Recognizing and embracing Earth Day is a long standing tradition here at KHS with our Kenwood Environmental Nestwork (K.E.N.).
Earth Day was celebrated on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Earth Day is celebrated because it allows billions of people to take the initiative in recognizing the environment. Some fear people do not acknowledge and take care of the environment on a regular consistent basis, but Earth Day is to help remind them that the environment deserves to be clean and healthy. This day also brings people together here at Kenwood with the opportunity to take part in activities such as cleaning litter around our environment or simply recycling everything they possibly can.
For the tradition of Earth Day here at KHS, the Environmental Club, organized by Mr. Woodward, hosts a campus clean up, as well as several other exciting events throughout the day. “We had great participation in this year’s Earth Day campus clean up. We had over 100 students involved,” reflects Mr. Woodward.
Kenwood High School has also been a Green School since 2018, with the support of annual traditions like this one. Kenwood’s Environmental Club annual events also include an annual plant sale, in which students have been collecting plants since late January. This is the main fundraiser for the K.E.N. In addition to this, a sunflower competition is hosted, a pollinator garden rehab, and green out.
The plant sale takes place in Room 212 starting on Earth Day and runs “until they are gone, which is usually within 2-3 days. We suggest a $2 donation for each plant but are happy to accept whatever you are generous enough to give to help the environmental club on our journey to get a greenhouse. You can pay using a school payment account, Venmo, or cash,” adds Woodward.
These events exist not only to showcase what can be done around Earth Day, but to get students involved and engaged in helping and supporting their environment.
Junior N’Naya Simmons, was one of the fellow students who participated in the campus clean up. She shares that after helping in the clean up, “I realized that together we can make the school a better place.” She also adds, “I personally make sure to never litter and recycle to keep the environment clean.” This goes to show that there are students, who choose to make the effort to make a difference in the environment and take care of it as a whole.
Another junior, Cierra Bullock also participated in the campus clean up. She shares, “Everybody needs to help and pitch in to understand that our environment is a reflection of who we are as individuals.” She also adds, “I always make sure to throw away my trash and recycle when possible.” Lastly, she adds, “If I see my friends leave something behind, I throw it away for them.” This shows that in order for our environment to become cleaner, as a community and society, everybody needs to come together.
As a society, it’s our job to make sure that we are doing everything we can in order to keep the Earth clean and a healthy place. Recycling is a very important and beneficial thing that anyone can participate in. Let’s continue caring for our environment well beyond Earth Day.
To see if there are any plants still available reach out to Mr. Woodward at [email protected].
Check out all these past stories of all the great things K.E.N has accomplished here at KHS over the years:
