Growing Water Conservation Efforts Within Doral Academy’s Student Body

Guest Post by Valeria Mejia

South Florida is home to some of the most popular beaches, receiving thousands of tourists every year. However, despite this popularity, Miami-Dade County still has a long way to go when it comes to water conservation. Heavy amounts of trash and other pollutants cover our waters on a day-to-day basis. Nevertheless, none of this gets ignored, as environmentalists, organizations, and even school clubs come together to try and combat these negative effects.

One club in particular, Doral Academy’s Green Club, has proven itself to be a dedicated conservationist. As an event coordinator, I have helped arrange various activities and boost involvement throughout the club. With over 300 members, the club has members willing to go to beach cleanups, complete water testing events, and learn from other water conservation experts. Some of these members are even involved in other environmental organizations including the CLEO Institute and Miami Waterkeeper. In the 2021–2022 school year, the Green Club has already participated in over 15 cleanups, partnering with other Miami-based organizations such as Clean Miami Beach, SENDIT4THESEA, and Debris Free Oceans. These members have essentially helped clean up every nook and cranny of Miami-Dade, from Miami Beach all the way down to Coconut Grove. In one cleanup along Julia Tuttle Causeway, Green Club members helped Clean Miami Beach collect over 1900 pounds of trash in just a few hours.

The club participated in its first water testing event this past September, and we are planning to do another one in March. Around 30 members came together to test the water quality at Virginia Key. As they divided themselves into groups of five, each student learned about the importance of pH, dissolved oxygen, and even turbidity levels. Using EarthEcho Water Challenge Test Kits, these students set out to collect their own water quality information, with many of them doing this for the first time. Each group had the chance to write down their data and upload it to the EarthEcho Water Challenge database. The entire event wrapped up with a cleanup of the local area, focusing on the pieces of land around the water treatment facility.

The Green Club has even invited other conservationists to serve as guest speakers for Doral Academy’s students. These students hear from several accomplished conservationists, including city officials and the founders of ocean-focused organizations. Debris Free Oceans provided students with an interactive event, teaching students how to avoid plastic use and how to promote initiatives around their school. Students practiced potential speeches, proposing ideas like getting rid of Styrofoam cups in the lunchroom. Clean Miami Beach spoke to the students about the various ways to get involved in ocean conservation and encourage sustainability efforts. After every event, these students leave with a little more knowledge on how to conserve their local waterways and advance local efforts.

This summer, the Green Club’s efforts will go international as they will be partnering with Blue Missions, an organization dedicated to providing communities with clean water around the world. The club will send a select group of students to the Dominican Republic for eight days. During that time, they will be helping to build sustainable aqueducts, ensuring that water is long flowing even after construction is complete. These admirable students will trek through the mountains carrying and gluing different pipes, in the hopes of creating a suitable water system for the community.

For anyone thinking about creating a similar initiative at their school, start by rallying support amongst other students. Make sure you have enough people interested in order to start a genuine club. With 20 to 30 people, you can start to organize events by reaching out to other local organizations. It might be a small start but with enough outreach and persistence, you can have your own successful environmental club.

Editors Note: Valeria Mejia is an EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassador from Miami, FL.