Three students have been named Climate Ambassadors by the Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action group. This opportunity was offered to high school students across the Mid-Ohio Valley and was ultimately offered to four students, including three from PHS. The program’s purpose is to provide funding for a project to help fight climate change, which will be led by a high school student. This is the program’s first year.

To be named as a Climate Ambassador, students first had to come up with an idea to help the environment, then they filled out an application. The next step was to have an interview over Zoom with the leaders of the program. The PHS ambassadors, seniors Lily Floyd and Anna Earl, and junior Nate McPeak, were named last spring, and the program will run through December. They have had multiple meetings over Zoom for progress checks, and have handed out T-shirts and climate voter signs to students in the community.

Floyd’s project is called Coffee for a Cause. She plans on opening a coffee stand in Lisa Berry’s room, 206W, in the mornings before school from 7:40-7:55 to sell to students. She plans on opening the stand immediately after Christmas break. The project will help spread biodiversity by using biodegradable materials, as well as having posters about the impact of climate change.

“I applied for the program because I’m passionate about making the world a better place for current and future inhabitants in whatever ways I can,” said Floyd.

She plans on charging the necessary price to allow the stand to make a profit, which will be given to other climate-related non-profits.

With the help of National Honor Society sponsor, science teacher Abby Taylor, Earl plans to plant a biodiversity garden. The garden will contain flowers that will help attract pollinators to help combat the declining bee and butterfly populations. In addition, it will include information about how the species planted will help the pollinator populations. The garden will be planted with the help of NHS volunteers in the spring, however any students who wish to volunteer are welcome. 

The final student project, led by McPeak, plans to hang up bat boxes around the community. He hopes to add one of the boxes in a fenced area behind the school. He built the posts for the boxes out of wood and purchased the boxes himself. The boxes help provide a safe place for bats to live, and in return, the bats help reduce pest populations. 

“I really like bats and the idea of making our human habitat more suitable for wildlife,” said McPeak.

Additionally, McPeak’s grandfather, Thomas Rodd, who runs a program called Kilmate Kitchen, came to the school on Nov. 16 to teach students about the environment and human impact.