Earth Month Contests and Eco-pledges

4/29/2010

Since being more environmentally responsible involves altering habits, extending Earth Day to Earth Month made sense, says faculty member Cameron Cousins, advisor to the Student Sustainability Committee. During April, Fenn boys have been challenged to change their ways when it comes to the environment.

Earth Month activities at Fenn included making a necktie from recycled materials, creating a piece of visual art that conveys a love for a specific outdoor space, and signing an “action pledge” by which the participant promised to make at least one change that would benefit the environment, such as using a website to eliminate mailings and catalogs that one’s family does not want to receive or not wasting food.

Student Sustainability Committee members are 9th graders Julian Baeza-Hochmuth, Quinn Denner, Jack Lammert, Ben Andre, and 8th grader Ryan Alipour. The committee has made regular announcements at All School Meeting and Julian designed and presented a power point about Rachel Carson that emphasized the importance of taking action to help the environment.

Winners of the Sustainabili-ties competition, conceived by math teacher David Sanborn, were announced on April 16, with 6th grader Lucas Mundel placing first for his necktie made of pop tops and other sections of aluminum soda cans. The other winners were Adam Jolly (6th), who earned second place for his use of comic strip graphics and fruit stickers; Paul Kinard (7th) took third place for a detailed assemblage of green-toned labels from fruit and vegetable cans; Kyle Veo (4th) tied for third place for his tie made of braided plastic shopping bags, a “groundbreaking technique,” noted Mr. Sanborn, who wore his own neckwear creation that he had constructed from items including Vitamin Water labels rescued from the Sam-Kan recycling barrels on campus.

Landscape, Landscape, a challenge designed by art teacher Elizabeth Cobblah, required student artists to produce a two-dimensional piece of work depicting a place that “you would hate to see disappear, that reenergizes you, or that you dream about.” The winning entry, a mixed media drawing of an idyllic backyard partially obscured by an intrusive modern building, was submitted by Kojo Edzie, a 6th grader; second prize winners were Tommy Kaye (5th) and Hayden Galusza (4th) for drawings; third prize winner was Kyle Veo (4th) for a photo, and four boys won honorable mentions: Cormac Zachar (5th), Ethan vanderWilden (6th), E.J. Fitzsimmons (6th), and Willie Page (5th).

Those participating in the Earth Month challenges earned raffle tickets for a drawing in which a portable solar charger, donated by Alt E of Hudson, MA, was the grand prize. Winner of the charger was Hunter Corliss, a 5th grader.