I remember when I first stepped into Environmental Club as a freshman wondering what it would be about. Ever since I was very young, I had always been submerged in the problems of the environment and how I could use my chemistry and biology knowledge to help solve some of these drastic problems. That day, as I stepped inside, I never expected to leave as the leader of one of the best clubs in Andover High School. I can still remember that moment when I gave the speech, and I was chosen to be the leader. Starting that day, I have led and expedited innumerous kinds of environmental projects and fundraisers that created moments that my school, this great club, and myself can cherish forever. I know that my experiences as leader of the Environmental Club will carry onto the future.
-Wonhee Han,
Environmental Club President and Recycling Club Manager
Ever since I was very young, I have understood the importance of living in concert with the natural world. I have spent a great amount of time in the the outdoors; from forests to farms, mountains to oceans, I feel a deep connection to the world around me. I deeply believe that it is my responsibility to do my part for our planet. Moving to Andover from Florida provided me with another opportunity to learn a new environment and to figure out how to support my new surroundings. Coming into the Andover High School Environmental Club as a senior, I didn’t know what to expect or how I would be received ; thankfully, I didn’t have much of a chance to worry over that because I had no choice but to jump right in. The students in this club care so much about the world we live in and want to do their part to make a positive change. As the AHS Sustainable Garden Student Manager, I want to do my part to spread the idea of sustainability through working in the garden and working with the land to create a symbiotic relationship between man and nature.
– Oceanna Schnirman
AHS Sustainable Garden Student Manager
Since I was younger, I’ve been concerned about the environment. I remember bugging my mom to stop idling her car when not using it, and constantly being aware of my environmental impact. I have continued my environmental awareness since then, and now as a 4 year member of the Environmental Club, I am the SEED Energy Captain at my school. For this, our school has partnered with Next Step Living, and for 2 years have been promoting home energy audits and solar energy audits. As part of the SEED program, we have different events around the town of Andover where Environmental Club members can volunteer their time and help promote audits. From this partnership, we have accumulated almost $1900 dollars which we can use to make our school more energy efficient. I am honored to lead this program, and I hope it continues in the future.
-Jonathan Monderer
AHS SEED Energy Captain
My name is Max McCarthy and I am a senior at Andover High School. I have been a member of the Environmental Club since ninth grade. I have enjoyed being involved in all of the club’s activities, such as fundraising for the installation of water bottle refillers in our school and volunteering at Andover’s Zero Waste Day. Along with other members, I have also participated in trail maintenance and eradication of invasive plant species on local conservation land. This year, I have been leading the club in putting together a team to participate in the Massachusetts Envirothon. Outside of Environmental Club, I am a volunteer naturalist at Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center.
~Max McCarthy
The following projects are projects completed by the AHS Team either as individuals or as a group:
Volunteering at Andover’s Zero Waste Day (individual)
Classroom recycling (individual)
Instituting recycling and composting in our cafeteria (ongoing) and
Working in the school’s Sustainable Garden (individual and group)
Green tip-of-the-day announcements (individual)
Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots model to work on protecting threatened turtle species in our town (subgroup)
Help local middle school get composting started in their cafeteria (subgroup)
Planting a cover crop in our school’s garden to reduce soil erosion and add nutrients to the soil over the winter (subgroup)
Volunteering with Next Step Living’s SEED program to help raise money to support energy efficiency efforts at our school (whole group)
Envirothon: (group) and avis program
