As a senior in high school, my service learning project has been one of the most impactful and eye-opening experiences of my educational journey. For my Capstone, I chose to focus on environmental sustainability, particularly on understanding the importance of protecting our environment and community in Philadelphia. This included hands-on service learning with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, focusing on invasive species and the crucial role young people play in preserving the world around them. Looking back, I am most proud of how I was able to turn my passion for environmental care into a project that made a real difference and educated others along the way. One of the most powerful lessons I learned during this project was just how connected we are to the environment. Every decision we make, from how we dispose of trash to what we plant in our gardens, affects the health of our communities. Through working with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, I was able to participate in habitat restoration activities and learn about the challenges facing bird populations and native plants in Philadelphia. One major focus of our service was addressing invasive species, like picking up the honeysuckle with the lopper tool, which threatens native trees that birds and pollinators depend on. Before this project, I didn’t realize how dangerous a single non-native species could be. After helping to remove invasive plants and learning about how they disrupt entire ecosystems, I saw how quickly environmental damage can spread and why proactive care is so important.

In this PSA my group talked about excessive heating in homes. It forms when it a lot of sun beams on houses and there aren’t a lot of trees around houses. This is important because most of Philadelphia have excessive heat in their own homes and most houses don’t have central air in their houses. I picked this because I used to live in a house with excessive heating when I was younger, but I have been moved out of there.

I think my group could’ve made the video more entertaining and the information that we had we could’ve added it into the video. The meaningful things were explaining different ways to keep yourself cool.

The value that we see in the biodiversity and natural resources of the earth is healthy ecosystems that help maintain the earth’s natural processes. Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock alter the earth’s natural systems. We can live more sustainably spending time outside, recycling, and behaving in a friendly way for the environment.

This project deepened my understanding of sustainability because I learned that my industry was sustainable and the different benefits and trade-offs that come with my industry. What surprised me about my industry was the different types of transportation that would make the environment better and it was pretty cool. I contributed by putting information on the slides, talking about different ideas that my group came up with, and speaking when it was time to present. I am proud of that we got this project over with and I learned something new about other people’s industries as well.