Students conserve Earth while serving community
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ST. IGNATIUS — A clear blue sky and warm temperatures were the perfect backdrop for Earth Day events in St. Ignatius, as young children painted empty egg containers and plastic bottles to grow small plants, the cheerful melody of ukuleles filling the warm air.
The first annual Earth Day event served two important purposes. One introduced the community of St. Ignatius to Students Serving Community, a new club at St. Ignatius High School created to help students meet the required 40 hours of community service needed to graduate. The other was to celebrate the beauty of the Mission Valley and how to sustain and preserve it.
Forty hours of community service is a requirement for graduating seniors. However, students start their freshman year and work until their senior year to accumulate enough service time in their community.
Senior Austin Durglo is ready to graduate, and he has clocked more than enough hours of community service. Just this year, he accumulated more than 50 hours after founding Students Serving Community.
“I knew some kids were looking for community service (opportunities), and this club is involved in everything,” Durglo said.
As a way to introduce the club to the community, the members hosted an Earth Day event at the Good Old Days Park. Admission was free to the public and included entertainment, food, vendors, and poster contests for elementary and middle school students, informational booths, recycling drop off and crafts for kids.
“It was a good event to reach out to the community so that they know we have this club at the school,” Durglo said, estimating that the group has somewhere between 15 to 20 members.
“We live in such a beautiful place, and to try to preserve it, we thought there was a need for (an Earth Day event) in Mission,” said club advisor Sara Keast.
“I think the turnout was good. I didn’t know what to expect. The club can only grow from here,” Durglo said.
