The Weekly BEATings

3 November 2011Rachael K

Albert Einstein once mused, “The environment is everything that isn’t us”. Since Einstein generally knew what he was talking about, let’s take a cue from the master scientist and respect the fact that the Earth seems to be a pretty fundamental part of our existence. Whether we really pay attention to our daily ‘green’ surroundings or not, everyone is enveloped within the environmental bubble every day. 

People have all heard about extreme environmentalists at some point in their lives: the eco philanthropists, the campaigners, the legendary figures from the sixties (you know, the ‘tree huggers’ who, quite literally, chained themselves to trees to protect the environment). 

The environment has proven to be of great importance to all kinds of people since the dawn of time, all the way from the Cavemen, to Earth’s hippies, to contemporary advocates. Brentwood students are also joining the legion of followers who respect the environment and are responding to the problems that seem to have our dear Earth sweating in its boots. By forming their own environmental league, these students are ensuring that they are making both the school, and the Mill Bay community, a more sustainable and ecologically friendly place. 

Brentwood students are exhibiting the same enthusiasm for protecting the planet as the famous, and maybe somewhat extreme, conservationists of earlier times…well, maybe without the picket signs and chains, but the passion is definitely there. The title of this group, of course, is Brentwood’s Environmental Action Team (BEAT), which is known around campus as a group of compassionate student leaders, ready to spring into action to combat all sorts of environmental evils, Mission Impossible style. 

Tom Cruise and Al Gore would be proud. 

The Brentwood BEAT team operates under an ethos made famous by Dr. Seuss’ Lorax: "Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, / Nothing is going to get better. It’s not," and they have, fortunately, a leader who fits Seuss’ caring description. The BEAT is headed by a proactive, upbeat and fresh environmental leader, Kenzie B, who is ready to tackle school and community environmental issues. Creating new programs and developing new ideas, Kenzie has been helping BEAT members implement new eco-friendly ideas and projects around campus. 

Kenzie and the BEAT are already starting to inspire the school community off of their garbaging butts, teaching students the latest ways to enhance the school’s sustainability. These ideas range from monitored, waste lines, to special recyclable and compostable ‘plastic’ bags that are distributed throughout campus. 

Using assemblies with dub-stepping ‘composters’, upbeat announcements, and weekly meetings, the BEAT has been rallying the Brentwood community to help tackle the growing problem of waste. 
The BEAT has certainly taken this statement to heart, and put it into practice. The BEAT’s responsibilities don’t only involve the school-wide recycling campaigns; they also branch into beach clean-ups and other planet-focused activities, proving that Brentwood students can help the Earth not only on campus, but around Mill Bay as well. The BEAT even embarked on a ‘Get in Touch with Nature’ hike last Sunday, to celebrate the birthday of the BEAT’s Faculty Sponsor, Mrs. Laura Richardson. 

The BEAT encourages you to get outside and bond with your environment. Look into your backyard, view foliage through a window, gaze at the trees you pass on your way to work. These natural beauties are being preserved for both your viewing pleasure, and the welfare and health of the rest of the community. We should appreciate the BEAT’s efforts to keep our community in tip-top shape; the students involved are trying to help keep our world happy, healthy, and well cared for. 

A word from Kenzie: “Right now, apathy is our main hurdle. What the BEAT is trying to do is surround our environmental action team with a chill atmosphere, one where people ENJOY coming to meetings, and are excited to participate in new, innovative ways to preserve the planet.” 

Helping to transform adolescents from kids without the slightest idea of how to help the planet, to environmental teachers themselves, the BEAT is a fundamental part of our school’s interior world. “Take care of the earth, and she will take care of you” (Bernand De Voto) so get out there, and learn the ways of sustainability through reducing, reusing, and recycling. Didn’t you know? Everybody’s doing it.