Recent Kennedy Junior High School graduate Astha Savalia is extremely involved in her community. Last year, she attended a Naperville City Council meeting where she learned about the city’s reliance on coal. As one of the only young people in the crowd, she was inspired to create an Eco Club at Kennedy Junior High School (KJHS).
“I noticed that the people who were going to be impacted the most by the issue, AKA the younger generation, weren’t really present at the meeting, and that bothered me,” Savalia admitted. “I really want to get young people involved in helping out the environment, and I thought my school would be a good place to do that.”
In September 2025, Savalia was approved for an Express Grant for the Kennedy Eco Club. The grant covered the cost of water barrels, composting bins and Green Team badges, giving students visible ways to conserve resources and recognize their sustainability efforts.
“I had thought about starting a club before, and I think the reason why I did it is because I really wanted to make concrete changes,” Savalia shared. “I really wanted to get composting bins and water barrels and I really wanted to change my school.”
In her Express Grant, Savalia references the District 203 Carbon Action Plan. She wrote,“Kennedy has the third highest emissions of all schools in District 203 as seen in the emissions dashboard. We have an opportunity to educate the student population (approx. 977 students) on the negative impact of climate change and the importance of taking action now to promote sustainability.”
Using the composting bins purchased with the Express Grant, students will compost the trash that accumulates from their lunches every day. The compost will then be given to the KJHS Gardening Club to use as they see fit. The water barrels will function similarly, as they collect rainwater that will be used to water the school’s butterfly garden.
The Express Grant also funded the supplies for an art mural that the Eco Club submitted for the Wyland National Art Challenge. The competition encourages students to create artwork based around the idea of conservation. This year, Eco Club’s mural centered around the idea of water conservation.
“We had a lot of fun making the water conservation mural. It was really interesting to see how a lot of the kids who didn’t know much about the environmental issues came in with their own research, and those were eventually included in the art piece,” Savalia said. “I got to know a lot of the kids who joined the Eco Club that I didn’t know, and it was a really good opportunity for us to make friends.”
Eco Club also encouraged students from different grades to interact, something that doesn’t happen a lot in junior high.
“Because the grades are kind of separated, I felt like it was a good opportunity for the younger kids to make friends with the older kids, and the older kids to meet some of the younger kids,” she shared.
Now that Savalia has just finished 8th grade, she will be moving on to high school and leaving the KJHS Eco Club behind.
“I’ve definitely thought about the future of the Kennedy Eco Club,” Savalia said. “I hope for a great next year of Eco Club and I plan to stay updated with the club through my little sister to make sure it keeps running smoothly.”
Savalia also intends to stay active in the Naperville community through the high school’s Eco Club. Looking into the future, Savalia sees herself continuing a path of environmental advocacy in Naperville and beyond.
“I’ve always thought of myself as someone who was going to work in a social studies or language arts field rather than a math and science field,” she shared. “I want to study environmental sociology and how people react to the environment, and continue campaigning for change.”
