The Green Team is one of the newer, up-and-coming clubs at West Johnston this school year, and its main focus is making simple changes that add up to a big difference. From promoting recycling to organizing cleanups, the club aims to create a more eco-friendly school. Their goal is to be simple while still having a large impact here at West.
The idea for the Green Team started after noticing small everyday problems, with club leaders being surprised that there weren’t many recycling bins. They noticed small problems like this and then took initiative. What seemed like a minor inconvenience ended up becoming their motivation to start something bigger. Instead of waiting for a solution, the leaders took matters into their own hands.
This year, they plan on many projects like recycling drives, school clean-ups, and events during Earth Week. Keeping people engaged is key, and the club hopes that a variety of activities will encourage more students to join in to create a larger impact.
The Green Team club is also trying to collaborate with other clubs to achieve its goals. They recently partnered with the art club to make a bottle cap mural to raise awareness for that cause. The mural is a reminder of the waste and also a way to show how discarded items can be used creatively. Plans with NHS can encourage students to volunteer so they can accumulate their volunteer hours. By teaming up with other groups, the Green Team can reach more students, connect with new ideas, and overall have more impact.
Getting students to practice eco-friendly habits has been a challenge. “Planning takes so much effort for new policy and habits and even more to finalize,” WJHS Green Team leader, Avery Williford, explained. The team hopes to focus on activities that match student interests in order to encourage greater participation.
For anyone interested in helping out, their advice is simple. Start small and build daily habits. Avery’s biggest piece of advice was to “start eliminating single-use plastics and to use paper straws, metal straws, and metal water bottles.” Every little thing counts, and if everyone does it, it may be enough to make a change.
The Green Team is open to all students, and anyone interested can sign up by reaching out to Ms. West or one of the club leaders. With projects already planned and a clear mission in place, the club is working to prove that small actions can create lasting change. As one of West Johnston’s newest clubs, early involvement is key, and the team is hopeful that more students will step up to help make a positive impact.