A new club at Bradford Area High School is growing roots in its
inaugural year having implemented a successful recycling program
for the first time at the school.

The Roots and Shoots club is based on a worldwide organization
developed in 1991. The goal of the group is to see that positive
change occurs in the environment – for animals and the community –
by implementing community service programs.

The club at BAHS, started by sophomore student Jennifer Lau, has
already had a successful first year, said advisor Pete
Eckstrom.

“I am very happy with what they have been able to do this year,”
said Eckstrom, a freshman Earth and Space Science teacher. “This
has been neat for me. I let the kids do it. I don’t jump in much –
if they have a problem they can’t fix, I’m here for that.

“They don’t really need my help that much,” he added. “It has
been a very successful first year with room to grow.”

He said he was approached last summer about being an advisor for
the club and was hesitant at first because he is a hunter and part
of the goal of the organization is to protect and help animals.
But, he explained, the students still wanted him to sponsor the
club so he did.

Eckstrom said the fact that the students were able to start and
keep in action a recycling program at the high school is a
testament to the fact that they are successful. He said it is his
understanding that there had been attempts in the past to start a
recycling program, but they were unsuccessful.

He said this group was able to close the loop by not only
getting the Dumpster on school property but getting the city to
come and empty it.

Lau said getting the Dumpster on school property took a lot of
hard work.

“It was hard for the city to comply with high schoolers and a
new club. We had to ask the recycling center for bins to put around
the school and ask them if they could pick it up,” said Lau. “They
were head over heels about helping us and they gave us the Dumpster
to use.”

Lau added that members of the city’s Department of Public Works,
including director Gary Alcock, actually went to the school to get
a better understanding of what the students intended to do.

“They were happy to help out,” she said.

Lau got the idea to have this club from a seminar she attended
where Jane Goodall gave a speech and talked about roots and shoots
global clubs, which are based on her vision.

Lau said she realized the high school did not have an
environmental club and was in need of one, so she went to principal
Ken Coffman and Key club advisor Kathleen Durner before she
approached Eckstrom.

There are recycling bins set throughout the school, in
classrooms and in other areas, including the library. At least two
times a month, members of the club go to those participating rooms
and dump the bins into bags that are later put into the recycling
Dumpster on school property.

Other projects done by the group include cleaning Oak Hill
Cemetery and the stream behind the school. They also participated
in the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup.

There are currently 10 students in the club.

Sophomore Katelyn Scanlan, who also belongs to several
organizations including Key Club where she is the lieutenant
governor, said that while she has been involved in a lot of issues
promoting helping people, she thought it was time to devote some
energy toward something else.

“I do most everything I can for service and I thought it was a
good outlet for service, not just for people but serving something
that was here before you,” she said.

Chris Mincemoyer, another sophomore, said he joined because he
said he thought it seemed like a good cause.

The group will be having a pizza buffet from 4 to 8 p.m. today
at Pizza Hut where they will charge admission. Proceeds for the
event will benefit the club which needs funding for various
things.

“We hope to do more things next year if the club grows,” said
Lau. “Lots of different people helped out. This is not just any one
person.”

She said the city, school administration, members, and Eckstrom
have been very helpful in getting the club off the ground and
helping it be successful.

“This is definitely one of the best clubs we have. We do so
much,” said Megan Truman, a sophomore member of the club.

Sophomore Caitlan Bryant said being a member of the club is very
fulfilling because they do recycling and get a job done nobody else
would do.

Both Rob Herman, a junior, and Theresa Hoffman, a sophomore,
said they enjoyed being a part of the club and cleaning the areas
they have helped to clean.