OHS takes steps to renew the future
By Aaron Fair
Photo of Zinc Lake, taken by Aaron Fair.
Whenever we hear about the environment, it is often a depressing statistic about how humans are slowly killing the planet, and no matter what we do, the damage is already done. However, there is hope within our communities. After spending a short time exploring Owasso, there are so many opportunities to care for the planet. For example, schools are coming together to clean up pollution, communities are gathering and dedicating entire days to create a more sustainable life, and even some large corporations are trying to play a part. In our high school community, Shannon Chatwin leads the effort to maintain a sustainable, healthy environment.
“Every little bit helps,” says Chatwin, the AP Environmental Science teacher at Owasso High School.
Photo of Zinc Lake, Public Service Company of Oklahoma factory and Tulsa, taken by Aaron Fair.
Chatwin gathers students to clean up the community, one step at a time. For example, she partners with the National Honor Society (NHS) to assist in the recycling program at OHS. Each classroom has recycling bins to collect paper, aluminum and other recyclable materials. On Wednesdays, after school, NHS students will walk around to pick up each of the containers. Then, they will dump them in big recycling dumpsters outside the school to be taken to a recycling center later that week. Chatwin will then travel out into the community to pick up pollution and teach students about environmental protection.
Chatwin explains, “We went out to Zinc Lake [at the Gathering Place], and what we did is we took three different sizes of fishing magnets because I had seen some nails over there…they ended up getting about three pounds of nails and rebar [out of the water].” She continues by saying, “I think construction just didn’t clean up after themselves. I think they said, ‘Oh, this is the river; it will wash away,’ and so they didn’t do a great clean up.”
Chatwin brings students out into the community because they can learn that environmentalism is more than just picking up trash. It is a way to meet people and come together for a common cause. For instance, The Tulsa Household Pollutants Collection Facility hosts a Swap Shop every Wednesday and Saturday. At this event, people from Tulsa County can take slightly used household pollutants and swap them with other members of the community to create a more sustainable way to live.
Picture of debris found in Zinc Lake, taken by Aaron Fair.
Chatwin explained that large corporations can also do their part stating, “Best Buy has a little recycle area just as you walk in the door for old electronics.”
Environmentalism creates hope for the future; it brings communities together while restoring the Earth’s ecosystems. Schools are teaching their students about it, communities are coming together to fight for it and even some corporations are trying their best. As Chatwin previously stated, “Every little bit helps.” Even if it’s something as minimal as picking up a piece of trash or something as large as cleaning a river, it will have immense rewards in the future.