The efforts of Carlmont’s Green Team to make a better economic impact on the world is visible throughout the campus.
From the recent installation of the tri-bin system to the planting of trees, the Green Team club has continuously shown its dedication to keeping Carlmont as environmentally friendly as possible.
Over the past couple of years, the club has been a prominent group in encouraging zero waste efforts. Not only do they focus on climate activism, but also on local programs that help clean the school grounds.
“Anytime that there are opportunities to do service projects within the school, students can understand that they are helping. When they make a difference, they will choose later not to litter or harm the environment,” said freshman Hailey North.
According to North, the club recently participated in a joint event with the organization City Trees, resulting in the addition of 11 new saplings to the Carlmont campus.
“It was really cool to actually plant a tree, and since I will be at Carlmont for four years, I’ll get to see it grow as I pass by it at school. It’ll be sort of like looking out for it,” said North.
This activity neatly aligns with one of the Green Team’s primary goals. According to Emna Sellami, a senior and one of the co-presidents of the club, implementing new programs that make Carlmont a greener place is highly prioritized during the weekly meetings.
Along with improving the school grounds, the club focuses a lot of their efforts on climate change. “We want to spread awareness about the climate crisis, and to make sure that students have resources to get involved in any movement that they want to participate in,” Sellami said.
This week’s meeting started in the usual manner, with an update from the co-presidents followed by a discussion about possible projects. However, the rest of the gathering took a unique twist as Connie Gong, a junior, presented her separate idea.
She spoke about raising awareness surrounding mental health by making posters to generate conversations about the topic. “This idea isn’t technically related to Green Team, but it is something I feel very strongly about and for which I needed this kind of club setting to get people interested,” said Gong.
Although the project was out of the ordinary, the Green Team members took to the idea in full stride, making dozens of posters with statistics about mental health.
Whether to get involved in environmental work around Carlmont or to listen to an abundance of positive ideas, Green Team’s Monday meetings are filled with productivity.
“The club officers are some of the most driven, accepting people I know, and are always open to new ideas and members,” Gong said.
