Thank you to all of the students who submitted entries, we so are lucky to have young people in our community in tune with and dedicated to the environment. We support you and are proud to have leaders like you, right here in Highland Park. As we did not receive any middle school entries, we selected one essay and one poem, both from HPHS students.

Congratulations to Erik Anderson, 11th grade HPHS, for the essay, “Green Believer” and Tanan Jigd, 10th grade HPHS, for the poem The Future.

The Future, by Tanan Jigd, 10th grade, Highland Park High School

The once lively world  

Turned a dark grey

The clammy, lifeless air whistles through the split weeds and dried foliage 

The blazing sun beats down on the lasts of us 

increasing each step we take into  

unknown territory

The once blooming yellow dandelions and tulips seated beneath an empty birch tree  

are downcast  

sombered by the neglect and disregard given to them throughout mankind

They gasp for air, synchronizing with my labored respiration

Shakily 

I place them in fertile soil  

Cautiously 

I use the last of the water supply to quench the sunken flowerings’s thirst

I felt deep and agonizing anguish as the last drop  

hit  

the now glistening blossom 

I stumble toward the birch tree 

And recline upon the scorched terrain 

A hearty grin appears on my face 

I bask in the luminary sunlight 

And fade away 

Over time 

The once listless bloom grew into many more  

When sacrifice 

and care  

was finally blessed upon nature 

It gave back 

Skys were now pouring with lively rain 

Thunder Cracks as loud as family chatter 

And rainbows as vibrant and happy as holiday carolers 

The once listless bloom grew into many more 

Chanting 

And singing with joy  

Once again.

“Green Believer” by Erik Anderson, 11th Grade, Highland Park High School

Every year during winter break my family heads off to Ryerson Woods to cross country ski on the various wooded trails. A cool winter breeze touches my face as I take the first strides onto the trail and I am reminded of winter’s beauty and serenity. Typically, we can count on a couple of weeks of good snow. This year was different. We didn’t go cross country skiing on New Year’s day. Instead, I rode my bike down to the beach. I could see the sand and the calm water, but the normally icy shoreline was absent from the Chicago lakefront. I pondered this as I sat on the bench looking out into the lake with a balmy breeze hitting my face. I realized this year’s winter truly wasn’t like the rest. It was too warm. One might think that this warm winter’s day was just a fluke and that this day, like many others during typical Chicago winters, was simply a quick warm spell before the next cold blast. This year, that was not the case.

Chicago’s average temperatures from December 1, 2019 to January 15, 2020 were 7.2 degrees above normal (NBC Chicago), making that time period one of the warmest on record. It’s no secret that global warming is gaining momentum mostly due to ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions. For more than 800,000 years, carbon dioxide levels have remained below 300 parts per million (NASA). Currently, carbon dioxide levels are at 413 parts per million and expected to continue rising.

You may ask yourself: what does this have to do with me? Everything. Each of us is not only contributing to the environmental crisis, but we will have to be part of the solution. Many believe that it’s up to governments and corporations to make the changes necessary to slow climate change. Many also believe that their individual efforts in fighting climate change are ineffective. This is false. The reality is that it will take individuals, governments, and corporations all doing their part to make any significant changes. When individuals make a commitment to practice environmental sustainability, families catch on, then communities, cities, states, and countries. We all have to take the initiative. As history shows, individuals and communities acting at a local level are capable of making the greatest change.

My contribution to environmental sustainability comes in various forms. At school, I am the co-president of the Green School Initiative club. Over the years the club has developed, planned, and carried out sustainable, environmentally conscious projects. Thanks to the club there will be an outdoor classroom at Highland Park High School installed in the next ten years. We also installed a dual flush toilet at the District 113 administrative building, saving thousands of gallons of water per year. This year we have started a recycling initiative to develop a more effective recycling plan for HPHS. The club is also working on a solar panel project in hopes of installing panels on a portion of the HPHS roof in the coming years. The club has involved the entire HPHS community by adding video clips to the HPTV announcements to inform students of the recycling initiative. We have also collaborated with many of Highland Park’s staff to communicate and plan our projects. This year, there are more GSI members than any other year and the club has taken large steps to inform the HPHS community of sustainable projects around the school. These projects have brought students and staff together with a shared sense of enthusiasm and commitment. Taking the initiative to protect the environment really does affect others and inspires them to do more.

At the Highland Park community level, I am part of the Sustainability Advisory Group that works to initiate large scale environmental projects around the city. I act as a liaison to share information about environmentally sustainable projects with the GSI club.

Finally, there are many effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint by taking sustainable actions within your own home. In my home, for example, we are conscious about turning off lights, reducing water consumption, and recycling as much as possible. We also donate clothes and items to local thrift stores. One of the most important things we do as a family is try to reduce our consumption of nonessential goods. These are some of the simplest ways we can all contribute to lessening our impact on the environment.

These days it is hard to step back from our daily lives and appreciate the little things that make up our world. Oftentimes we are so involved with other activities that we forget how closely we are linked to our environment. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has given us the chance to slow down and appreciate getting by with less. Across the globe, we have all had to work together to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps this will serve as a wake up call that we will all need to work together to prevent the looming environmental catastrophe.