Environmental Club Pitches in to Care for Creation

Pope Francis teaches us that, “Our Earth needs constant concern and attention,” and “each of us has a personal responsibility to care for creation.” Under the direction of environmental science teacher Mrs. Linda Volin, members of Benet Academy Environmental Club have taken the Pope’s words to heart and embraced his call to be responsible stewards of the Earth. With a flurry of activity this year already, the Environmental Club has worked to eliminate invasive plant species at nearby Morton Arboretum and engaged with SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) to assist in recycling projects. The club is gearing up now to participate in TerraCycle. Also in the planning stages for this spring is participation in Envirothon, as well as the annual DuPage River Clean Up.

Junior Ryan Habeck has been a club member for three years, remarks on how the environmental club has managed to make an impact during this time, “We have worked side-by-side with Mrs.Volin, our club moderator, to collect seeds at the arboretum to ensure the survival and spread of valuable native plants; we have cleared invasive plants to allow native plants and the animals that depend on them to flourish; and, we have hauled trash out of the DuPage River to eliminate water pollution and allow animals in the environment to have healthy homes.” He added that although the work is tiring, he and the other club members enjoy it because they get to see the direct benefits of their efforts. “Last year, during the river clean up, we eliminated trash right near the home of some big bullfrogs and little ducklings. They’ll grow up in a healthier environment because of some of the work we did.”

On the agenda for April is the Envirothon competition. In the competition, high schools in the local area will test their knowledge of five topic areas: aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and agricultural soil and water conservation stewardship. This is where the hands-on activities of the club come into play to help students compete effectively. Benet will have two teams of five students competing this year in the Kane-DuPage county region. A winner from each region will advance to state. Sophomore Kaylie Scorza enjoys the club’s focus on environmental science and is excited to participate in the upcoming competition. Benet has a talented group of hard-working students who are looking forward to putting their knowledge to work. Other students who are interested in learning more about environmental club are invited to attend its after school meetings on Thursdays.