Advisor:
Lois Etzel

    Becoming SEQ’s fourth advisor upon the retirement of Mr.
Loewen in June of 1998, Ms. Lois Etzel explained how her background
enhanced her involvement. She specifically noted that she studied ecology
in college and that this coursework was what led to her increasing
interest in the environment. She became a science teacher and mentioned
that she wanted to instill this same “lifelong love” with the environment
in her students; she “wanted to get kids involved.”
    In recalling some of SEQ’s activities, Ms. Etzel stressed the club’s
recycling efforts – paper, cardboard, batteries, cans, bottles and even some
members using BHS kitchen scraps to continue the compost pile used for
the vegetable garden in the new Atrium. She recalled that Mr. Dunton
used the deposit money from bottles brought in by students to purchase
birdseed for the feeders in the Atrium.
    Trips included the continuation of weekend stays out at the
Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island, initiated by the club under
Loewen. Other environmental hikes and whale watching trips were mixed
with the volunteer work at local beaches and the Wertheim Refuge, as well
as working with the DEC cleaning out non-native phragmites from local
creeks and rivers.
    Regarding fundraising, Ms. Etzel credited Mr. George Ruland
with helping the club members paint canvas bags with the SEQ logo,
which members then sold to local shoppers to reduce disposable bag
waste. Additionally, she recalled how member Tiffany Russo helped
design T-shirts with environmental friendly messages, which were then
screen printed and sold by the club.

Science Chairman Jim McGowan, Marv Loewen, Brookhaven Town
Supervisor Brian Foley, Ann Carpenter, Lois Edzel, Art Cooley, and
SEQ members at the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge

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