Maryland High School Helps Focus the Nation

   

Members of the Oxon Hill High School chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC) in Maryland recently hosted a day of activities focused on solutions to global warming that drew more than 100 students. Above, Maryland Sierra Club activist Bonnie Bick talks with students about sustainable transportation.

The Oxon Hill event was part of a national environmental education initiative, "Focus the Nation," that drew participation from more than 1,000 schools throughout the country and garnered coverage in the Washington Post. Below, students learn about the engine of a hybrid car from a representative of the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources.

"Our country has never seen anything like Focus the Nation," said Ishmael Buckner, co-director of the Oxon Hill SCC. Below, candidate Donna Edwards from Maryland's 4th Congressional District addresses students about their role in helping curb climate change, just weeks before she was elected to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Activities included a screening of the documentary, "Too Hot Not to Handle," and workshops with Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network activists, scientists from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and professors from the University of Maryland and Catholic University. Below, U. of Maryland professor Jim Hanson leads a workshop on "Creating an Economic Demand for Green."

"The event created a buzz that we hope will increase the effectiveness of our campaigns," said Oxon Hill SSC co-director Dominique Hazzard.