The environment may be a controversial issue, but no matter what, Ecology Club is trying its best to conserve what they can. The group has a new adviser this year but the objective is still the same.

“I chose to take over Ecology Club because I am passionate about the environment and wanted to help Oakwood become more green and eco friendly,” Amy Smith, the leader of Ecology Club, said.

According to the Oakwood High School website, the Ecology Club promotes protection of our environment through education and service to the community. The club meets every Thursday at noon.

“[The students] will learn what’s recyclable and what’s not,” Smith said. “They’ll learn leadership skills about organization.”

As one of the Ecology Club’s responsibilities, they manage all of the recycling in the building.

“Outside, there are bins right by the woodshop area in the teacher’s parking lot,” Smith said. “What we do is put [the recycling] in the bins and then the Oakwood recycling company comes and collects them in the process.”

Clare Vanderburgh (12) joined Ecology Club this year.

 “It had interested me in past years, but as a sophomore and junior I hadn’t had the free time to join any school clubs outside of theatre, so I was excited to see what it was about,” Vanderburgh said.

Vanderburgh says that she has learned to take initiative and work efficiently.

 “I learned quickly after joining Ecology club to ask questions and start discussions about things we, as a club and a school, can be doing better,” Vanderburgh said.

Vanderburgh also goes to extensive lengths to do the best she can for the recycling process. 

“A couple weeks ago I climbed into the dumpster that the school uses to hold paper recycling, and another student helped me pull out over a dozen plastic bottles, many of them filled with liquid, and multiple pieces of trash that had been mixed in with the paper,” Vanderburgh said.

Maintaining a healthy environment is no easy job; however, the Ecology Club takes it upon themselves to make sure that our school is as environmentally conscious as it can be.