The Stream Clean that took place Saturday, Sep. 7 was a huge success according to senior Elyse Mack, president of the Student Sustainability Initiative.

The SSI is a new group that Mack started whose goal is to make the school greener. Mack felt inspired by the actions that took place at various Parkway schools.

“I heard about what Parkway was doing, and they had students that were successful in getting solar power and composting,” Mack said. “I just thought, ‘if they can do it, why not us?’”

The first step in getting this initiative into motion was to get students aware of the group and to get them involved. The SSI organized a Stream Clean of a portion of Deer Creek that had never been cleaned before.

“We pulled out about 3,000 pounds worth of bricks, stones, plastic swimming pools, a radiator, and more,” Sweeney La Barge, sponsor of the group, said.

The group also picked up large amounts of metal that remained from an old railroad that went past the creek. Around 50 students showed up to help, and they were able to get the job done two hours faster than anticipated. Overall, the clean was a huge success according to Mack.

The next step for the group is to decide whether they want to pursue solar power, composting in the cafeteria, or both. The group will decide at their meeting after school on Tuesday, Sep. 10.

“They’re looking at getting all that information together so that they can make a presentation to the school,” La Barge said.

The SSI will soon organize another Stream Clean of a different portion of the creek they have done for several years.