Starting this year, the LOHS Green Team is expanding beyond high school. LO middle school is launching its own Green Team, giving younger students the opportunity to get a kickstart on environmental activism.
Green Team has long been a popular and growing club at LOHS, where students are able to work on projects that promote sustainability and environmental awareness while gaining volunteer hours and building a community. This year, the club is extending its impact on LO by partnering with the LO middle school to offer environmental activism at an earlier age.
Green Team club leader Millie Wollmuth shared that this new collaboration has been really successful, with freshman Emily Korkola leading the education committee. Wollmuth shared, “We’ve been collaborating with some teachers over there, and it’s really exciting to see.” The middle school and high school Green Teams plan to work together through regular visits. Wollmuth explained that members will begin visiting middle schoolers once a week, with a focus on encouragement of and engagement with students. “We’re going to start trying to make it just fun at first for the students and then encourage participation in speaking and learning about sustainability issues.”
The goal of the middle school Green Team is not only to teach students about sustainability but also to spark interest in environmental issues early, as well as grow the environmental club as a whole. Wollmuth shared, “I think it’s going to be beneficial a lot because I just know that when I was in middle school, I wanted to start an environmental club there…So I think it’s going to be good for them just to get kick-started on environmental education.” This early exposure is expected to increase long-term involvement, which will also grow the LOHS Green Team. “Also, they’re more likely to want to join a high school green team when they eventually come up to the high school, which will get us more members who are more comfortable getting right to the projects they want to do,” added Wollmuth.
The first LO Middle School Green Team meeting took place on January 9, 2025, and the meetings are planned to continue every Friday. Middle school students interested in environmental activism are encouraged to attend, and high school students are welcome to help volunteer and support the growing club. The Green Team and LOHS look forward to seeing more students involved in creating a more sustainable community and can’t wait to see the impact that this new addition to the team will have.