As parents, we know that small changes in our children’s lives can add up to big differences over time. For example, if a student improves their score by just a few percentage points on every test, that can make a big difference in the final letter grade they’ll earn for that class. This is sometimes referred to as “the snowball effect”: even a small positive change can grow to make a huge impact as it keeps rolling over time.
With Earth Day coming up on Friday, April 22nd, now is a good time to ask yourself what small changes you can make today that could add up to a big difference for the environment over time. You could think of it as a snowball effect for the world itself.
Many of our students are asking themselves this very same question. They see news items about the dangers of climate change, and they wonder what actions they can take today that will help improve the situation in the future.
In fact, nearly 70% of BHS students have said they would be interested in taking an AP course on Environmental Science, which we do not currently offer. This has led our faculty to begin developing a brand new Environmental Science course, which is both a positive and practical addition to our curriculum. That’s because employment in Environmental Science is expected to increase 8-12% from 2020 to 2030, which makes it a popular career choice for our students.
But learning about Environmental Science is more than just practical career prep for budding geologists and marine biologists. It also helps our students understand how the natural world works, and to see how small actions in one area can lead to big differences in another.
The same is true for our own outlook on the environment at home.
Our kids learn from the examples we set. Showing them that we’re willing to make changes to the products we use, the foods we eat, or our transportation habits can have a big impact on the way they approach these same issues. Can we bike or walk somewhere instead of driving? Can we eat more fresh or local foods that require less packaging and shipping? Can we avoid single-use plastics when possible, and find creative ways to minimize or re-use the plastic that does come into our homes so it reduces the amount of plastic in our landfills and oceans?
Caring deeply about our kids also means caring about the environment they grow up within. As parents and adults, we have a responsibility to take good care of the environment so it can continue to provide a safe, healthy, and happy home for our own children, and for many generations to come.
Being responsible stewards of our shared environment is something that each of us can do in a small way each day — and when we do, the positive impact of our actions over time can add up to a huge snowball effect that creates a healthier future for everyone.