‘Make the whole town greener:’ The Monarch Run helps downtown Mt. Pleasant go green

Courtesy of Liam Halawith, Editor of Maroon Echoes, student newspaper of Mt. Pleasant Community High School

On Sunday, Nov. 24, the 'Monarch Run For a Greener Downtown” kicked off at Mt. Pleasant Community High School. People gathered in the high school parking lot adorned in running gear and their signature T-shirts provided by the organizers for those who registered early.

The participants set off in a steady sprint down the 5K course, spreading milkweed pods, a staple for butterflies, along the path. People who didn't want to run could walk a 1k course spreading milkweed along their path as well. As they finished up they were provided with water, hot chocolate, and baked goods.

Senior Auroura Vansickle says that she got the idea from a RAGBRAI team that distributed milkweed pods to help the monarch population.

'We thought that would be a good way to tie everything together,” she said.

The event was organized to provide funds for a project coined 'Green Rooftops for Downtown” organized by Seniors Maggie Cristoforo, Caroline Richtman, Auroura Vansickle, and Junior Olivia Larson. They plan to create lightweight planters to place on the rooftops of businesses on the Mt. Pleasant square. These planters can be filled with any type of plant but they plan on using succulents and other plants that are better at absorbing water. The planters are designed to decrease watershed off the rooftops, purify the air downtown, and to make the Mt. Pleasant business district more eco-friendly. 'It's going to make the whole town greener,” said Vansickle, the main organizer for the run.

They already have one business signed up, Paul Revere's Pizza has agreed to have a planter placed on their rooftops.

The upkeep for the planters will be provided by the high school Alliance for Sustainability club or AFS. The club will provide volunteers to care for the planters for area businesses, doing so free of charge. The club's main goal is to 'Change the environment and greenery of Mt. Pleasant.”

This project is also a part of the Civic Engagement, Leadership, and Life-skills, or the C.E.L.L. class. The class is taught by Scott Stribe, a social studies teacher at the Mt. Pleasant High School. The class is organized to 'Look for problems local and nationwide that students want to fix.” They learn communication, problem-solving, and real-world skills through the hands-on course.

This all culminated in a successful event and the AFS team plans on getting more and more businesses to sign on and to begin construction in the spring.