Senior Anthony Montagnaro spent the week of Nov. 11-18 participating in a sustainability education bike tour. | Eric Dao TTN
In Anthony Montagnaro’s opinion, teachers should practice what they preach.
Montagnaro, a senior natural science major, recently put this philosophy to use by participating in the U.S. Green Building Counsel’s 2013 Green Apple Bike Tour.
The weeklong event spanned from Nov. 11 to Nov 18. Participators biked from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, where the trip ended at Greenbuild at the Convention Center. Undergraduate and graduate students participated, along with professionals in the environmental conservation field.
As the bike ride was in conjunction with the USGBC’s Green Apple Day of Service, it incorporated a educational initiative – the group made periodic stops at high schools along the way in D.C., Lancaster, Pa., and Philadelphia.
At each school, the biking environmentalists held informational sessions for students about the importance of environmental awareness and action.
“In general, the reason where [a student learns] is so important is because it’s hard to sense the relevancy of sustainability when you’re not involved,” Montagnaro said.
He noted that the typical classroom setting doesn’t always impress the value of protecting the environment in students, because being immersed in nature is what truly “made it much more potent” during the Green Apple Bike Tour’s educational stops.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Montagnaro joins his Green Apple Bike Tour companions for a sustainability kick-off event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at GW Carver High School in North Philadelphia. The school is starting an initiative to be more environmentally friendly, including the establishment of a new sustainability club.
“Until now, [GW Carver High School] hasn’t had much in terms of sustainable education,” Montagnaro said, expressing his excitement to participate in the movement.
Montagnaro kept a service journal for Education for Liberation, a course taught by Patricia Gould, throughout his work with the Green Apple Bike Tour. He also documented the journey with Twitter and Instagram using #bikegreenapple.
