UC High’s Go Green Club Promotes Environmentalism
UC High Go Green Club members gather at their first beach cleanup.
October 28, 2022
UC High’s Go Green Club, headed by Club President Allison Turley, Vice President Kennedy Selleck and Adviser and BioMed Teacher Leslie Wymer, distributed reusable water bottles to UC students during the second week of school to promote environmentalism.
Around ten years ago, when Wymer began working at UC High, she noticed that most of the school’s plastic was not being recycled. She wanted to take action. Wymer said, “We won two years in a row for the most consecutive waste diversion [reducing trash going to landfills] of any high school in the district.”
Although it has been universally understood to significantly help the environment, plastic recycling is yet to be implemented by all citizens. “Say no to single-use plastic,” said Wymer. This is her most important message, one that she wishes not only her club members to understand, but the rest of the students and faculty on campus as well.
It took one year for this project to become a reality. Taking up a lot of time, effort, and motivation, she came up with the idea of a double-vacuumed sealed water bottle that is neither too big nor too small for everyday use.
With 2,000 dollars earned from the Educate [University City Foundation for Public Schools] program, they decided to create these water bottles. By calling multiple companies, finding a design, and figuring out how they were going to distribute them, Wymer, Turley, and Selleck were able to put these water bottles to use. 700 bottles were successfully distributed around campus, with only around 60 leftover.
Selleck said, “I am so glad the water bottle plan ended up working out, because we had a few concerns in terms of budget and shipping. Thankfully, we were able to work it out with huge contributions from Eleanor Huntsman and Ms. Wymer, who did the grant work, the pitching, and organizing the production and distribution of the bottles.”
After some concerns about whether they could complete the project, the hard work paid off and they started to see changes fast. “I think it was a success because not only did we get the attention of students, but we also saw a decrease in single-use plastic water bottles around campus, which was the main goal behind this project,” said Selleck.
Turley said, “It was a great opportunity to promote our cause on a larger scale than just weekly meetings.”
The Go Green Club meets every other Monday in Wymer’s classroom, room 444. They involve the community primarily by doing beach cleanups. Turley and Selleck have created an Instagram account for the club, arranged meeting preps, communicated with the members, and planned events.
Wymer said, “It feels like a win. As a teacher, these small changes around the school make it feel like a big win.”
