Members of OPRF’s active environmental club are regularly chosen by It’s Our Future to go to the UN’s annual climate change conferences.
The club’s president, Manolo Avalos, went to COP27, and Katie Stabb and Kate Wallace, are at this year’s conference, COP28. Kate is the club’s treasurer.
The 35-member-strong club has several initiatives going. They are using hydroponics to grow lettuce for the cafeteria. They do environmental projects in Thatcher Woods. The club also plays a crucial role in implementing the high school’s seven-point sustainability policy, an ambitious plan to increase the district’s environmental responsibility, battle climate change and eliminate the waste of natural resources.
Most notably, club members are focusing on the sustainability policy goal of expanding climate education and literacy.
“As far as I know, OPRF’s sustainability policy is the first of its kind in area schools,” said Cindy Wong, the club’s faculty sponsor.
According to Kate, who is speaking on climate education at COP28, there is a great need for strong climate education across the board.
“Climate education is one of the goals of the Paris Agreement (COP 21), and our panel will discuss how climate literacy can be achieved in schools, how youth can lobby to build stronger climate education and the impacts of social media surrounding climate education,” she said.
In the 2022, Wong said that the students in the club emphasized during a sustainability committee meeting “the importance of incorporating sustainability into the curriculum of all academic divisions.” Their ideas were incorporated into Goal 2 of the school’s sustainability policy, which was approved by the board of education this past spring.
Manolo, who is a member of the committee, said that they are also working with state officials, and It’s Our Future to get a climate literacy mandate in Illinois.
“I just started a social media campaign on instagram @iofyout. We are going to inform people why they should support climate curriculum in Illinois for all,” Manolo said.
Katie added that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the climate crisis, but said, “I’m trying to stay optimistic because you know, if you get apathetic, you lose your chance, right?”
That’s why she, and 34 other OPRF students, are members of the environmental club.