Online School Students Participate in Columbus Zoo Eco Summit

Allison Riley of Ostrander, Ohio had always been interested in conservation. Since she was in preschool, the Ohio Connections Academy student had attended conservation classes and programs at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium and she continues to do so as a high school sophomore.

According to Allison, her family has always been good about things such as recycling, limiting waste and staying informed about topics such as climate change, animal endangerment, etc. “Conservation is a very important thing because this the only earth we all have to live on,” she said.

Last spring Allison received an email about the Columbus Zoo’s annual Teen Eco Conference and she thought Ohio Connections Academy should have a team. In October Allison and her biology teacher, Mrs. Passarelli, started to assemble a team of OCA students to participate. However, Ohio Connections Academy students come from every corner of the state, so an immediate hurdle was to identify students who would be interested in participating and could be in Columbus for two days.

The Teen Eco Summit is a two-day event that features presentations about environmental issues, concerns, and actions by world-renowned speakers, authors and activists. The students also participate in workshops about sustainability initiatives that equip them with tools to help encourage their peers to make more environmentally-conscious choices. During the event more than 100 students from central Ohio high schools and colleges work in teams to create positive change in their communities through the development of innovative sustainability projects.

Four students originally expressed an interest in the event but two of them had to decline because they lived too far away. Allison enlisted the help of other teachers and she contacted friends and other students she met at Ohio Connections Academy field trips. Eventually she was able to pull together a team that included Lidija Pyle of Cuyahoga Falls (Sophomore), Eric Millette of Loveland (Senior), Maddey Held of Columbus (Senior) and Kumiko Marquez of Grove City (Sophomore).

“The Summit was a great experience,” Allison said. “I was able to meet some of my online classmates and spend more time with those I already knew. I was also able to build on what I already know about conservation/environmental topics such as climate change and the dangers plastic waste has on our oceans. This event allowed me to think out of the box about how an online school could have an impact on the environment.”

Ohio Connections Academy is the only public online school to attend the Teen Eco Summit and it was clear to Allison the program may not have been geared for a virtual school environment as some subjects focused on reducing school paper waste and the environmental impact of buses idling. Being an online school, the students use online textbooks and take notes on their computers and they learn from home. Still Allison said she and the team learned some new things from the various presentations like unplugging computers when they aren't in use because they still draw on power.

The team goal at the Teen Eco Summit was to create and receive a grant for a conservation action plan that they could bring back to OCA to implement. Allison and her teammates brainstormed to create and pitch their very own environmental action plan that would apply to an online community.

They presented their ideas to the summit committee and even though they didn’t win, the experience offered them an amazing opportunity to represent their school. Mrs. Passarelli believes given the tenacity and determination of OCA students, “we will bring home a win soon.”