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On Senior Service Day, KHS Science teacher Vince Lorenz and the Environmental Club took the opportunity to volunteer for the community. Working with the Wildcat Guardians, this group spent the morning cleaning up trash and other wastes around the creek. This service has been a tradition for the Environmental Club, and many seniors look forward to it. It’s a way to help preserve the natural beauty surrounding the creek.
“Cleaning up the creek is important for several reasons other than it just makes things look nicer and feels good,” said Environmental Club sponsor Vince Lorenz. “Trash can be consumed by wildlife causing illness or death. Some trash can be collected and recycled into new products. Trash that does not get picked up in and around the creek can break down into microplastics and get into our water supply as well as greatly impacting the food chain and other organisms.”
Senior Phoebe Kursinsky had an amazing time with this service project. When volunteering, she was shocked to have found so many interesting things along the way. Two of those things were a fishing pole and a metal sign. Kursinsky believes all seniors should take part in this tradition.
“It is great for the environment and Kokomo, and you also get to spend time with your friends doing something good,” she said.
Many great memories are made at the clean up, memories that will last a long time after high school.
“Getting free pizza is always great, but my favorite memory above the rest is when my group started dancing to the Macarena,” Kursinsky said.
Another senior that participated in the cleanup was Emoni Burton. She also had many positives things to say about volunteering.
“After cleaning up it was really humbling to see how dirty the creek really was.” Her favorite part of the day was eating pizza after being out in the cold for so long. Although she did not find anything cool along the way, Burton said she found what her group considered “liquid poison” in a bottle they found. Burton also agreed that she would definitely recommend that all seniors do this on their day off.
Overall, this service day was a huge success in helping clean up the area around the Wildcat Creek. The students who participated had good things to say about it, and everyone had fun while cleaning up. Not only was this for a good cause for the environment and the community, but it was a way to have fun with friends in the process.
“Providing students with the opportunity to volunteer is important, but what better way than to get outside to get some fresh air and make our community a better place,” Lorenz said.
Environmental Club will have another creek cleanup on April 13. Students who are interested in participating can contact Lorenz.
“If you are looking for service hours, like the outdoors, and want to make a difference in your community and an impact with others, Environmental Club is definitely a club you should look into.”
