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If you think there is nothing you can do that will matter when it comes to global issues, like climate change, you need to check in with the Ambrose Elementary School’s Eco & More Club.
In late spring, 15 members of the Eco & More Club went before the School Committee speaking with a grace and confidence that belied their young years.
Emme Wagner, Allison Tang-Mueller, Sean McCabe, Amara Bhukhmohan, Hannah Lyons, James Toomey, Emmet Gould, Grace Miller, Grady Coffin, Colton Gillis, Lola Mann, Caroline Cedrone, Brooke Mann, Henry Bearce and Milo Gupta took turns at the mic in making their presentation.
The students asked the committee to support a food rescue program the club launched in April by working with the district’s food purveyor, Winstons, and cafeteria workers to salvage usable food that is otherwise being thrown away. They said they hoped the committee could “add the program to the contract like Lexington Public Schools have done.”
They also asked for more trash cans in an attempt to keep the school grounds clean, to have Winstons cut down on the amount of plastic wrap it uses and to stop selling water in plastic bottles in the cafeteria and instead encourage students to use water fountains and reusable water bottles.
Students said they were also sad to hear the school was no longer recycling plastic and the compostable trays were not actually being composted.
And that’s just a few of the initiatives the group is working on.
More on Eco & More
Following the presentation, 11-year-old Henry Bearce and 10-year-old Milo Gupta took time from their summer break to speak with The Winchester News about the club.
Eco & More is part of the Eco School Global Program, THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development, which is based on the UN sustainability goals, Milo explained.
“We think about how schools could be more eco-friendly and what we want to do better for our school,” he said.
Both boys said they were a little nervous speaking before the School Committee, but it was in part speaking before them two years ago that inspired the club to try again.
Milo said that two years ago, Henry and another boy, Leo, wrote a letter to the committee asking to replace the cafeteria’s Styrofoam trays with ones made of compostable material. Styrofoam is bad for the environment because it doesn’t break down, it never goes away, Milo explained. Leo and Milo then went to the committee in person and spoke about the issue.
“And they listened … and after that, we saw that we made a difference,” he said.
Milo said it made the group start thinking about other ways they might make a difference.
Both boys said it felt pretty good to know they have made a difference.
“It was pretty neat,” Henry added. “I was just kind of inspired on how we were able to do that.”
Henry said the next project they landed on was food rescue. After noticing a lot of things like carrots and celery and milk going into the trash, the students did a little research and found Food Link | Food Rescue & Distribution To Those In Need In Massachusetts, a food rescue program in Arlington that works with other schools to redistribute food that would otherwise be thrown away.
“We drop it off to their facility, and then they work with a bunch of agencies to give it to food pantries and agencies, and then they distribute them among people,” Henry said.
The club has also organized playground clean-ups and would like to do more in regards to recycling plastic water bottles and actually composting the compostable trays.
When asked they thought they could change the latter, Milo said, “Yeah, I think we can change that.”
He also said that in the future they hope to be more like the Lincoln School, which he said does a really good job at recycling and composting.
But the boys also know that as good as the group is about following through with projects, they cannot do it alone.
Henry said they need to grow their numbers and is hoping Eco & More will gain more members in the fall.
And Milo said while they know the School Committee, their principal (Andrea Phelan), and the town’s Sustainability Director Ken Pruitt have heard them, they need their continued support to keep their efforts moving forward.
“Yeah,” Milo said. “It’s really hard to convince adults sometimes.”
