Recycling and ‘going green? is important, according to Oxford High School Senior Olivia Eckola, which is why she and her partner Allison Miller decided to promote going green as their public relations campaign for DECA.
‘My mom is really into doing all of that stuff like recycling and watching how much paper and water we use,? Eckola explained. ‘I can kind of see it at my own house and thought why not bring it to the high school because it’s important.?
She also said they chose going green because it’s an issue for the school district.
We discovered that Oxford High School isn’t getting (plastic) recycling anymore,? she said. ‘We did a little bit of research and we found out the paper is still being recycled, but the plastic bottles are not, so we’re trying to get that back.?
Through research, Eckola said the district last year paid $1,500 district wide, which includes all five elementary schools, the middle school and the high school, for both paper and plastic recycling. However, when the price was going to be bumped to $5,000 for both, the district dropped plastic and kept paper recycling at the $1,500 price.
Events to promote their campaign so far have included a school cleanup, which was held on Nov. 12, where 16 students helped clean the batting cages near the softball fields.
‘It was really overgrown and there were a lot of weeds,? Eckola said. ‘We didn’t 100 percent clean it up, but we’re planning on doing another one in the spring where we will improve on that.?
The other event for their campaign included guest speaker Kaitlin Koch, a Michigan State University Extension Educator, who spoke at the high school about community food systems.
‘The kids seemed really engaged and it was really informational,? Eckola said. ‘It kind of applied to Oxford students because a lot of kids live on farms.?
As for future plans, Eckola wants to study business. She currently has acceptance letters from Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, and University of Michigan Dearborn and is waiting on a letter back from Michigan State University.
‘I’m currently leaning towards Grand Valley,? she said.
Eckola said she learned a lot, while doing the go green project.
‘As for the project as a whole, I’ve learned that I need to plan things in advance and I need to communicate more with people,? she added. ‘As far as learning about going green, I’ve learned a lot about that too, because we had to do an aspect in the beginning when we were writing our essay to get facts and stuff.?