The project, titled “SOS,” is on display near the school’s entrance and was designed by Kathy Cormack’s Environment Science 11 class. The students took about one week to gather the plastics from the waste streams located at the school to highlight the issue.
“We all wanted to do something creative that will kind of bring awareness to the problem and that we are a big part of the problem,” said Maiya Leonardo, a Grade 11 student in the class. “We wanted the school to be aware of our over-consumption of single-use and how we dispose of it.”
Leonardo said most of the plastics the class used for the project were found in the wrong streams, such as a paper cup recovered from the garbage instead of recycling. Additionally, Leonardo said that the title “SOS” is a reference to the morse code sequence, which is sometimes associated with the phrase “save our souls.”
However, she said that she and other classmates also came up with a few other phrases to fit “SOS,” such as “save our seas,” “sustainability over single-use,” and “selfless over selfish.”
Leonardo also said she hoped the project would show the community that youth are invested in bettering the planet and inspiring others to take note of their waste habits.
“I want people to know that us — as youth in the community — care and we’re trying to make a difference. And I think that will help encourage other people to try to do something about it,” she said.
Even though the project is on full display, the class has not stopped thinking about what’s ahead for the community. Cormack said the class is now working on identifying some local issues they see when it comes to single-use plastics and how they can help address those issues around town.
When asked whether they felt like their generation inherited an environmental problem, the class largely agreed and pointed out that there were many reasons for the problems at hand. A few students pointed out that it would take effort from everyone in the community to help reverse some of our waste behaviours.
Still, Leonardo noted that the process won’t be easy.
“I want there to be hope. I just think it’s going to be hard. And everyone needs to put in the work if they want to see change,” said Leonardo. “I just think, do your part. It’s a joint effort. If everyone does their part, it’ll make the world a better place. And, generations after us will have a future waste-free hopefully.”
