Senior and founder of Wildlife Appreciation Club, Tejas Reddy, shares his love of wildlife and how he has taken steps to become environmentally friendly.

“I’ve always loved wildlife ever since I was little. I love to go hiking and fishing. It really hurts to see animals die, like all the pollution on the news and global warming. I know it’s not going to save the world, but I hope [Wildlife Appreciation Club] has a positive impact on animals’ well being and how people see animals’ well being,” Reddy said.

Reddy goes vegan on school days eating only salads and potatoes when he can.

“I don’t think people realize how much better it is for the environment to not eat beef or pork because cows and pigs are responsible for so much methane production and their waste is responsible for eutrophication,” Reddy said. “Supporting local farmers that don’t use pesticides like shopping at farmers’ markets instead of grocery stores is something small, but if everyone does it it can be something big. You have to have that mentality when you’re thinking of the environment.”

Aside from attempting veganism, Reddy refrains from squashing bugs and kills blue starlings to keep them from decreasing the local bluebird population. He encourages people to take small steps too.

“I think even if you’re just conscious of your decisions that you make can leave a positive impact. Don’t litter. If you have a can, let’s recycle and not throw it out the car window. Let’s be environmentally friendly. Let’s not hunt for endangered species. Let’s be good people and act with integrity and serve with respect,” Reddy said.

Unlike most clubs, the Wildlife Appreciate Club continues to have a strong audience who are passionate about being environmentally friendly.

“Tejas has taken the initiative with that club, he has taken it from nothing to what it is now. From the meetings that I’ve seen there is a lot of people involved,” teacher sponsor and head of the science department Owen Kinney said. “He’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t need me anymore, Tejas is just running the club on his own with a bunch of great people helping him. The club is going strong and it is obviously a reflection of Tejas’ passion to make this happen.”