Environmental Conservation Club Turns Waste into Art, Coffee into Compost

ECC members clear Kaiser Park of excess sticks and trash as part of a beach cleanup event in October. Photo: Lucie Lim

By KALIYAH KING and STEPHANIE FERRARA

From empty bottles to floating plastic bags, to discarded styrofoam trays loaded with leftover fried rice, the streets of New York have seen it all. Thankfully, we have our friendly neighborhood Environmental Conservation Club to ensure no waste remains wasted.

Seniors Lucie Lim and Jolie Montas founded the club last year, and sophomore Victoria Shatkovskaya took up the reins as a new club leader this year.

Before Covid-19 struck, club members had been visiting community beaches and parks to pick up weeds, trash, and other litter. They even planted flower bulbs at Marine Park to further decorate the area. The club also came up with a plan to renovate the garden located behind the Midwood Annex.

“Most people didn’t know [the garden] existed,” Shatkovskaya said. Mr. Timothy Bura, the club advisor, added, “I’m a teacher, and I didn’t know it existed.”

The club hoped to grow vegetables and fruits there and create a new place for students to hang out. “[The garden] has so much potential to become a cute little hot spot,” Lim said.

To help grow their garden further with natural soil and compost, the leaders sought coffee grounds, which improve soil health with the nitrogen found inside.

"We partnered up with Starbucks and used their coffee grounds as compost, and we made good fertilizer for the soil," Lim told us. This compost was kept in the Biology office and needed to be turned weekly.

The club also organized a couple of beach cleanups at the beginning of this school year, where all attendees wore masks. However, as the weather got colder and virus cases continued to increase, they had no choice but to retreat to online activities.

"We tried to do online events, which was hard because how are we going to help the environment online? But we found a way!” Montas said, “With petitions, spreading awareness, and little stuff here and there.”

The club leaders and Mr. Bura currently host meetings every Thursday at 3 p.m., where they discuss a new global issue and introduce a new event each week.

Recently, members created recycled artwork from materials such as water bottle caps and plastic straws. This helps to repurpose what would otherwise have ended up in landfills. Once the project is over, the leaders will set up a gallery to display all of the recycled art.

“The club is making an impact,” said sophomore Ameemah Khan, “as little by little, people are gaining a greater interest in helping sustain the environment.”

Junior Victoria Perez-Zarzecka said that the club “creates a space where we can talk about environmental issues freely and discuss what we can do as a community.”

Hands-on interaction with the earth is a big part of the club’s mission. “Kids our age, we want more stimulation, like physically getting in the dirt, so we did get in the dirt literally!” Lim said. Looking onward, Lim hopes the ECC will eventually become involved in the Billion Oyster Project.

If you’re interested in joining the club, you can reach the leadership via email at EnvironConClub@midwoodhighschool.org.