APW Conservation Club Once Again Attains Status as Ocean Guardian School

The APW Conservation Club and members of administration show off the school’s new NOAA Ocean Guardian School banner. From left to right: Principal Jennifer O'Malley, Rachel Spencer, Lucia Marshall-Crisalli, Eben Alley, Advisor Jessica Halsey, Annaleah Wejko, Assistant principal Tim LaRose and Noah Spencer.

ALTMAR-PARISH-WILLIAMSTOWN – For the third year in a row, members of the Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Conservation Club have completed the steps necessary to become an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Guardian School.

As outlined on the NOAA website, designation as an Ocean Guardian School signifies a firm commitment to the protection and conservation of its local watersheds, the world’s ocean and special ocean areas such as national marine sanctuaries. The school makes this commitment by proposing and then implementing a school- or community-based conservation project.

This year, the students elected to focus their efforts on recycling and reducing single-use plastic waste. This included several beach and state park clean ups, plastic collection and the sale of sustainable products to reduce waste at school, community outreach, education and a public project introduction.

Under the guidance of advisor Jessica Halsey, Conservation Club members Rachel Spencer, Noah Spencer, Eben Alley, and Annaleah Wejko introduced their project while sharing about the importance of ocean conservation during a recent APW Board of Education meeting.

“I am very proud of the Conservation Club officers,” explained Halsey. “It can be very intimidating presenting in front of people, let alone their Board of Education. These students practiced extremely hard, did an outstanding job and clearly care about the future of our ocean.”

The students were then presented with a brand-new NOAA Ocean Guardian School banner for the 2023-2024 academic year, which will proudly be displayed in the hallways of the APW Junior Senior High School.

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