Project: Verdance makes Lake County history
Project: Verdance, a Future Business Leaders of America community service project founded by Wauconda High School students Michael Scheck and Alexus Teran, is quickly becoming one of the largest student-led environmental initiatives in Lake County.
During Earth Week in April, students and educators from schools across the county united to participate in large-scale cleanup efforts focused on restoring parks, roadsides, neighborhoods and public spaces throughout local communities. What began as an ambitious idea quickly developed into one of the largest student-led cleanup efforts Lake County has seen, bringing together volunteers, organizations, and students from multiple schools, under one shared mission: creating real environmental change through action.
Almost every high school in Lake County hosted a trash cleanup, with notable contributions from Lakes Community High School, Carmel Catholic High School, Mundelein High School, Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest High School, Highland Park High School, Waukegan High School, Deerfield High School, and Wauconda High School. With all efforts combined, students removed over 2,500 pounds of trash from natural areas.
Alongside coordinating countywide participation, Scheck and Teran also organized and led a Wauconda cleanup initiative, mobilizing volunteers to target heavily littered streets and parks. Throughout the day, students worked together collecting bags of trash, restoring community areas, and demonstrating the impact young people can make when they take initiative.
However, the team’s influence extends far beyond a single event.
Over the past year, Verdance Volunteers have presented to over 2,200 elementary students through presentations about environmental literacy in young students. These presentations aimed to educate children on local environmental challenges while encouraging others to become more involved in creating solutions within their own schools and communities.
In less than two weeks, Scheck and Teran will take their work to the national stage at the FBLA National Leadership Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, where they will represent both their Wauconda chapter and the state of Illinois. Their qualification for nationals reflects not only competitive success but also the growing recognition of the organization’s mission and communal impact.
Project: Verdance was founded on the belief that students would not have to wait to make a difference. By combining environmental action with leadership and community engagement, the organization is proving that meaningful change can begin at the local level and grow into something much larger.