Making Amherst Regional more environmentally friendly and preserving history through art in Belchertown are two ways that local high school students are using their creativity to have a lasting impact.
Amherst Regional junior Sarah Lee, president of the school’s Environmental Action Club, led the drive to install machines that quickly refill reusable water bottles. The first began operating this month.
In Belchertown, some three dozen students in three art classes taught by Lori St. Pierre are using glass to create a mosaic showing features of the town that will be displayed permanently at the Clapp Memorial Library.
Both projects have taught students the value of working together to make a difference in their community.
Lee’s drive to reduce reliance on disposable plastic water bottles is rooted in her native Korea, which she left four years ago. There she observed school projects that promoted reusing and recycling.
During the fall of 2015, Lee began planning how to discourage the use of plastic water bottles at Amherst Regional, but she didn’t realize how much it would cost.
The environmental club started raising awareness about reusing and recycling with a day-long flea market, which also raised $350. The proceeds were used to buy metal water bottles for students.
Then Lee got a $10,000 grant from the Amherst Regional High School Parent Guardian Organization to purchase the machines that rapidly dispense and filter cold water. A total of five are expected to be installed throughout the school, and they will be used by students and staff during the day, as well as athletes who are in the building at night.
“The goal is to have a greener environment. This saves the planet from water bottles,” Lee said as the first machine was turned on March 1.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, Americans buy an estimated 35 billion water bottles a year, but only 29 percent are later recycled. Plastic water bottles take more than 1,000 years to biodegrade, and if they are burned, produce toxic fumes.
The water-dispensing machines provide evidence of their positive impact on the environment with a counter showing the number of plastic bottles that otherwise would have been used.
“It’s exciting to see student-driven projects like this one making our school a greener place, ” Principal Mark Jackson said.
The Belchertown High School mosaic arose from a class that St. Pierre took with Easthampton artist Christine Kenneally.
St. Pierre then secured a $3,000 Students and Teachers Working with Artists, Scientists and Scholars grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for Kenneally to be a visiting artist in her classroom.
Kenneally designed the mural by using 80 to 90 images created by the students to show what makes Belchertown special — drawing from the environment and prominent buildings as well as concepts such as the impact the high school has on the community.
Then the students worked with different shapes and colors of cut and chipped glass to construct the mosaic mural. The project not only has taught students how to use an unfamiliar medium, but also the skills needed to work as a team to create art and assess its impact.
Sophomore Schuyler Bright said, “Some people have found it hard … to let go of the whole thing being their own. I haven’t found it that hard. I think it’s more interesting that it’s collective.”
Among the challenges, Bright continued, are deciding the best use of the hand-cut tiles. “Not using so many colors that you can’t tell what it is (depicting), but not using one flat color so that it is boring.”
The mosaic will be on permanent display at the Clapp Library, where a reception will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. April 6.
“It’s exciting to be able to have this kind of collaboration with the high school,” said Sheila McCormick, director of the library. “I feel like it is really important for us to be able to extend the reach of these students and let the rest of the community see what they are capable of and what they are creating, and it’s great for the library.”
A greener school in Amherst and artwork in Belchertown are products of imaginative students whose work will be enjoyed for years to come.