AP Environmental Science students encouraged teachers to turn off classroom lights and not use technology all day to celebrate Earth Day Wednesday.

“This reinforces a purpose beyond ourselves as taking care of our Earth is a task that is much bigger than what one individual can achieve,” said upper school science teacher Florence Pi.  “We all live on earth and use its resources. [We are] educating ourselves about what is happening to it because of the choices we make and then choosing to make different choices, often harder, more inconvenient choices for the greater good.”

Pi also hopes that this will become a tradition that happens more than once a year, and that conserving energy will lead to other actions that can help preserve our environment.

“Turn off the lights in the classroom all day long. Don’t use computers, or anything else that uses electricity,” Pi said. “In general, turn off the lights when you’re not using them. Set your thermostat to reasonable levels and wear a sweater if you’re cold. Don’t run the dishwasher or the washing machine until it’s full.”

Pi expressed gratitude for her second period AP Environmental Science class that came up with this idea.

“I’m proud of my students for wanting to do something, rather than just talking about it,” Pi said. “I hope that at least a few teachers take part in it, and I hope that constructive conversations will arise because of it, and hopefully people will be more thoughtful about how they use electricity in their lives. Hopefully that will extend to other things like water, and plastics etc.”