Earth Day Festival

Happy Earth Day! This year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics. Our Marianapolis Green Knights and the community have been working together to find ways to make our school cleaner and greener.
 

The Green Knights are committed to protecting and conserving our world’s resources. They lead sustainability efforts on campus and encourage our community to propel positive change for our environment. Recently, they have been tracking food waste by weight. This is a program that they are doing during school lunches. It is a great way to evaluate how much food we throw away as a school and formulate strategies to prevent waste.

On Thursday, April 18, Marianapolis kicked off our Earth Day Festival during Morning Gathering. Mrs. Adrienne Fournier, Director of Campus Ministry, shared an Earth Day-themed reflection. She highlighted how St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment, “saw the Earth as something that is ours to care for and love.” This theme of peace and praising the wonders of the Earth is echoed in St. Francis’ poem, “Canticle of the Sun.” Similarly, Mrs. Fournier noted that Pope Francis wrote a letter to all the bishops called “Laudato Si.” In this letter, Pope Francis emphasized that “we have a responsibility to the Earth.”

Just as St. Francis and Pope Francis called on others to care for our planet, our Green Knights continuously call on members of our community to take part in a unified, global action. We ask ourselves, what is my role in this initiative? We are invited to listen to our planet and improve our lifestyles to make our world a better place.

A. Voas ‘24 continued this theme during her Senior Voice. She became a Green Knights member during her freshman year at MPrep. Voas sends the Green Knights newsletter, “A New Leaf,” to our community monthly and became the editor-in-chief during her junior year. Her love of the environment began when she was young. In middle school, she started a recycling club and learned what sustainability meant.

“It’s all about making changes where you can,” says Voas. “My advice for all of you is to try and make one change. Nobody expects to be perfect, but change just one thing about your routine to become more sustainable.”

During Community Programming later in the day, Wes Howard, Director of Sustainability, introduced four activities the Green Knights planned for students and faculty to engage in. These included signing the sustainability pledge, Earth Day trivia, cornhole, a plant scavenger hunt, and enjoying special Knight Café green drinks in reusable cups. Everyone had fun participating in all activities and learned a wealth of knowledge about the environment!