Planting Seeds of Change

BY ASHLEY RABINOVITCH, Writer

It’s one thing to like an Instagram post about environmental awareness or attend a climate march, but it’s another to form daily habits that lead to tangible change. At LCC, the students who lead the Green Team are on a mission to promote environmental sustainability in small but meaningful ways.

Tom Li ’20, a co-leader of the Green Team, became concerned about environmental issues in his native Beijing, where poor air quality affected his daily life. “On some days, I couldn’t even play sports outside because of the conditions,” he remembers.

Tom Li ’20, a co-leader of the Green Team, wearing a Green Team DIY T-shirt

For Marieke Hofstee ’21, an active member of the Green Team, Tom’s experience illustrates the dangers of complacency. “In countries where most of us aren’t as directly affected by climate change, we don’t think it’s our problem,” she reflects. “But at some point in the future, it is going to be our problem.”

The Green Team aims to bridge the gap between awareness and action. “Most students know that climate change is real, but they don’t know how they can improve anything,” Tom has realized. “We want to show them how to make a difference in a small space, even in their homes and at school.”

Promoting environmental sustainability will look different for every student. For Marieke, it’s eating a vegetarian diet and taking the bus to school instead of driving. For Edouard Des Parois Perrault ’21, another active team member, it’s producing a regular video called “Green Team Direct” that exposes viewers to environmental technologies and perspectives that they may never have encountered before. For other students, it may be as simple as replacing plastic water bottles with reusable ones.

Tom and Sebastian Reinhardt ’21, the other co-leader of the Green Team, direct a weekly team meeting to brainstorm ideas for initiatives and activities. They focus on a new theme each month. In January, they partnered with the Community Service Club to raise money for Australia wildfire aid. For February’s theme, “Empathy for the Environment,” the Green Team raised money for sustainable trade practices and celebrated National Sweater Day by encouraging peers to lower the thermostat at home. Other school-wide initiatives the team has promoted include Meatless Wednesday in the dining hall and sustainable gift wrapping during the holidays and a Netflix party to view the movie There’s Something in the Water when the campus was closed.

Sebastian Reinhardt ’21, a co-leader of the Green Team

For the students involved in the Green Team, the experience of balancing club responsibilities with coursework and other co-curriculars has helped them build valuable life skills. “With classes all day and plenty of activities during the evenings, it’s been crucial to learn better time management,” says Sebastian.

Marieke points to the communication skills she has honed through her involvement with the Green Team. “Speaking in front of the school assemblies made me really nervous at first,” she admits, “but the more I do it, the more comfortable I am.”

“Ultimately, leadership skills come through experience,” Tom says. “It’s been a challenging thing to gather a group of peers together and delegate tasks. But the more we face, the more we grow. Through our commitment to this club, we’re showing people that we care and hopefully encouraging them to join us.”

The Green Team recognizes that catalyzing change requires a deep investment of time and energy. Vilma Scattolin, the Green Team’s longtime faculty advisor, has watched the students rise to the occasion. “It has been amazing to see them take ownership as they come up with ideas and implement them,” she reflects. “Everyone’s putting in the extra work to show their peers how to take positive, principled action.”