Dec. 11, 2025
By Nicolle Alvarez
Editor
While students often spend the New Jersey Education Association Teachers Convention two-day break resting or relaxing, 31 members of the Environmental Club and National Honor Society came together on the morning of Nov. 6 to pick up trash on LHS’ campus and surrounding streets.
Biology teacher Ms. Manzella, who advises the Environmental Club and co-advises the NHS, said her own experiences as a student at Rutherford High School inspired her to organize semiannual town cleanups.
“My environmental [science] class did a cleanup by Riverside [Ave.] before they turned it into a park area, so when I restarted the Environmental Club [in 2018], I thought it would be nice to do that,” Manzella said.
She said she hopes the event motivated students to pick up trash and help the environment in their daily lives.
“They can make sure they’re always recycling, always throwing out their garbage in the correct places,” Manzella said. “[A cleanup] doesn’t have to be limited to when we have one through the Environmental Club.”
“I would have never noticed it if I weren’t looking for it, but there was so much trash around the town.”
Freshman and Environmental Club public relations officer Lexus Pomberger said when she was cleaning under the football field’s bleachers, she came across empty bottles, cans and discarded toys.
“I did expect it because there are a lot of people on the bleachers during games dropping trash through the bleachers,” Pomberger said.
She said participating in the town cleanup made her realize how essential it is to care for outdoor spaces in one’s community.
“There was trash literally surrounding a trash can…. That really made me think about how ignorant people can be,” Pomberger said. “People should take 5 seconds to just pick up the trash and put it in [the garbage]. Even if it is not yours, just do it.”
NHS member junior Henry Keefe said he was shocked to see firsthand the amount of litter the students collected.
“I would have never noticed it if I weren’t looking for it, but there was so much trash around the town,” Keefe said.
He said he would encourage other students to take on volunteer efforts because the town cleanup did not feel like work.
“It was really sweet, and a lot of my friends participated. It was just a good time with something good to do,” Keefe said. “You get to hang out with your friends while also helping out the environment.”
