Two years ago, I realized that my high school, Gann Academy, a Jewish day school in Waltham, Mass., was missing something. I was a sophomore at the time and became aware that my school had no environment club. It was hard for me to believe that in a world in which the environment has become such a major issue, a time when wind turbines straight out of War of the Worlds are built right in people’s backyards, no Gann Academy student had ever decided to start a club dedicated to the environment.

It occurred to me that at a Jewish school, a place where people are dedicated to tikkun olam (repairing the world), we were especially compelled to shepherd the earth. As is said in Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13, “Do not corrupt or desolate my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”

Although I was by no means a hardcore environmentalist at the time, I did consider myself a responsible member of planet Earth. I thought about the mission a high school environment club would embrace, and I started to put my thoughts on paper. Before long I had developed a plan, and with my proposal in hand, I approached my school’s club director. With her enthusiastic response, I founded the Gann Academy Environment Club in 2007 with the hope that I could involve my school community in the fight to save our planet.

Making a difference to the environment was not my only challenge. Learning how to effectively advertise a club, promote new ideas and manage meetings were challenges too. Between good timing, support from friends, teachers and administrators, and with my loud and energetic announcements, I was able to get the word out that the Environment Club existed, that we were meeting weekly to discuss initiatives and that we meant business. Since my first, nervous club announcement before an all-school assembly almost two years ago, the Environment Club has become one of Gann’s most popular student organizations. 

Our first initiative was to bring in an expert, someone who could help get a serious discussion going. Michael Oshman, the president of the Green Restaurant Association, gave our school a clear overview of the critical environmental challenges we face. Although I remember messing up his name during the introduction (it’s Mi-cha-el, as in the Hebrew, not Michael!), I quickly corrected myself and since then have become a more confident public speaker. 

In the past two years, we have brought in more speakers, held a canvas grocery bag drive featuring our Environment Club student-designed logo (we sold 200 bags), helped inspire the change from plastic cutlery and dishware to alternative eco-friendly products in our cafeteria, ran assemblies, sent out many public service announcements and, this past spring, published our first newsletter (paperless and online, of course!). Sure, we haven’t switched our energy source yet or set up a composting system, but we’re making good progress in a school that has never before been truly environmentally conscious. 

At first I looked at a lot of the big changes I wanted for my school. After talking with administrators, faculty and staff, I realized that without initial smaller changes and, more important, school-wide exposure to the issues, progressing to the bigger issues would be impossible. The leaders of my community who mentor me have shown me the importance of creating a foundation by starting small in order to build big.

Making changes for the environment isn’t merely about ordering new light bulbs or switching the forks and knives we use; it’s about creating an actively aware culture in our community. People around Gann have warmed up to the club’s initiatives and ideas. Establishing small but crucial progress in the beginning and spreading awareness has opened up opportunities that we can now seize. 

Our next major initiative is to create an environmental task force. Students, teachers and administrators will all participate, and hopefully, with enough collaboration and creativity, Gann will continue going green.

David Imber is a senior at Gann Academy in Waltham, Mass. In his free time, he plays guitar, reads, listens to Bob Dylan and skis.