Care for Our Common Home - Anna Street

Care for Our Common Home

October 15, 2025

Whether I am on the soccer field, with my cleats digging into the muddy grass, walking on the beach in Half Moon Bay, or on a hike in the Belmont Hills with my dog, nature has and will always be an important part of my life. I often take the environment for granted, never fully recognizing how the environment has shaped my life, especially the activities which bring me joy. The earth is our common home, and the earth brings life, but also the earth brings joy, love, and so much more.

In AP Biology, we have learned about how to care for our common home through inquiry in the life of Jane Goodall, Laudato Si, Citizen Science, and the Earth Science Week photo contest.

Reasons for Hope: Jane Goodall

In AP Biology, we learned about one scientist who sparked environmental activism all over the globe, Jane Goodall.

Jane Goodall was a world-famous primatologist, ethologist, and environmental activist, best known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. In her early work, she primarily focused on primate research. She became a groundbreaking scientist, especially as an inspiration for women in science around the world. In her later years, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute to support wildlife research, conservation, and education. She also started the Roots & Shoots program, which empowers young people to take action for people, animals, and the environment. If you would like to get involved in her climate action, the websites for her foundations are linked above.

In class, we watched the documentary, “Reasons for Hope: Jane Goodall.” The documentary was not only informational but also inspiring. Through education and activism, the documentary displays why and how Jane Goodall changed the world. One piece of information that interested me most from the documentary was how Jane began her life, just like us. She started off as a student interested in biology and the world around us. Her activism sparks my curious question: Can small actions have an influential effect on a larger community?

Laudato Si: Message of Pope Francis

Laudato Si is an encyclical letter written by Pope Francis in 2015. The letter focuses on care for our common home, the Earth. Pope Francis focuses on five key points throughout the encyclical.

1. Interconnectedness
2. Environmental Crisis
3. Social Justice
4. Critique of Consumerism
5. Call to Action

In class, to understand our own personal mark on the environment, we filled out a water calculator. I learned that in my family and in my own personal water use, virtual water takes up a significant portion of our daily water use. For example, my personal and familial shopping habits take 538 gallons of water per day, whereas our showers only take up 20 gallons per day.  I was not expecting the large difference in outcome, because when I think of water use, I primarily focus on water that I am directly using, not water that I am using when shopping or doing other daily tasks, which don’t involve direct contact with water.

Curious Question: How does water use affect other parts of the environment, including climate change and habitat loss?  

If you want to calculate your own water use, click on the website below:

WHAT IS YOUR WATER FOOTPRINT?

Citizen Science

Here are 6 ways to be a citizen scientist, but what does a citizen scientist really mean?

Citizen science is defined as “A global movement where members of the public participate in scientific research, often voluntarily, to collect and analyze data, and even help formulate research questions.”

Team AP Biology 2025-2026 has been focusing on the importance of citizen science. Citizen science is important because citizen science increases the scope of scientific research and public interest in science. Citizen science utilizes the general population to collect data. For example, if scientists are trying to investigate migration patterns of a certain species of bird, people near the migration path can record how many birds pass through. Scientists do not always have the ability to collect all the data necessary for the project, so involving the public allows more data to be collected. Additionally, involving the public gets the public engaged in science, and trust in scientific knowledge is crucial for the health and safety of the world.

There are countless projects that people can work on; these projects can be big, and they can be small, but all are extremely impactful. If you want to get involved in your own citizen science project, here is a website, Zooniverse, which focuses specifically on citizen science.

Earth Science Week photo contest

The Earth Science Week Photo Contest is an annual event to celebrate Earth Science Week. Earth Science Week is a week dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the Earth sciences.

The contest encourages people of all ages to capture photos that highlight Earth science in everyday life, showing how people interact with the planet’s land, water, air, and living systems.

The photo I submitted for the 2025 contest.

The theme of the contest in 2025 is “Capturing Energy in Motion.” In my photo, at first glance, the photo shows an empty street, quiet and motionless. But that stillness actually captures the potential for motion. The glowing sunset and dynamic cloud patterns in the sky add energy, and the light and color shifts make the scene feel alive and changing, even without visible movement. The string lights and restaurant patios suggest human presence and activity, displaying motion that has just paused or will soon resume. So, the image captures the energy of anticipation, a moment between motion and stillness.

The Earth Science Week Photo Contest was a great way to get involved in my community on a larger scale. In general, being able to see all my classmates' photos and getting feedback on my own was a great way to explore different ways of capturing our environment.

“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” Lady Bird Johnson

The environment is the foundation of all life on Earth, providing us with the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the resources we depend on every day. Protecting it is not just a responsibility, but a necessity for our survival and for the well-being of future generations.

Whether I am going on a hike, walking on the beach, or playing soccer on a green grass field, the environment always has an impact on my life. I often take the environment for granted, but through AP Biology, I have been able to more deeply reflect on and advocate for environmental change and sustainability.

Don’t forget to be ClEvR!

• Anna Street