Earth Day is more than just a date on a calendar: It’s an environmental action taken by millions of people around the world. To celebrate and promote this action, the Rotary Club of Edison High School organized and participated in a community cleanup event that brought together students and faculty. On April 27th, volunteers gathered to remind others that protecting the planet begins with small, local actions.
After school in room 232, students discussed Earth Day and the methods they could use to make a positive impact on the school’s environment. After mapping trash hubs around the school, everyone was given gloves and trash bags to start taking action. By splitting into groups of four and tackling different parts of the grounds, they worked together to pick up litter.
“I feel like I’m contributing to the community,” said volunteer Dhruvi Rao ‘28. “When I see everything so dirty, it feels good to know that I am helping out by picking up trash instead of letting our custodians do it.”
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Rotary Club members and advisor Mr. Howard Manson work together to clean underneath the bleachers to advocate for environmental impact for Earth Day.
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Charles Kersting ’27 became the richest kid at the cleanup when finding buried treasure: a white vest.
Under the bleachers, trash buildup is prominent because of after-school activities, sports, and community-wide events. Groups gathered under the bleachers to focus on tackling the largest task—the most heavily littered spot at EHS. By the end of the cleanup, volunteers had filled one bag of trash from just that area.
Meanwhile, additional groups swept parking lots and sidewalks on school grounds. Participants also went around the fields, finding various kinds of waste, including plastic water bottles, food wrappers, broken glass, and even larger and unusual items, such as an old white vest and a torn dodgeball.
“The area has never looked this clean,” said the Athletic Director Mr. Dave Sandaal. “Fifteen to twenty kids went out there with five or six bags of trash. They totally made a difference.”
By the end of the cleanup, the area was rid of trash, and all participants met up near the garbage bins to congratulate each other on the transformation. They disposed of all their heavily stuffed bags into bins, cleaning up the campus and taking one step towards creating a more environmentally-friendly Edison High.
“Watching the students get involved and cleaning up the area that is right here felt really rewarding,” said Rotary Advisor Mr. Howard Manson. “We should first help ourselves and our community, and then the rest of the world.”