry class this year, I learned about sustainability from Mrs. Chana significantly. Throughout the year, when learning about different laws and properties of chemistry, Mrs. Chana often showed the real-world application and how these things impact our planet. For example, Mrs. Chana taught us about catalytic converters in cars, and how they reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engines using catalysts and redox reactions.”

Tampa Catholic (Ryan Mulligan)

Students at Tampa Catholic created the Blessed Edmund Rice Society Eco Committee. This group has met every month to promote environmental activism by participating in project such as: beach, river and roadside clean ups, Organic Farming, and Community beautification projects.

Iona University

In early May, Students at Iona University held a campaign surrounding the proposed Willow drilling project in Alaska. Students distributed information regarding the project and encouraged their peers to call the White House Comment Line to voice their opinions on the project.

In late May, students from Iona participated in the Freedom Farm Community Iona in Mission Trip in Middletown, New York. On this immersion, students learned about environmental sustainability, sustainable agricultural practices and food insecurity, all while helping to grow crops on the farm. Students will return to campus in the fall inspired to advocate for our earth and common home!

All Hallows (Paul Fontana)

All Hallows’ Edmund Rice Youth Ambassadors Angel and Sergio will be two of the students playing in a benefit concert on All Hallows’ rooftop garden this month. All Hallows’ rooftop garden has played a major role in the school’s efforts this year with environmental advocacy and sustainability efforts.