Columbus School is working hard to be more sustainable, and the Makerspace is helping by reusing materials instead of throwing them away. Students and teachers are also trying to make recycling and sustainability a bigger part of daily life.

The Makerspace is where students can build and create things, and it plays a big role in sustainability. Julian Zuñiga, the Makerspace Coordinator, explains how they help the environment.

“The Makerspace is all about reusing materials instead of throwing them away. We try to make sure that things like wood, cardboard, and plastic don’t go to waste. Instead, students use them on their projects,” Zuñiga said.

In the Makerspace, students mostly reuse wood and cardboard, but they also find ways to use plastic and other materials. Zuñiga encourages students to think about whether something can be used again before they decide to throw it away.

“We always ask them to think twice before throwing something out. Many times, what looks like trash can have a second life,” Zuñiga said.

Even though the Makerspace promotes sustainability, one challenge is making sure students throw things in the right bins.

“We have different bins for sorting waste, and we remind students to separate their materials. Sometimes they forget, so we help them learn,” Zuñiga said.

Outside of the Makerspace, students have different opinions about how well the school is doing with sustainability. Senior student Miguel Sanin thinks the recycling program is good, but some students don’t take it seriously.

“I think the system is there, but a lot of students don’t pay attention to what they throw away. I think we could be more careful,” Sanin said.

Sanin believes that students are more likely to recycle when it’s easy for them. Therefore, creating a method that is easy for each individual to organize their trash would be a great strategy to increase sustainability at school.

“If it’s simple, people will do it. But if it takes extra effort or it’s not visually clear, most students won’t,” Sanin said.

When it comes to teachers and staff, Sanin thinks they do their best to remind students, but there could be more activities to get students excited about sustainability.

“Some teachers talk about it, but I think there should be more fun activities, like competitions, to make it more interesting and encouraging them to jump in the initiative,” Sanin said.

Both Zuñiga and Sanin have ideas on how to improve sustainability at school. Zuñiga thinks having more storage for materials in the Makerspace would help, and Sanin suggests creating a student group to work on sustainability projects.

“Right now, unless you’re looking for it, sustainability doesn’t feel like a big part of school life. I think we should make it easier to get involved,” Sanin said.

As the school continues to focus on sustainability, both students and teachers hope to make a bigger impact. The goal is to make sustainability a normal part of school life so that everyone plays a role in helping the environment.

“This isn’t just about a few students or teachers; it’s something we all need to work on together,” Zuñiga said.