The Green Atoms, a club dedicated to spreading awareness of environmental protection, has been awarded a $1000 grant. The club applied for the grant through the Department of Facilities and Transportation.

Green Atoms’ application was selected among a large volume of high quality of other applicants. The committee from the Department of Facilities and Transportation only decides to partially fund selected groups, Green Atoms among them.

The Schoolyard Stewardship Mini Grant (SSMG) will be used to complete a project in the courtyard outside of the library. The Green Atoms will be purchasing native plants to fill up the area in the garden. The club will also be planting vegetables and other edible greens.

“We’re going to try to attract some pollinators and more wildlife,” Green Atoms sponsor Anne Brosnan said.                    

The Green Atoms will also be working alongside the special education department in rebuilding the courtyard while also connecting the students through this team building event.

The Department of Facilities and Transportation Service aims to ensure that all students are provided with instructional spaces that encourage an effective and rewarding education. This extends to the outside environment, not just inside the classroom.

In recent school years, Green Atoms has been a club on the rise. The organization regularly conducts the recycling from classroom to classroom and also helps with the Ossian Hall Park cleanups with the local police force.

Another event that has been added this year is the ‘Wild Annandale’ speaker series. Throughout the school year, the club, along with the Science National Honor Society, have invited Interested students to come and listen to guest speakers. These speakers share their experiences in their science fields and provide both an interesting and educational experience. The series aims to encourage students to get involved with helping the environment.

“The events are suppose to make students more aware of nature around them,” Brosnan said. “If they [students] become more concerned of what is going on around then, they’re more invested.”