Where change takes root: Inside the MCHS Earthwise club
By: Natalia Bosl, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Matthew Tominaga
Every Monday after school, while most students pack their bags to head home, a small group gathers in the garden—planting, pruning, and quietly reshaping the school’s relationship with the earth. The Earthwise club has been selflessly serving the Moreau community for years, from tending the garden and inspiring sustainable practices around campus to hosting exhilarating events such as pumpkin carving and climate change protests; the club covers a lot of soil.
A recent interview with the club moderator; Ms. Maniscalco, reveals more about this influential club: “There have been several years where I have started my spanish 1 classes giving them marigold seeds, and during this time of year, during day of the dead, they usually bloom,” She explained, “if they’ve kept their plant alive and brought it in, we’ll replant those out into the garden for people who don’t want to take them home, so it’s a way to bring classroom curriculum outside.”
Ms. Maniscalco also shares her hopes for what the club can do in the future, “ideally, especially now with economic difficulty and SNAP benefits being cut and then put back on, there’s a lot of people in need, so we would love to be able to maintain a garden big enough to share.”
However, she also shared a problem which hinders the progress which earthwise would like to see, “we don’t have enough people to help maintain that year round… It really is a full time job to maintain a full garden that you’re going to share with the community. Ms. Maniscalco remarked, “so we’re hoping to build the program, maybe even in the future having a class that’s specifically for the garden.”
Another focus of Earthwise is promoting better practices on campus for things such as recycling and climate change awareness. They have had advisories in which the school community learned of the impact they have on the environment, as well as service projects done on Father Moreau day. The members of the club work to create an environmentally friendly school. They educate about how climate change affects people’s access to clean water, creates unusual weather patterns, and forces animals to migrate away from their long-standing habitats. Although the big differences are made in big corporations, students can still make a lasting impact, for better or for worse.
In order to be more Earthwise, students should work to control what they can. Small things, such as taking shorter showers, buying local (and sustainable) products, using your money wisely to invest in things that support the environment, and cutting down on overconsumption, can make a big difference to the health of the local Earth. Through these baby steps, this community can all become more Earthwise.
If you find yourself inclined to help the environment, consider signing up for the Earthwise club. Even if you are not a member of the club, you can also help tend the garden on Mondays and bring your friends to help. As Earthwise continues planting both crops and awareness, the club shows that meaningful change can begin right here, rooted in the hands of students willing to try.