From seed to sun: Teens go green

[ Originally published on: Friday, May 09, 2008 ]

ORANGE -- About a dozen middle and high school students got to plant something and take something home after their workshop on solar energy and growing food -- but they also learned from each other what they are doing to make this world a greener place.

The workshop, ''What Fuels Your Life? Using Solar Energy and Growing Your Own Food,'' was one of 25 workshops offered at the 17th annual Youth Conference held at the Ralph C. Mahar Middle School.

The workshop was led by Deb Habib of Seeds of Solidarity Farm in Orange, which specializes in salad mix, spinach, greens, tomatoes, flowers and 16 varieties of seed garlic.

During the 90-minute seminar, Habib spoke about her farm, which runs on solar energy and brought awareness to many about this country's high consumption of energy and resources. The group brainstormed things they can to do to be more energy efficient, including recycling, using more energy-efficient light bulbs, supporting local farms, biking to work and not buying bottled water.

Habib told the group that bottled water costs 240 to 1,000 times more than tap water. Another fact she shared was that the earth receives more energy from the sun in one hour than the world uses in a whole year.

As the country deals with soaring fuel, utility and food costs, buying locally and a focus on being ''green'' have gained the attention of more of the general public.

Thirteen-year-old Richard Galvin was shocked when he heard that the United States makes up 5 percent of the world's population, yet it uses 25 percent of its resources.

''That's unbelievable,'' said the seventh-grade student from Athol-Royalston Middle School. ''We are kind of being greedy; what about the other people?''

But, the seminar wasn't all about shock value. The group shared the different things that they are doing to conserve energy and recycle.

Callie Choiniere and Jacob Dulude are both culinary students at the Franklin County Technical School and they said they recycle anything they can.

The list of recyclables includes paper towels, coffee filters, tea bags and oil.

Choiniere said she thinks it is important because it is saving money and energy for the school. She said recycling is ''just habit'' now and what she does at home, too.

Kyleigh Wells, a senior at Franklin Tech, works at Dunkin' Donuts in Greenfield and said that she asked her manager if it is possible for the business to stop using plastic foam cups and use the paper cups they already have for the specialty drinks.

Many of the students were introduced to potato starch utensils, which are made from a biodegradable type of plastic, thus better for the environment.

The Youth Conference was sponsored by the Community Coalition for Teens, a program of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. The conference, attended by about 275 teens, was planned by middle and high school students.

''It is an opportunity for the youth to take the lead in planning something for other youth,'' said Rachel Stoler, programs coordinator for the coalition.

She said this year that there has been more of a focus on the environment than in the past.

 

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