As a famous rapper once said, “We love the earth, it is our planet.” This year, “we” includes Webb. Various groups of students and teachers started projects to promote Earth Day and environmental awareness at Webb.

In celebration of the day, the Environmental Club organized a campus clean-up with numerous prizes, including water bottles, reusable straws, Webb t-shirts, and dorm work crew passes. About 30 Webb students participated and picked up a total of 11 bags of trash.

Jenna Hawkes (‘21), an involved member who helped plan the experience, said, “When people first started, they were skeptical as to whether they would find enough trash to make the contents worthwhile, but once they were done, you could see that they were shocked by how much there was to pick up.”

The Honors Global Sustainability & Solutions class earned the John Muir Award and planted native plants on Webb’s campus. They earned the award—the first American group to do so—by exploring Webb’s nature and working to preserve it. They also planted dozens of native plants in front of the lower Fawcett Library classrooms. Now, they are in full bloom. These plants not only add some beautiful spring colors to Webb’s campus, but they should also help to recreate Webb’s native ecosystem.

Mia Wang (‘20), who took Honors Global Sustainability & Solutions, was very proud of her accomplishments with her classmates. She said, “It was a very cool experience and changed the way I view the world. Before I took the class, I didn’t know very much about the environment, but now I understand what’s going on in the world and what we can do to help.”

Prior to Earth Day, Webb began composting. Next to the trash cans in the back of the dining hall, there is a new plastic box marked specifically for composting. The Dining Hall staff and Dean of Campus Life Rick Duque partnered together to initiate the composting project with the City of Claremont.  

Mr. Duque said, “I think that we are automatically programmed to just dump our uneaten food out, but we are trying to teach students and even myself that all that waste can be used for a better purpose.”

This year, Webb has made great strides in doing our part to help the environment. Webbies should continue to participate and organize environmental events while working to preserve the projects that have already been initiated.