After an eventful Earth Month, Emerald Keepers is pleased to honor numerous student environmental activists as Emerald Keepers of the Month for April. These Gen Zers’ feverish commitment to sustainability and positive progress has touched Emerald Keepers.
Coronado High School boasts over 70 clubs, with a few dedicated to environmental awareness and preservation.
Stop the Sewage Club, led by Sophomore Danny Vinegrad, has attended rallies and helped draw youth attention to the damaging issue of sewage affecting Coronado beaches, residents, and military personnel. Club members want to help alleviate the pollution in any way they can so they can get back to swimming in their precious beach. Moreover, this club follows the same mission as its parent organization, Stop the Sewage.
Similarly, the Coronado High Surfrider Club, led and founded by Olivia Chavez, and its respective parent organization have dedicated themselves to ceaselessly protecting local beaches, while also sharing in the ocean enjoyment. This past year, the club has done shoe donation drives and attended sewage protests.
Emerald Keepers Club has teenagers getting their hands dirty at their community garden on a bimonthly basis. Junior Abigail Pearson and senior Dylan Berk share presidential duties while also being interns with Emerald Keepers with other club members. Their garden grows produce in nutrient rich soil to later be donated to the food insecure at the Imperial Beach Food Pantry. On these Saturday mornings, Environmental and Teen Librarian Tara Davies advises students on proper ways to compost, harvest kale, and, all in all, grow their green-thumb knowledge with sincere care.
Emerald Keepers high school interns have advocated for plastic reduction in Coronado at the City Council, a Coronado High School assembly last month, and the community screening of We Are All Plastic People Now. As the only beach community from Imperial Beach to Oceanside without a plastic reduction ordinance, these interns are determined to change this. They have also worked to implement zero waste at schools in the district by advocating for recycling and organic waste bins and teaching students and the community how to sort their waste. The CHS Emerald Keepers Club now composts their school’s food waste.
Sustainability has proven to be a major issue high school activists care about, especially when it comes to fashion. The Clothes Swap Club emerged on the CHS campus in 2023 and has grown in popularity ever since with their mission of providing accessible second-hand fashion for all. Junior Isabel Campo-Ford worked alongside peers in French class to create this group. Clothes swap events are held a few times a term where students can exchange their used clothes for others, making a sustainable thrifting alternative with your peers. Earlier this year, the club partnered with Emerald Keepers and the Coronado Public Library to have a booth at the first annual “Fix-it-Clinic.”
Finally, as each generation works toward cleaning up the mess the last one left behind, there is much hope and joy coming from the students at Village Elementary and Silver Strand Elementary Schools as they celebrate their Emerald Green, Ocean Blue classrooms. Many classrooms have pledged to be environmental stewards to do their part in protecting our planet.
Emerald Keepers wishes to extend their sincerest appreciation to all student environmental activists who work to be the change and the future leaders our planet needs. Congratulations to all Coronado student activists who make a difference in their schools and community every day.
