Club Spotlight: Environmental Action Committee

By JILLIAN CHENG, CAROL LEE, and JAYDEN OH

When strolling through the Academy, you may have seen circular recycling bins in Grill or noticed the QR code replacement for the Courses of Instruction in Bissell House. While these changes may seem small, they are steps that the Academy’s student-led Environmental Action Committee has taken to reduce waste and improve sustainability on campus. 

Every Sunday from 6-7 p.m., the Elm Mezzanine bustles with the members of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC). Here, members discuss the problems and initiatives about the environmental issues permeating through today’s society within the school community. “We eat dinner while talking about different ideas and have announcements in the beginning from the co-heads,” lower Bryan Cho summarized.

Despite having weekly meetings, each meeting is still slightly different. Prep Rayann Cisse described what a usual meeting looks like. “Typically, we’ll either watch a documentary at the long table, or we’ll break off into our individual groups, where we’ll discuss different initiatives.” 

“We have the trash group, the food group, and the divestment group,” prep Arisa Yoshino elaborated. “Recently, we’ve been watching a lot of documentaries, which have been really interesting, and I like how they expand my perspectives.”

Yoshino also appreciates EAC’s commitment to bringing awareness to the Exeter campus. She added, “I like how it focuses on broader worldwide issues but also brings it back to Exeter and how we can implement environmental action locally. I really like the initiatives focused on waste management, for example, which was dedicated to trash sorting and growth.”

Another one of their most notable initiatives was the replacement of paper coursebook copies. “Our main success last year was replacing paper copies of Exeter coursebooks into QR codes in the admissions office,” Cho explained. “There were too many excess copies every year because we constantly update them and need to print new ones. Also, people who come to the office generally know the courses, so they won’t take it back home and actually use it.” 

Cisse shared what her group has been working on: cardboard signs on trash cans near Grill to avoid mixing of recycling, trash, and compost. “We made it to prevent [materials] from getting mixed up or just not being properly recycled.” She added, “Also, we talked to staff and worked on getting more local food around campus. We asked them where they’re buying their food, how much it costs, et cetera.”

Several club members reflected on their favorite experiences in the club. Cisse said, “My favorite part is how we get to interact with the community and truly make Exeter a better place for all the new kids to come. And I love how I also get to talk to people that I don’t really see every single day or kids in older grades.” 

Cho agreed. “I like that we make the idea of environmental action not a stressful thing but more community-friendly,” he said. “The coheads make it enjoyable and welcoming for others, including all students at Exeter. It’s more about students coming together to take action and having their ideas on paper and building it with their own hands.”

EAC actively communicates with faculty members to gauge the campus’ sustainability and what can be improved. Cisse explained, “I think what sets us apart [from other clubs] is we’re directly reaching out to certain faculty members and asking for more information before we start making bigger ideas. We’re trying to get a grasp of what things are currently looking like and how we can make small changes that will be more impactful rather than big changes that most likely won’t happen.” 

EAC also provides students with the opportunity to achieve these changes. “We are unique because individual students have the opportunity to work on [environmental sustainability] on campus, and we implement all of [these ideas],” Cho said.  

“I feel like many clubs only discuss these issues and they don’t actually implement any change,” prep Kaylee Gong said. “But the Environmental Action Community really allows students to make changes.”