Student Clubs and Organizations
Meet the Environs Club
Integral to the success of our sustainability initiatives is student involvement. This happens through Upper and Middle School courses and electives, and various grade-level projects in the Lower and Beginning School that often tie in broad themes of sustainability to the student curriculum. Another way this happens is through our Upper School Environs Club. For students interested and passionate about environmental causes, the Environs club provides a way for students to pursue their interests while supporting our sustainability efforts.
In January 2008 a small group of juniors and seniors started the club, influenced in part by our newly implemented No-Idling policy. One of the groups’ very first causes was raising awareness about the harmful effects of car idling. Over the past three years the club’s support of and participation in Rowland Hall’s sustainability programs has grown tremendously. Xeriscaping projects, Earth Day celebrations, and recycling education efforts are only a few of the many projects club members have participated in and helped to promote.
Their level of activism extends beyond participation and support. Last year, under the leadership of the Club’s Co-Presidents Brooks Hall and Matt Bossart, the group took the initiative to plan, organize and lead a benefit dinner to raise awareness of the 350.org movement. 350.org is an international campaign that's building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis. Club members ran the event: they prepared the dinner, organized the auction, lined up the speaker - Mayor Peter Corroon - and raised $1,000 to benefit Wasatch Community Gardens and Rowland Hall’s composting efforts. Other efforts have included moderating speaker panels at our Green Screen Film Series and assisting with the Green Cup Challenge.
This year’s club Co-Presidents, Nathan Zick-Smith and Mats Sanyer, and Publicity Director, Chloe Jones, have most recently been focused on the 2011 Green Cup Challenge (GCC). In addition to planning and leading the GCC’s Kickoff meeting in the Lower School, the three worked closely with other club members to create our school’s entry into the video competition of the Challenge. The Environs Club will continue to manage the Upper School’s participation in this year’s competition.
Future plans include planning a kite event for this year’s Earth Day celebrations at the Lincoln Street campus. Influenced by Upper School Science teacher and club co-adviser Rob Wilson’s recent trip to the Galapagos Islands, the kite event will highlight other activities planned for Earth Day. Earth Hour, a global sustainability movement with hundreds of millions of participants, will be another focus for the Club this winter. Club leaders will be reaching out to both Salt Lake City and County officials to encourage Utah’s involvement.
"No Auto April" is a personal endeavor for Nathan Zick-Smith. He will spend the entire month without riding inside of a car, relying, instead, solely upon walking, biking, and public transportation. He’ll be asking for pledges of financial support and using the funds raised to purchase wind energy offsets from the University Of Utah. He credits his parents for sparking his interest in environmental work. “My parents are very supportive of protecting our planet and living a sustainable lifestyle.” Nathan is also quite aware of the wasteful things we do in our everyday lives, and how simple it is to make changes, whether by recycling, not idling, or eating locally grown food.
The students in our Environs Club are just one example of the many others at Rowland Hall who strive to make a difference in our greater community. Their interest and passion in environmental efforts influences many.
