Award-winning
naturalist Martin Byhower, who has been working tirelessly
long before most of us were even aware of being environmental stewards was
honored this past weekend as one of the community’s environmental heroes by
Manhattan Beach, CA’s chapter of VOICE (Volunteers and Organizations Improving
the Community’s Environment), during the city’s Earth Day Celebration.
Martin
teaches Middle School Science at Chadwick School where I work and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him for
almost 20 years. He is a legend in the Southern California environmentalist
movement and is well known as a birder in the National Audubon Society. Martin is one of the few people I know who lives his passion. Below is a photo of him working with a student in
Chadwick canyon where for more than a decade he has had the Ecology Club
replacing the non-native plants with native ones.
As
part of my school’s Earth Day Celebration for 2009, Martin put the following
e-mail out to the entire campus community about Earth Week which is scheduled
for next week. Many individuals and the media are critical of Earth Day itself
and say it has outlasted its effectiveness. If environmental awareness
continues to be relevant, Martin's Earth Week plan in tandem with Earth Day
itself still has the potential of making a difference. In education we are
forever looking for “teachable moments."
Martin’s
e-mail said: “Established April 22, 1970, Earth Day acknowledges that
environmental issues have reached a "critical mass." The first Earth
Day resulted in long needed legislation to conserve resources and protect human
health and wildlife. Although progress was made, on this 40th Earth Day
celebration, many of those same problems are still with us, in some cases
exponentially greater. HOWEVER, the purpose of Earth Day is to celebrate the
beauty, richness, and wonder of Spaceship Earth, and to renew our commitment to
the progress that is being made protecting our finite and fragile planet.
During
Chadwick Earth Week, brought to you by Chadwick Ecommunity and Chadwick
Sustainability, the entire Chadwick community will engage in activities
designed to demonstrate that we are well on the path towards a Sustainable,
Eco-friendly lifestyle at our school. Here is how the week is planned to play
out:
Mon.
April 27: TRASH
FREE DAY
All
students, faculty and staff are encouraged to Bring lunches in reusable,
recyclable, or compostable containers.
Thanks
to the kitchen staff, virtually all food plates and utensils are compostable,
and kitchen trimmings will also be saved for composting by Ecommunity.
Tues.
April 28: POOL TO SCHOOL DAY
Anyone
riding a school bus or participating in a carpool with 3 or more students (if
there is a parent driver) or 4 or more students (if there is a student driver),
and students who are campus residents and who walk to classes, are eligible to
win a prize, and more importantly, will demonstrate their commitment to
reducing global warming and increasing American energy independence. All
students who participate will be eligible to receive a ticket to win one of 13 organic
T-shirts bearing freshman Lillian Babcock's original Ecommunity/ Sustainability
logo (randomly drawn, but possibly one per grade level) courtesy of Ecommunity.
Save your tickets!
Wed.
April 29: WEAR
SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING DAY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL RECYCLE FUNDRAISER KICKOFF
The
Middle School will reaffirm their commitment to making the campus-wide can and
bottle recycling effort successful, and in turn will be given half of the
proceeds from that program to donate to the environmental causes that they have
chosen to support.All students are encouraged to wear sustainably-produced
clothing that day (including clothing made from organic cotton, recycled
synthetic materials, previously owned clothing, etc.)
Thurs.
April 30: BYOBC
(BRING YOUR OWN BEVERAGE CONTAINER) DAY
All
faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to bring and use their refillable
water bottles or, at least, bring or purchase beverages in non-plastic
containers. Plastic
beverage containers of any sort will not be sold in the cafeteria this day, but
plenty of water refill stations exist on campus!
Fri.
May 1: MINIMIZE
ELECTRICITY DAY and SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL BAKE/ COOKBOOK SALE
Chadwick
teachers have been asked to reduce lighting or to use only natural light
(windows, skylights, etc., and if that is not possible, perhaps consider
teaching class outdoors), refrain from showing videos or smartboards,
maintaining classroom thermostats to cool only if the ambient temperature is
above 78 degrees, and switching computers or overhead projectors off when they
are not in use.
Also
on this day, the MS cookbook and bake sale will raise funds to support selected
environmental causes.
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