Stella Verlander, a Greenfield High School senior who plans to study political science in college with an eye toward an environmental law degree, is president of the GHS Sustainability Club. Verlander revived the club following pandemic interruptions, with the aim of educating people about issues related to conservation, climate crises, and political action. “Any obstacles are not about lack of interest,” she said. “The real problem is ignorance.”

Greenfield farmer Kyle Bostrom, who advises the club, also teaches manufacturing, woodshop, and sustainability classes at GHS. He encourages club members to formulate plans and meet their goals. “These guys are great,” he said. “They’re bright, fun, easy, and compassionate. Believe me, they teach me more than I teach them!”

Goals include community service and volunteering. “We raised almost $1,000 for Monte’s March,” said Verlander, referring to the 2024 version of the annual campaign waged with grand theatrics by the colorful radio personality Monte Belmonte. “We also participated in the march,” said senior Parker Beauregard, who plans to study filmmaking in college. “We walked the section from Atlas Farm in Deerfield to Hawks & Reed in Greenfield. It was tons of fun.”

Kam Richardson, a senior who’ll study visual arts in college, mentioned some of the club’s less visible — but equally important — projects. “We want to make our school greener, like by limiting food waste.” They recently conducted a study to find out how much food goes to waste during three daily lunch periods. “(The study) was one of our main goals,” said Verlander, “and the amount of waste turned out to be quite a lot.” When club members weighed waste resulting from 210 lunch servings, they were taken aback by the 140-pound total. “It was higher than average,” said Vernalder, “between .65 and .75 of a pound per person. It demonstrated the importance of composting programs, and of hopefully spreading similar programs to other schools.”

As for recycling, “A lot of people don’t know what to do with plastics,” said Richardson.“Kids knew more about it when we were in elementary school.” Parker Beauregard added, “In elementary school, speakers came in to talk to us about recycling.” Another senior, Alex West, said, “Even at that age, we knew how to separate waste into recycling, compost, and trash!” Club members note that education is lacking in many contemporary academic milieux; the majority feel that productive practices were abandoned due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Club members agree that the pandemic era brought challenges that harmed young people in ways that reached beyond COVID, yet West noted some upsides: “During that time, many people were pointing out injustices; I learned a lot about the world. It felt like so many things were going wrong all at once, but it helped that we were all experiencing similar concerns.” The seniors who make up the bulk of the Sustainability Club were in seventh grade when the pandemic hit; their first full year of online learning occurred during eighth grade. “I hated it,” said West. Other club members nodded. “We felt helpless and isolated, and wondered about our place in the world. But it also gave us important perspectives.”

Club members each feel that the COVID era was a catalyst. Senior Lyla Rockwood, who plans to study economics or business in college, said, “When I was younger, I spent a lot of time outside with my sister. We hung out in a big patch of woods near our house where there were lots of trails. I love nature, and I wonder what the future will look like if we keep going at our current rate.” Despite pandemic isolation, the experience brought Rockwood an important realization: “I want to be more active in my community.”

West added, “(During the pandemic), we were online so much. For someone who loves animals and plants, it can be overwhelming to be exposed to social media, where you see everything at once. It felt like everything was crumbling. We can’t just ignore it.” When asked if they feel they experience eco-grief, club members responded with quizzical expressions; they’d never heard the term. One member looked it up on her phone and read aloud: “Eco-grief refers to the sense of loss that arises from experiencing or learning about environmental destruction.” Club members fell silent, then one member said, “Hell, yeah. I feel that.” Others nodded.

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Kam Richardson grew up “obsessed with animals. I was concerned about extinctions, worried about the world being destroyed by corporations that don’t care about what they put in the water and air, as long as they make money.” He added, “We might seem too young to make an impact, but in the face of all that suffering, there are things we can do.”

Some of the teens recently traveled to Boston to participate in Youth Climate Coalition Lobby Week, sponsored by MYCC (Massachusetts Youth Climate Coalition). Kyle Bostrom said, ”It was a great event! The students were very professional and made an impact on legislators.”

“It was a formative experience,” Verlander said. “We met with Representative Natalie Blais and Senator Jo Comerford, who were responsive to issues we placed before them. We discussed prioritizing bills like Interdisciplinary Climate Education (HD.1596), Farm to Schools (HD.1043), and Air Quality (HD.1924), and asked for their continued support and advocacy.”

Verlander said the 300 students involved in lobbying were “passionate about activism. We teamed up with Four Rivers Charter School and Stonleigh-Burnham (students) for meetings, and learned a lot about the legislative process … The best part, though, was that it was fun. Government affairs and policies can seem pretty boring, but the lobby day was quite the opposite. We got to network with other students from the other side of the state, and even laugh with legislators.”

“When we work together, it boosts morale,” Richardson said. “We get excited, and that’s just what we need.”

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope,” and a musician, artist and mom. To contact her: eveline@amandlachorus.org.