Earth Day Returns to HMHS

On April 23rd, Haddonfield Memorial High School students put out exhibitions in the courtyard for HMHS’s annual Earth Day celebration. This event was extremely important to our school community because last year’s program was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, however, Haddonfield students were fortunate to have the opportunity to celebrate Earth Day as they had in previous years, with the exception of social distancing and wearing masks.

The Covid pandemic was even incorporated into several student presentations. Nina Tan addressed the pollution increase resulting from the waste created by disposable mask use. Sarah Nattichia and Katie Hatch discussed the reduced emissions that resulted from the fact that people were not permitted to travel and industry was not able to operate during the pandemic.

In addition to the presentations inspired by recent events, there were also informative presentations on the serious issues that often come up in conversation about the environment, such as climate change. Olivia Mariano and Melanie Burns gave a presentation on the impact that climate change has on natural disasters. There were also some very informative presentations about issues that are having an impact closer to home. Jack Eyles and Kyle Smart gave a presentation about the diverse tree population that can be found in Haddonfield. Cece Fitzgerald, Amelia Dunn, and Valerie Bryzgolova gave a presentation on air pollutants that we encounter in our daily lives. 

There were also presentations about how people can change their everyday actions and surroundings to make them more environmentally friendly. Hannah Epstein’s presentation covered the different ways we can all conserve energy in our homes. Jada Eible Hargro, Lily Cheatham, Sarah Whiting, Valerie Goetter, and Danny Cavana addressed the impacts that the food that people eat, specifically meat products, have on the environment. These exhibitions could be seen throughout the front lawn of the school and the main courtyard.

Mr. Smith, who teaches Environmental Science courses at the high school and organizes Earth Day, explained that this ended up actually being a benefit that is not normally present. “Our 2021 Earth Day Fair revealed such great potential, but at the same time, that we have much work to do! We have dedicated, knowledgeable students who demonstrated their capacity to share what is important to them, and to all of us,” Mr. Smith said. More people were able to visit the exhibits because they were more spread out for social distancing. Overall, despite the challenges, Mr. Smith felt that the day was a success.