Children’s Programming

Two Sustainable Highland Park members, Meliha Pihura Shiu and Rose DeLorenzo, have been appointed as co-advisors of the Environmental Club (EC) at Highland Park High School for the 2024-2025 school year. As SHP representatives already engaged in the HP School District Green Team, they follow in the footsteps of Irene Marx, long-time SHP member, co-chair, and Green Team contributor, in teaming up with teachers for the benefit of HP students and our local community.

So far, they have revived the 45 year old Environmental Club, whose members, led by Lily Solomon, won first place in the 2024 Governor’s Student Climate Challenge for their project addressing food waste. HPHS EC also won a $2,000 grant to purchase FarmBot, a precision agricultural robot already set up to enhance the school’s gardens.

HPHS students participate in Sustainable Highland Park’s street fair plant giveaways, town-wide adopt-a-drain and cleanup programs, and organized two of their own cleanups at the sports field.

Additionally, the EC will collaborate this spring with other schools in Highland Park on various sustainability initiatives, including setting up new and maintaining old vegetable patches, caring for rain gardens, and organizing post-game cleanups of athletic fields.

The club’s liaison to Sustainable Highland Park is Theo Shiffman, who also works closely with the Robotics team on FarmBot-related planning.

Other upcoming programming includes:

• Collaborating with the H.S. students who are working with Highland Park Library staff to restock the seed library.
• Working with the Highland Park High School Environmental Club to put on a Sustainable Fashion Show at Earth Day.
• Collaborating with the Irving Primary School green team on a children’s clothing swap.
• Occasional screening of environmental films geared to children, e.g. Aiden’s Butterflies.