On Tuesday, April 14, Poly held the third annual Terrapalooza Earth Day celebration. The K-12 event, which took place during the school day with an adjusted class schedule in the Upper School, educated students on a variety of climate-related topics.
The concept of Terrapalooza formed three years ago when Upper School History and English Teacher Avi McClelland-Cohen and Upper School Librarian Nora Murphy brainstormed ideas for an Earth Day celebration, which Poly lacked at the time. While the inaugural event was assembled in just four weeks, this year’s Terrapalooza was developed by a committee consisting of Murphy, McClelland-Cohen, Upper School Assistant Librarian Natalie Mattox, and 15 Upper School students who began planning in Sept. 2025.
“While teachers in various classes in different departments at Poly do a really great job of integrating climate history and environmental science into their curriculum, it’s really nice that we can have one day where this can really just be a focus,” reflected Mattox.
Sophomore Mackenzie Reid, who served on the planning committee, said, “The committee was split up into a few specialized portions, but we all collaborated to put together a fun day for the school to enjoy.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Miry Whitehill, founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Miry’s List, which works to help refugees settle in the United States. Whitehill kicked off the celebration with a presentation centered on her experience working with refugees and the importance of making newcomers feel welcomed, a topic that is especially pertinent as climate disasters increase in size and number, forcing people to flee their homes.
In the afternoon, Upper School students each attended two climate-related workshops led by students and faculty. There were 40 workshops in total, hosted by 55 students, 16 faculty members, and three guest speakers, including a Fire Ecology class run by alumni Eli Grossman ’19, a student panel from Poly’s Climate Change elective and a vegan smoothie-making workshop led by Student Community Engagement Coordinator Renée Larios. Throughout the day, the library also hosted stations that students could drop in to visit, including an E-waste recycling collection and a clothing swap.
“Leading a sustainable card-making Terrapalooza workshop was such a rewarding experience,” noted junior Naomi Trebi-Ollennu, co-president of the Hospital Helpers Club. “Seeing 22 dedicated volunteers come together to create over 50 cards with so much care and enthusiasm made the entire session feel both seamless and genuinely impactful.”
“I think that Terrapalooza is such a good idea because it’s engaging because it allows us to participate in activities that combine student interests with the climate,” shared sophomore Karina Kim.
As a K-12 event, Terrapalooza offered opportunities for connection between the Upper School and younger grade levels as Lower School and Middle School students visited the Upper School Library throughout the day for booth activities. In the Fourthtopia and the Future! workshop, Upper School students helped fourth graders build a model of a utopian sustainable city out of recycled materials, which will be displayed at the Poly Pet and Hobby Show on Friday, April 24.
“Terrapalooza is part of a bigger push by a lot of students and faculty to have climate be something that we really invest in and care about,” shared McClelland-Cohen, who teaches an elective on climate change. “There is so much reason to hope. The reason I started wanting to teach about climate change is because I felt such a profound sense of despair around it.
”She added, “We want our Poly graduates to be leaders in the world, and we need leaders who are going to be really focused on addressing climate change.”
“I learn every year more and more how much our students have to offer and how skilled they are and how thoughtful they are and how passionate they are,” shared Murphy.
Sophomore Sylvie Shapiro reflected, “There was a huge range of activities to do, and I liked how many options I had. The whole event was really well planned and organized, and the experience was very eye-opening. I’m looking forward to Terrapalooza next year!”
