Eco-Action Club

Eco-Action Club is the environmental club at Unionville High School. I have been participating in this club in the past three years. This year, I am the co-president of Eco-Action Club. This club mainly works on many environmental issues such as anti-idling, recycling, etc. We also are actively involved in various events. Some examples of the activities that we have done are listed below.

IWALK Competition
In October 2005, I took the initiative and the leadership position to organize a competition with Milliken Mills High School, a neighbouring high school in the community, during the IWALK Week or International Walk to School Week. As the co-president of the Unionville High School's environmental Eco-Action Club, I worked together with another secondary school to spread hope and spark change.

The main goal of this 5-day competition was not only to encourage more students to walk, bike, bus or carpool to school, but as well as to raise ecological awareness. A week prior to the actual competition, I have designed many posters and advertisement about this inter-school contest along with volunteers and members of the Eco-action club. Large IWALK banner was posted on the school atrium wall to promote more students to become involved. Every morning, there was announcement made about this exciting competition. I looked for every possible way to inform the students in the school and to get the school ready for this challenge. During the IWALK week, I assigned volunteers with different entrances to the school to tally the total number of students who have walked, bused, biked or carpooled to school. In addition, stickers are given out to students as souvenirs to remember always try to help our environment choosing a mutualistic transportation. Everyday, I calculated the average percentage of students who have participated and exchanged this information with Milliken Mills High School. At the end, the event was extremely successful through the hard work of everyone. My school won the competition. But the results weren't as important as the influences this event has on the students of the two participating high schools. It emphasized the need to help save our environment. At the same time, it encouraged more people to become actively involved in the environmental clubs of both schools.

This experience was meaningful to me in many ways. It contributed to my growth as a person and a leader. It allowed me to work closely with another school to promote change and in doing so, it improved my interpersonal skills, communication skills and management skills. On another level, I accomplished more than winning the contest, but the support from the teachers and students to save our environment. Because I am always passionate about helping to protect the environment, this event has expressed my passion and action towards the first step in making a difference.

School Recycling
Eco-action ensures that all the recyclable materials around the school are been recycled to the right place. Every Wednesday, lots of dedicated volunteers take out recyclable products. We have also placed different bins for papers and bottles that are separated from garbage. In addition, two recycling monitors are selected to be responsible for doing recycling for their home room class. at the end of each semester, Eco-Action awards the classrooms that recycled the most.

Performance in Winter Assembly at Markham Theatre
In order to promote more environmental awareness, I have directed the Eco-Action Club to perform in the school's yearly winter assembly at Markham Theatre. Our performance featured the environmental versions of the Christmas carols. The lyrics are created to emphasize recycling, reducing and reusing through the use of devices such as humour, satire, parody, etc. The performance has definitely influenced somewhat the perspectives of the audience. (View Lyrics )

Holiday Gift Bag Fundraising
During the holiday season, I have prepared a fundraising for Pathways, an organization that helps children, youth and families. A month prior to this event, I led the Eco-Action Club to craft beautiful holiday gift bags to be sold the week before Christmas break. Selling the holiday gift bags served two functions. Other than making all the profits as a donation for the Pathways, and concurrently, it also encouraged people to consider reusable gift bags to wrap presents instead of wasting packaging papers year after year. We decided that it's a great way for everyone to give a gift to the earth as well during this holiday season.

Café discount proposal
This is one of the projects that Eco-Action focuses on this year. It's prime goal is to encourage more students and teachers in the school to bring their reusable tupperware and coffee mugs to school. We have written a proposal to the manager of the cafeteria to grant bonus in the form of possibly 10% discount if the purchaser brings his/her own tupperware or mug.

Anti-idling campaign
In the previous years, we have done many anti-idling campaigns in school and with the Town of Markham. This year, we'll be continuing our anti-idling program. I organized the first campaign of the school year 2005-2006 in October 2005. Many volunteers and members of the club were involved in handing out pamphlets on idling and talking to parents about our program.

Otesha Project- Unionville High School Triple-H Team
The Otesha project first started with 30 students biking across the country, talking to youth from coast to coast. Eco-Action has joined the High School Triple-H Team in 2005. This program is established to raise environmental awareness through acting. Eco-Action will continue to be enrolled in Triple-H and perform in various places. Last year, we volunteered to perform in the Earth Day Assembly, Unionvilla Senior Home, Thornhill Secondary School, etc. This year, I'll be leading a new group of students to involve in a training weekend before we go off to perform.

(Also refer to the Extra-curriculum section of my resume)