Students join Marist Brothers to plant school community gardens

Since October, students from Saint Joseph Regional High School (SJR) in Montvale and Roselle Catholic High School (RCHS) in Roselle have collaborated with Marist Brothers ecology experts to create environmental action plans for their schools in accordance with the Laudato Si’ Action Platform goals.

Brother Dan O’Riordan, FMS, Provincial of the USA Province for the Marist Brothers, said that the province has increased its efforts in the past year to connect with young people about environmental issues.

“I think young people in our world today are really passionate about ecology and care for our common home, and they have become leaders in this area,” O’Riardon said. “As we move into the future, we believe in walking with the students in their passionate response to caring for our common home and giving them opportunities to learn and be advocates for change.”

*Roselle Catholic High School Green Team members Joseph and Gabby help with the digging.*

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform, an initiative of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, is inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. It equips the Church to achieve real and lasting solutions to the ecological crisis.

This ever-growing program supports participants to develop tailored Laudato Si’ Action Plans to accomplish one purpose: “Concrete actions to protect our common home,” according to the platform’s website.

Earlier this year, students from SJR and RCHS applied for grant funding through the Marist Brothers to initiate environmental action projects in their school communities. In March, the students were notified that their grant requests were approved for $2,000, and they could begin putting their Laudato Si’ Action Plans into practice.

The students work with the Marist Brothers through the brothers’ new Province Green Team program, which seeks to connect like-minded student leaders from across the country as they work to enact environmental changes in their communities. Students from 10 Catholic high schools across the country have joined the Province Green Team. The students have been meeting virtually since October with Samuel King, the Ecology and Sustainability Coordinator for Marist Brothers USA, to learn more about environmental advocacy, review the goals of Laudato Si’, and collaborate on their local projects.

The Green Team at RCHS is supervised by the Catholic Campus Ministry Office and comprised of members Jocelyn Gray, Marvin Lormejuste, Amber Abdur-Rauf, Ianna Burke, and Dhrumil Upadhya. According to Campus Minister Marissa Berrios, the students used their grant from the Marist Brothers to plan an environmental clean-up and beautification project on the school grounds.

*Saint Joseph Regional High School Green Team members begin their project.*

Gray said that joining the Green Team and taking part in the Laudato Si’ Action Plan project has made her realize that small actions to protect the environment can still be impactful.

The Green Team at SJR, including members Jeff Guneratne, Michael Blum, Anthony Kolesher, Dean Muniz, Tim O’Sullivan, Ashton Samson, Brendan Sullivan, Karol Grzesiuk, and Christopher Marescot used their grant to install a pollinator garden in the main courtyard on campus.

Students will be able to meditate and pray in the garden. The new installment includes a water feature and plants such as milkweed and echinacea, that attract butterflies and bees. The students also erected a Peace Pole – a monument that displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in several different languages.

In April, the students met in person for an Earth Day Ecology Retreat Weekend at the Marist Brothers Center in Esopus, N.Y. to discuss their Laudato Si’ Action Plans and learn more about environmental advocacy. Students from across five different states attended, including participants from Saint Joseph’s Regional High School and Roselle Catholic High School in the Archdiocese of Newark; Archbishop Malloy High School in Queens, N.Y.; Mount Saint Michael Academy in Bronx, N.Y.; Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass.; Marist High School in Chicago, Ill.; and Marist Catholic High School in Eugene, Ore.

Saint Joseph Regional High School’s finished project.

Muniz, a junior at SJR and a member of the Green Team, said that the Ecology Retreat was an eye-opening experience. “The weekend helped me appreciate what we have and the real danger to our planet,” he said. “I left with hope [that] I can make a difference.”

The weekend featured prayer services, environmental service activities, workshops, and panel discussions about biodiversity, environmental justice, overconsumption, food, faith, and justice, and more.

Father Richard LaMorte, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., celebrated the Saturday evening liturgy. At the end of the weekend, each school group was invited to plant a native Pawpaw tree seed on the Marist Brothers Center grounds. During the planting ceremony, each group shared a prayer relating to Laudato Si’.

Featured Image: From left to right, volunteers Nyla, Abby, Jocely, Marvin, Jiselle, Joseph, and Gabby, along with Campus Minister Marissa Berrios, planted flowers on May 15 on the Roselle Catholic High School campus.