KIDS’ CLUBHOUSE

The original GWE Club, photograph by Jason S. Ordaz

The Global Warming Express Club was started in the Fall of 2013 at Acequia Madre Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We meet every week during the school year. Sometimes we invite grownups to come and speak to us, and other times we work on our Big Goals and Little Goals.

Last year we got the vending machine with plastic bottles of water removed from our school. We think it is a waste of plastic to bottle water, and the machine uses a lot of electricity. So we asked our principal, Mr. Beacham, to get it removed, and he did.

We also worked on getting products made with palm oil out of the markets in Santa Fe.

For our First Big Goal, we made plans for a solar array to be installed at our school. We helped design it and figure out where it should go. We did such a good job that the school district has decided to build it! You can read more about that here.

This year we are working with Reunity Resources to introduce their food composting program to our school, and we are now composting all of our food scraps, except for milk. This means that our scraps will not go into the landfill and create methane.  Instead, they will be used to make good dirt for farms and gardens.

We are learning how to be politically active. We had a Keystone Pipeline Rally, and participated in Renewable Energy Day at the Roundhouse, as well as Santa Fe’s Green Festival. And Mayor Javier Gonzales has given the GWE a seat on his new Climate Action Task Force!

Last summer we held a two-week Climate Change Camp, and, this fall we are expanding our after-school program to a lot more schools.

Check back in the future as we expand our club to online members. Everyone should Get on Board the Express!

Get on Board!, illustration by Joanna Whysner