SCVTHS Environmental Club Makes an Impact

– The Environmental Club at Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School (SCVTHS) has been doing their part to improve local communities.

Earlier this Spring, Club members participated in the annual Stream Cleanup sponsored by the Raritan Headwaters Association, Students joined close to 1000 volunteers who scoured waterways throughout Somerset, Morris, and Hunterdon counties to pick up trash. What they collected was then categorized, providing data that will be used to drive environmental policy both locally and at the State level, and then disposed of.

Another initiative sponsored by the Environmental Club was the Spring Clothing Drive and Free Thrift Shop, which put into practice the concept of reduce-reuse-recycle. Members of the SCVTHS community cleaned out their closets and donated gently used clothing. Club members then sorted the items and set up the “shop” where students and staff could browse the items and take home some new – to them – clothes. Anything left untaken when the event was over was donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Continuing their commitment to environmental issues that impact New Jersey residents, the Environmental Club and the SCVTHS Rotary Interact Club joined forces to conduct a beach sweep along Cedar Street Beach along Keyport’s shoreline. Students walked the beach, picking up trash and other debris. In addition, Dr. Jun Cheng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences ant Kean University, provided some insight into the ecology of dunes. “Students examined different types of vegetation on the dunes, including American dune grass, a native plant, and Asiatic sand sedge, an invasive species, and discussed their differences in terms of height, sand-trapping ability, and their role in dune enhancement,” said Dr. Cheng.

Closer to home, members of the Environmental Club joined with students in the SCVTHS Culinary Arts program to host the Bridgewater Senior Citizens Club at an afternoon tea held in the school’s TradeWins restaurant. Environmental Club members used recycled materials to make decorations for the event, and gave a presentation to the Seniors on sustainability in tea production and how to identify fair-trade products. Other programs at SCVTHS also contributed to the event. Theater Arts student Ella Ianniello and HVAC student Daniel Langon provided musical entertainment, while members of the Agricultural Science program provided plants for the centerpieces.

The Environmental Club at Somerset County Vocational & Technical School spent a day in Keyport helping to clean the beach while also learning about the local ecology.

 

Bridget Ries of South Bound Brook, Nataly Ramirez of South Bound Brook, and Daniel Langon of Raritan, members of the Somerset County Vocational & Technical HS Environmental Club, were among the participants in the 2026 Stream Cleanup sponsored by the Raritan Headwaters Association.

Theater Arts student Ella Ianniello of Bound Brook and HVAC student Daniel Langon of Raritan were among the members of the SCVTHS Environmental Club who spoke to the Bridgewater Senior Citizens Club at an afternoon tea held in the school’s TradeWins restaurant.