Earth Day took place on April 22, 2026, and this year, Pleasant Valley students were more involved in environmental efforts than ever before.
Many clubs and organizations at PV participated in activities throughout the week. Key Club, the Environmental Club and AP Environmental Science classes all hosted activities and participated in Earth Day events.
In AP Environmental Science, teacher Zachary Marotta had his classes go around the school grounds to pick up trash. Many students said they were surprised by how much litter they found around the area, bringing greater awareness to environmental responsibility.
PV student Vella Batdorf shared her experience volunteering during Earth Day weekend and emphasized the importance of taking action.
“I’ve always loved Earth Day, and I’ve loved celebrating it, but recently I’ve been passionate about getting out and actually doing things,” Batdorf said. “I recently posted on my social media that it’s nice to make little posts about birthdays, but it’s even better, actually, to go out and do certain things. I found that it’s really important to volunteer your time to environmental activities.”
Many students also participated in volunteer opportunities outside of school, motivated not only by service hours but by their interest in helping the environment..
“I actually went to two different trash cleanups and one invasive species pole, and I really did have the best time at each one of them,” Batdorf said. “I cannot stress enough that I think that it would be beneficial to everyone to get out and help the environment in any way that you can all throughout the year, not just during Earth Day.”
Students hope environmental awareness continues beyond a single holiday. Many believe caring for the environment should be a year-round effort rather than a one-day event.
Student Natalie Brown discussed the role social media can play in spreading environmental awareness.
“Seeing everyone post on Earth Day was very heartwarming and nice to see,” Brown said. “However, I do think that the individual can still do a lot more to protect our environment and minimize pollution. While posting and creating awareness online is a good and important thing, it can only go so far.”
Earth Day activities at Pleasant Valley encouraged students to become more involved in environmental action and reminded them that planting the planet is a responsibility shared by everyone.
