What’s recently happened?
From attending monthly town council meetings, creating a petition to establish stronger protections for wetlands, and pushing to establish a Sustainability Council in Munster, Munster High School’s (MHS) Environmental Club (EC) pushes to make a lasting impact in its environment.
“At one of the town council meetings, Paul Neilson, the leader of Munster’s Sustainable and Green group, came along with us,” Lily Hestjean, senior and club leadership member, said. “We spoke there and said that we want to see more environmental efforts and more environmental decisions made.”
As EC urges legislators to focus on environmental issues, the club also takes time to continuously keep itself educated on important environmental subjects and ways members can continue to be involved past high school.
At the club’s Nov. 2 meeting, a government employee from the Dunes National Lakeshore came in to talk about job opportunities for students, future career paths, the ecology of the Dunes, and why the Dunes is an important national park. At the Nov. 9 meeting, the club welcomed two interns from Just Transition Northwest Indiana. The interns discussed their work to help communities move away from fossil fuel reliance.
“The main goal of EC is to get people to act within their community,” Cavin McNulty, junior and club leadership member, said. “However, school can take up a lot of time, and we may not have free time to fight for the environment. We bring speakers into meetings to inspire and give students opportunities to take action as an occupation instead of only a hobby.”
What’s coming up?
Within MHS, EC is in the process of turning the north courtyard into a monarch waystation, which serves as a place to host native pollinators. Club members are also currently running a fabric recycling drive that kept thousands of pounds of clothes out of the landfills last year.
Coming up, EC will be at the Seidner Dune and Swale in Highland to participate in a guided hike on Nov. 16. On Dec. 7, EC will be holding a meeting where McNulty will teach members about Hydrogen Hubs.
“The club is so important to me because it gives students these opportunities to get involved and educates students on how important our environment is,” Addy Ellis, junior and club leadership member, said. “Our other leadership members, Lily and Cavin, have been doing amazing jobs at finding resources and allocating them to our club.”
Staff spotlight:
Viewing his job as more of an opportunity to pass on his passion for the environment and science, Michael Bakker, science teacher and EC sponsor, has been a teacher for eight years.
“I love talking about science, thinking about science, and teaching science,” Bakker said. “I’m getting paid to do all of those things. It’s a win-win. I feel that being a teacher is the best way for me to make a positive impact on the world. I am beyond upset about the number of people in the world who are science deniers, and this is my way to have less people like that in the world.”
Before Bakker came to MHS in 2021, he taught at a school that did not provide AP Environmental Science, so he was eager to take on that course at Munster. He has taught AP Environmental Science, Zoology, and Biology.
“I feel like I was made to teach AP Environmental Science,” Bakker said. “Munster is a great school district with great staff and great students. I really enjoy my fellow teachers, but mostly it's about engagement with the students. Seeing the students invested in the material is incredibly rewarding.”
Although the EC existed previously, the club was not running when Bakker arrived at MHS as the past sponsor stepped aside. Bakker agreed to be the new sponsor of the EC starting the spring of his first year.
“I wanted to sponsor the club, but only if we could focus on making a real difference through community engagement, awareness, and activism,” Bakker said. “If the club was just about crafts and cleaning up garbage, I wouldn’t want to be involved.”
Bakker continuously encourages his students and EC club members to find ways to learn about their environment and discover ways to be involved with helping the environment.
“I’m a father, a grandfather, and a teacher,” Bakker said. “I spend a lot of time worrying about kids. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to today's youth. The natural world is so beautiful, and it genuinely hurts me to see it being destroyed. I want my granddaughters to grow up in a world with elephants, whales, and rhinos, not just see pictures of them in books.”
Student spotlight:
Looking back at all her teachers and classes throughout her school career, Hestjean has always found herself to have a particular interest in her science courses. Her passion for science was further encouraged by her mother, who has always motivated Hestjean to seek out opportunities to indulge in concepts outside the classroom.
“My mom has always pushed me to understand subjects in school and find ways to have fun with it,” Hestjean said. “I remember the science club my mom started in elementary school, and I loved doing all those fun science experiments. Now, in high school, the atmosphere of my science classes has always been so welcoming, and I have always been able to ask questions.”
When Hestjean was a freshman in 2020, she came into MHS when EC was not running. However, Hestjean has always found ways on her own to better her environment.
“My family is pretty big on reducing waste and our carbon footprint, so we compost and try to save energy by being more aware of our light and energy use,” Hestjean said. “I also like to attend the Dunes beach cleanups, do various weeding for invasive species, and do gardening when I get the opportunity to do so.”
When Bakker started EC back up again, Hestjean knew she would find her place in the club. She was inspired by Bakker’s motivation for EC to become a group that would make a tangible difference.
“He did not just want us to pick up trash on the street. That’s important, but he wanted to do more than that,” Hestjean said. “He has always encouraged us to expand our boundaries and reminds us that the possibilities are limitless in the environment that we are in.”
Since Hestjean has been a part of EC, she has become more aware of the issues that the environment faces.
“My passion has grown because of environmental injustice,” Hestjean said. “We learn in EC about what is really happening with pollution in our region. It is really eye opening and makes me think, ‘How can we fix and fight this?’”
As Hestjean is in the midst of her senior year, she looks forward to her journey past high school. She hopes to study in a field of environmental science. She is interested in possibly getting a background in education so she can work on restoration projects. She also expresses interest in water quality treatment and plant science.
“I want to do something that will actually allow me to be involved in the community,” Hestjean said. “I want to have the opportunity to give back while doing what I love.”