Kearny High School S.A.V.E. Club at the Meadowlands Birding Festival
The NJSEA was pleased to welcome the Kearny High School S.A.V.E. Club to the Meadowlands Birding Festival on Sunday, Oct. 4. Students gave out copies of the club’s Endangered Species Activity Book created last year. S.A.V.E. is an acronym for Students Against A Vanishing Earth.
The impressive guide is filled with engaging facts and plenty of activities to support the club’s goal of educating the next generation about endangered species in New Jersey. Young people can learn about and color an array of wildlife species, including turtles, raptors, reptiles, butterflies and bats. A nature word search and crossword puzzle, and tips on simple ways kids can help the environment are also featured.
“We wanted to give kids ideas for things they can do to help the environment,” said senior Layla Luciano, the illustrator of the activity book. “We wanted to make the book fun and useful.”
“I’ve always admired animals in nature,” added fellow senior Sebastian Roa. “I’m also very interested in history. Those are the major reasons why I joined the S.A.V.E. Club. I want to help the community and preserve the Earth.”
The club currently consists of 23 students. Over the past two years, students ran a plastics recycling drive, collecting more than 2,000 pounds of plastic films and bags. This year they have expanded their reach and are collecting all types of household batteries through the Recycle My Battery Program.
“We’re sharing what we do with the next generation to inspire them about endangered species. We want people to help the environment at a younger age,” said S.A.V.E. Club member Manuel Paz, a senior. His brother, freshman Lucas Paz, added that “it’s important to share how to conserve and how conservation helps protect species.”
Club Advisor Krystina McGee said she is proud of the initiative the students take in bringing their message of environmental stewardship to fellow students and the public. “They are very dedicated,” Ms. McGee said. “They meet twice a week after school for almost two hours.
“They’re very eager and love to teach,” she said. When I raise an idea, their reaction is, ‘Let’s do it!’ For instance, she recently learned that Haven in the Woods, a wildlife rehabilitation center and sanctuary in New Jersey, needed acorns for a variety of young animals in their care, including raccoons and squirrels. S.A.V.E. club students promptly collected over 20 bags of acorns in the first week of the initiative.
“They are great kids who are making a difference,” Ms. McGee said.
Kudos to the Kearny High School S.A.V.E. Club!
