Student-driven Focus on Ocean Conservancy

Senior, Juliette Lilly, has spent part of her summer preparing for the launch of a series of educational and engagement events that focus on ocean conservancy. After serving on the NYC student leadership team which organized the annual Students for Sustainability conference last spring, Juliette was motivated to create an opportunity at Friends for others who share her environmental concerns. Her ExEd experiences at Friends, as well as her Biology course, helped her hone in on the tpoic of plastics and the environment. Working with the Service Learning office at Friends and the student Service Committee, she set out to identify nonproft organizations with whom the school might partner. 

"This fall, I am excited that our first Learn & Serve assembly for the year will help raise awareness of the threats to our oceans. Scientists from the 5 Gyres Institute will share their latest findings with students and teachers. We have also planned a service event on September 17, for US students. Working with Ocean Conservancy and their International Coastal Clean Up initiative, Friends will volunteer to collect and sort the waste along an area of the Rockaway beach coastline. Our efforts are part of a larger waste identification project that Ocean Conservancy is sponsoring," shares Juliette.

Leitzel Schoen, Director of Service Learning, shares, "Juliette is also a very talented musician and is considering ways to host a benefit concert that involves her fellow students who are interested in showcasing their talents for a worthy cause. It has been a pleasure to work with Juliette as she has learned about the many considerations and tasks in organizing such events—everything from soliciting speakers and venues to communications and marketing. Juliette is a great example of the three T's of philanthropy. She has been using her time, talent and treasure to make the world a better place."

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