Sammy Sahito, Dania Khan and Karneet Arora, left to right, members of the Earth Youth Environmental Society of Edison, plant a tree in the new orchard the organization created at Edison High School. EDISON — Local youths are taking the future of the planet into their own hands.
The declining health of the Earth is of major concern to members of the Earth Youth Environmental Society (EYES) of Edison. Their assertion is that the responsibility for nursing the planet back to health should be shared by all its inhabitants.
“We feel it is important to show the next generation of our planet’s caretakers that they can do little things to make a big difference,” said Edison High School sophomore Vallab Nayak, president of EYES. “If we don’t watch out for our planet, our carelessness will eventually come back and hurt us. Let’s do something while we still can.”
Ashwini Varghese, project manager for the Earth Youth Environmental Society of Edison, holds a new tree in place as volunteers help with the planting at Edison High School. An effort in 2009 by then-fifth-grader Vallab, Aasav Metha, Karneet Arora and Srijan Saha to build a garden at their school — Lincoln Elementary in Edison — has since blossomed into an international club. Fellow students joined them locally at Herbert Hoover Middle School, Edison High School and worldwide on their mission to educate students about bettering the world.
With an online presence the students developed over time, EYES garnered more interest from people in other countries last year.
“We now have a few hundred members worldwide,” Vallab said.
Most harvests from the garden built at Lincoln Elementary go directly to area charities such as Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick and the Hands of Hope food pantry in Edison.
Because the group cannot yet afford to obtain nonprofit status, all donations to EYES must go through the school they attend. The members are hoping to be able to get that status this year, they said.
The 10th-graders gained support from the school board after turning a courtyard into a garden at the high school, Vallab said. The group also recently planted an orchard at Edison High School, and partnered with the National Wildlife Federation and Northern Trading Co. for a tree giveaway. They distributed red maples, red oak, wild black cherry and gray dogwood trees to residents of New Jersey at no cost.
“Our main goal is helping the environment with a direct impact,” Vallab said. “If you notice, many groups are more interested in spreading awareness than actually doing the things that matter, so our goal is to get students involved.”
The organization’s next project, EYES Action, aims to get the public to sign petitions or email lawmakers about environment friendly legislation.
“We want to see grassroots activism spread worldwide,” Vallab said.
The group is also trying to get a solar project going at Edison High School and plans to speak to the school board about the goal. The objective is to see area schools convert to solar power over time.
“We have a petition on our website about the project for parents, students and members of the community to sign,” Vallab said.
The solar project would reduce the school’s carbon footprint, electricity consumption and energy costs, and bring in government credits, he said.
“This would give the school a lot of savings at a rate where the panels would be paid off in five to seven years, and everything else will be profit for them to put toward other things,” Vallab said. “For example, this year the school spent $3 million on building a new science wing. And instead of that, they could spend money on the solar panels and save so much money where they can build five science wings.”
Through its partnership with Clean Ocean Action, EYES encourages students to participate in beach sweeps to clean up beaches and keep the oceans clean.
The group also has a field trip planned for Edison High School students in May to clean up areas around the township.
In addition, EYES has plans to start a film program to help spread knowledge about the issues they seek to change.
“We want to make professional style documentaries from the perspective of the students,” Vallab said.
EYES board members plan to keep the group going throughout high school, college and beyond. Their goals are to fight climate change, protect wildlife, petition against fossil fuels and encourage renewable energy.
“We want to take action rather than just be a club,”
Vallab said. For more information, visit www.earthyes.org.