Recent graduates of Columbus Bishop Ready High School proved that small actions can create meaningful change. Through involvement in the Teen Eco Summit, the young leaders spent two years working to make their school and community environmentally conscious.
In April, Bishop Ready’s Teen Eco Summit team had the opportunity to present their Palm Oil Project at the Columbus Zoo. They shared the growth and impact of their sustainability efforts.
What began as an educational initiative within the school expanded into advocacy work reaching companies and the broader community. Columbus Zoo personnel, fellow students and advisors were highly impressed by the group’s passion, leadership and continued commitment to caring for the environment.
In addition to presenting their project, students participated in hands-on service activities during the summit. Their work included creating browse holders for elephants using recycled fire hoses and sorting native seeds for The Wilds Ecology team to support future planting efforts.
Several Bishop Ready students also serve on the Teen Eco Summit’s statewide leadership team, the Summit Squad. Team members include Bishop Ready seniors Danielle Colapietro, Allyson Creighton, Vivian Drake, Addi Radi, Sarah Radwanski, Kyra Tibbs and Lily Weyer.
The team led sustainability initiatives in and outside of the classroom.
For the past two years, the group focused on educating the Bishop Ready community about the environmental impacts of palm oil while encouraging more sustainable practices on campus, including improvements to vending machine options.
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The now-graduates took their advocacy further. They launched a petition encouraging companies to use sustainably sourced palm oil. Through the collection of signatures and direct communication with companies, they hope to encourage environmentally responsible practices and demonstrate that student voices can influence meaningful change.
The Teen Eco Summit experience allowed the graduates to combine leadership, service, environmental stewardship and advocacy during their time at Bishop Ready while living out the school’s mission of caring for community and creation.
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Their efforts serve as a powerful reminder that today’s students are not simply learning about the future, they are actively helping shape it.
To sign their petition, visit https://forms.fillout.com/t/gLV62QqH2cus.