By: Audrey Weiss
On October 23, BSA community members met for the first of the bi-annual clean-up days held at Herring Run. The event, co-hosted by the BSA Green Team and the Black Student Union (BSU), allowed BSA to join the efforts of the Friends of Herring Run– an area in desperate need of cleaning.
Sign In Booth for Friends Herring Run Parks. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Volunteers collected several bags of trash around Herring Run. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Joy Bacon and Jocelyn Providence, teachers at BSA, volunteer with the Green Team at Herring Run. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Herring run, part of Herring Run Park in northeast Baltimore, eventually leads to the Chesapeake Bay. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Volunteers collected larger items such as tires, scooters, and bicycle parts from around the water. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Herring Run sign. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Green team members tend to the garden boxes in the courtyard from left: Ella Voos, Nora Hughes, Mia Dyer, Rebecca Schulteis, Grace Sutherland. Photograph by Audrey Weiss, BSA Muse 
Herring Run Park flyer. Made by BSA Green Team 
Herring Run Selfie of Chloe Ruffin, Rachel Schmid-James, Grace Sutherland, Ella Voos, and Anne Laro. Photograph taken by Anne Laro, Green Team advisor
On October 23, BSA community members met for the first of the bi-annual clean-up days held at Herring Run. The event, co-hosted by the BSA Green Team and the Black Student Union (BSU), allowed BSA to join the efforts of the Friends of Herring Run– an area in desperate need of cleaning.
Volunteers were met with loads of trash that had either been stuck in the terrain after drifting down the run or had been thrown down from the bridge and roads above. After two hours, more than 40 bags of trash and several large irregular objects had been removed from the natural area.
These clean up days are only one of the projects that the BSA Green Team currently has underway, as the group works for a greater initiative.
The Green Team is currently working on its application for Green School certification with the MAEOE (Maryland Association of Environmental Outdoor Education).
“The process will take until May, when we submit our application and website demonstrating all of our work at BSA”, said Green Team Advisor Anne Laro. “Not only are students involved in the process, but the BSA teachers and staff also.”
The Green School application process requires a school to demonstrate sustainable practices, community partnerships, and curriculum/school-wide behavioral changes.
As the Green Team continues to work on its submission, they will continue to engage with BSA community members to make sure all boxes on the application are checked. In the past month, the team has produced and distributed home-made cleaning products and harvested the food that was gardened in the courtyard in an effort to complete their application.
As far as the next sequence of action for the Green Team, staff and teachers are to receive training and professional development on environmental issues; students will also have opportunities to engage in sustainable-based learning during the newly scheduled advisory on Fridays.
“We will be notified of our certification status by May”, Anne Laro concluded, “and if we are awarded the certification, our team will attend a ceremony at Sandy Point State Park.”
The students of BSA have demonstrated, most recently through a walkout on October 22, that they want to take action when it comes to climate change and related issues, reflecting the pattern of youth around the world taking a stand against the lack of effort put in by major governments.
“Young people are not only victims of climate change. They are also valuable contributors to climate action”, the United Nations states, “Whether through education, science or technology, young people are scaling up their efforts and using their skills to accelerate climate action.”
BSA’s pursuit of a Green School certification may be a small step, but it is a step forward to working for a more sustainable and climate-friendly future within the school and the surrounding community.
To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.