AP Environmental Science students took over the Green on Wednesday for Environmental Awareness Day, which turns APES class projects into interactive stations as part of Leadership’s Awareness Week. From edible soil layers to plastic-filtering experiments, the fair invited students to learn more about the world around them through hands-on activities.
Among the most popular stations was a taste test stand comparing vegan vs. non-vegan food run by juniors Lily Jacobi, Kylie Winters, Emma Mulcahy, and senior Sienna Morales. Students sampled plant-based and dairy versions of cheese and butter and then guessed which was which.
“We wanted to show people that vegan things can actually taste pretty similar to the real thing,” Jacobi said. “Eating vegan is so much better for the environment. When you think about how milk and butter are made, the industrial farming behind it produces a lot of harmful outcomes.”
Junior Asher Harris and senior Alex Alburger designed a model to raise awareness about the dangers of microplastics. Their model demonstrated how boiling water makes plastic particles clump together and, therefore, easier to filter out. “Microplastics are everywhere—in your food, your water, even the air you breathe,” Harris said. “They can cause serious health issues like cancer.”
On the sweeter side, juniors Riya Mehta and Carey Maletis used chocolate chips, Oreos, pudding, and sour strips to represent the complex layers of soil. Their edible soil profile allowed students to “taste the terrain” while learning about bedrock, subsoil, and the organic layer. “We thought it would be a fun and memorable way to teach people about something they don’t usually think about,” Mehta said.
Seniors Nava Riahi, Adeline Sesnon, Elizabeth Poirier, and Lexi Nelson focused on everyday bathroom habits, with their experiment demonstrating which products’ ability to safely dissolve. Their experiment compared flushable seat covers and tissues with non-flushable pads, tampons, and paper towels. “A lot of people don’t realize how much damage they can do by flushing the wrong things,” Riahi said.
“We first started doing the Environmental Fair around Earth Day as a student-led initiative,” APES teacher Lance Powell said. “It’s a way to contribute to environmental awareness and give students a break from finals.”
By the end of lunch, students had learned, tested, and tasted their way through dozens of projects, walking away with a deeper understanding of the small choices that shape the planet.
