Earth Week

11 January 2019Sydney Richardson, Alex ‘18

This year, Brentwood went all out for Earth Day, branding it “Earth Week”. Each house worked hard to keep energy usage and carbon footprinting to a minimum by turning off lights, keeping windows shut, turning heat down, sorting waste and more! BEAT and the Brentwood community put in a lot of hard work, and are commended for all of their efforts! The BEAT had an eventful week planning activities such as gardening, taking a group out on the water for some fun in kayaks and canoes all the while picking up garbage and plastics. A bonfire was also set up with s’mores to reward our students for taking part in the week’s activities. Speaking in assembly about our sustainability goals, and how important they are, helped to shed some light on the cause we support. A change made this year was giving the house teams more motivation to conserve energy; the house pairing with the most energy conserved was awarded interhouse points. Some houses went as far as to shut off hot water and tape down light switches. The fact that we are helping to reduce our carbon footprint, even just for a week, helps to instill good habits among our community members like shutting off lights when not absolutely necessary, unplugging devices from wall outlets, recycling, and composting. Brentwood Alumni also got involved this year. A few alum sent in pictures of their acts done to contribute to this important cause. From upcycling pollinators, to pledging no to plastic usage for two weeks, our community is involved, and our community isn’t limited to the borders of our Brentwood campus. All over the world, people celebrate Earth Day. It’s an important day to be aware of your surroundings, spend more time outside, and be earth conscious. Thinking about what you use, and what you throw away should be important, and this year’s pledge is to find out how much plastic we use, and reduce that amount. Plastic pollution is real: plastic pollutes our oceans, our ecosystems, and not only affects wildlife and marine life, but affects our health as well! It is so easy to get involved in earth-friendly activities like these, especially with our very own BEAT helping us to get out and show our support for good causes. We only have one Earth, and we need to protect and preserve it. A big thanks goes out to Rebecca S, Ms Richardson, and the BEAT team for making this Earth Week so successful! Sydney Richardson, Alex ‘18

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