Whiz Kids: Enviro Club Invites All To Be More Environment Friendly

Whiz Kid(s): Curtis High School Enviro Club

Whiz Kid(s): Janet Higbee, Club Advisor, Fu Twins: Tianhong and Tianyuan are not official club officiers but contribute greatly-- have been involved for several years. Other highlighted students who are involved are: Noah Chasco, Hannah Scamhorn, Matt Kerns, Randy Nguyen, Matt Lyons, Jessica Mendez, Taelin Lanier, Timothy Lee, and Sienna Williams.  Total membership is 15 students.

Whiz Kid Accomplishments: The idea behind the club is to help students take responsibility (not blame) for an increasingly polluted planet that has limited resources. They spend a considerable amount of time recycling and composting.  They meet every Wednesday to clean and empty recycle bins in the cafeteria.  Thursdays are meetings to work on other projects depending on the students interests and community opportunities. Founding members: Amber Rose Kelly, Claire Burdick, and Megan Rupert began (2008) by earning a grant to create materials to teach UP students about the importance of recycling.  The club has maintained it's made an impact on Curtis HS campus as well as in the community through the following projects.

*People for Puget Sound at Titlow

*Counted sea birds and did native plant restoration

*worked with Pierce County Conservation District at Puget Gulch getting rid of Ivy and Knotweed

*Planting at Crystal Creek and Kobayaski Park monitoring of water quality of the stream.

*Hannah Scamhorn,senior, helps PCCD,  using her extensive diving skills to monitor eel bed conditions for salmon.

*Earned grants to help buy plants and a compost bin for a small drought resistant garden on CHS campus.  Current members keep this garden up as best they can with help from the Culinary Arts class provids compost materials.

Senior Club member, Noah Chasco, replies, "Here at CHS, our goal is to promote the continuation adn longevity of environmental activism and spread environmental thinking world wide, while reducing our carbon foot print and making a positive impact for current and future generations."

Key to Awesomeness:

This past weekend, the Curtis Envrio Club participated in the community's first . Steve Buter, a leader of Green UP committee and working with the City Council, put together the fair.  There were many other groups in attendance supporting the Green Up Fair. The Enviro Club had a booth with worm bin and Mason Bee shelters made by Matt Kerns. (see photo's)

Many other groups BSA troop, the City of UP, Habitat for Humanity, NarrowsView Intermediate, NW solar group, PCSW, PCSGRO, Tacoma-Pierce Co Health Dept, Tahoma Audobon Society and UP Refuse were in attendance.  Exhibits included: arts and crafts made from recyclables, worm bins, bee shelters, composting, natural yard care, native bird identification, green cleaning, community gardens, sustainability, native plants, energy efficiency and solar energy.

Also another highlight recently, Sienna Williams helped the group make club t-shirts (from shirts already in the closets) with help from Curtis graphic artists. 

This year the Enviro Club is working with Mr. Keller's AP Envrio Studies class to complete waste assessments taken to further reduce waste at CHS.  They are involved in this project due to their interest in joining Washington Green High Schools.

A team effort from Matt Kerns, Enviro Club members and the CHS kitchen manager, Monique Thompson contribute to finding and funding a compost bin to take kitchen waste and compost it thus further reducing waste.

Way to go CHS Enviro Club keeping our world more green while educating students and the University Place community.

Nominations for Whiz Kid (s) weekly.  Know any special teams, groups, youth doing good or achieving ?  Send information to Marion Lybbert at mmlybbert@aol.com.