Schools all over the country struggle with making their school more environmentally friendly. Going green has many long term benefits. The schools can save money by reducing water and wasteful energy usage. There are many more ways we as a community can help make our school greener in order to help our Earth.

Charlottesville High school is trying to become greener overtime by using clean renewable energy. CHS invested in solar panels which has helped produce clean and renewable energy. Some classrooms in the building have skylights which help produce energy efficient natural light. A lot of CHS’s lights and sinks are motion sensored which saves energy and water usage, all improving the environment.

On the other hand the school has room for improvement when it comes to making more natural changes. Recycling isn’t being taken seriously. For example“,” recycling is combined with trash at the end of the day.The cafeteria should do away with using so much plastic by replacing the plastic bags with paper“,” and using compostable utensils. The school should also consider adding a compost to encourage fertilizing the soil in the garden and decreasing waste. 

CHS students agree their school has space to grow. “Turning lights off when students and teachers are not in classrooms and more motion-sensitive lights. If possible, less plastic waste in the school lunches. It’s so wasteful! If there is a way to prevent that, it would be incredible,” ninth grader Ollie Dorman said. Another student, Kate Elmore who is an eleventh grader stated that “There are a few things the school needs to work on in order for it to be more environmentally friendly. Making recycling more necessary by making sure that every classroom and the cafeteria have recycling bins. I also think the school should offer more plant-based options for students. The school should focus on making sure that sustainable materials are used as well. If bags are used, make sure they are reusable, and generally cut down on one-use plastics. Lastly, the school should plant more trees.” Clearly this issue impacts many students. 

Why is all of this even important? According to Dr. Irizarry, “If you were to look at climate change now compared to past generations, there are a lot more intense storms, more frequent storms, more flooding, and more droughts. It’s really your future, so the impact you make now will really control your future and your future kids’ futures as well. So we should all do our part to help our future.” Let’s take his advice and try harder to go green!