Olive-Mary Stitt's Ecology Club gains knowledge from experts

This year, Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School's Ecology Club is striving to share actionable information with its student members that can help them and their families incorporate sustainability into their lives and inspire lifelong, environmentally-friendly practices.

For its January meeting, the Ecology Club invited Water Commissioner Debra Shore and Mary Allen of Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County to share hands-on education. These are two in a series of presenters being brought in to discuss the importance of doing what we can as a community to sustain the environment that we live in.

"To help educate them, we have lined up a series of speakers throughout the course of the year," Ecology Club parent volunteer Regan Sonnabend said. "What makes these of particular interest, in my mind, is that officials from local utilities, including an elected official, are taking the time to come educate our children on water conservation and reducing waste."

Other presenters slated for this school year include Andy Keller, founder and CEO of ChicoBag; Tim Barckholtz, ExxonMobil researcher who developed Carbon Capture technology; and Kirsten Neely, Morningstar Farms researcher on the environmental benefits of plant-based diets.

In addition, the Olive Ecology Club has met with Coletta Hines-Newell, District 25's director of Food Services, to discuss ways to reduce food service waste and participate in the Go Green Illinois effort to collaborate with other schools in the area to share successes, ideas and best practices.

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