By Jen Halstead, senior and president of the Sanford High School Environmental Club in Sanford, Maine.

Intimidation washed over me as I looked over the eyes of the Sanford Environmental Club staring at me with disbelief in their eyes. Soon, the feeling faded. With or without their help, I was going to host a Green Fashion Show to spread awareness about our impact on local and global environments. Once the wheels got in motion and we talked about the idea in months to come, I gained the support that I was seeking, but not relying on.

With the support and brain power of the club, we put the idea out to the school. By speaking to each of the classes during advisory, we gained support, gained interest, and educated all at once. In the five minute spiel we had, we reminded people that each person doing one thing adds up to a lot, and as individual, and as a school, we can influence others to lessen their impact on the environment.

Our focus, however, was to make people aware of Marine life we affect, our chosen theme for the show. Therefore, we picked a local and global charity to donate our profits to, and let the school know that they would be a part of changing the world by participating and supporting the fashion show.

Over the months, people filtered through and we ended up with a group of clubs and individuals who were as excited about the show as we were. When I was in over my head with planning and organizing, the excitement in their voices as they asked questions and told me about their outfits reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place. By reaching out in a fun way, we aren’t telling people they’re wrong in what they’re doing, we’re showing them that we affect more than just Sanford when we litter, use plastic bottles, and don’t recycle. The support from the individuals and clubs was key in making sure the Green Fashion Show would be a success, even if just a small success.

Whether the designers know it or not, their constant interest helped me with the planning I found myself constantly wrapped in. Whether it was redoing the layout of the venue, deciding the line up of contestants, organizing the song order, or one of the other many things we were figuring out until the last minute, the input of the contestants was invaluable.

The fashion show took a lot of energy, and a lot of work from us and our contestants, I’ll admit. However, this work and energy was out shadowed, for me personally, by the passion I had to show my school and community that we affect the whole world, animals, and humans, and not just little ol’ Sanford, Maine.

The day, afternoon, and night of the show, I was running around, as was our wonderful adviser Mrs. Marass, and other people who helped, setting up and working out bugs we needed to fix. I literally took a 5 minute shower and was ready about 2 seconds, it seemed, before the first contestant showed up for his photo shoot. That’s when it set in that the show was really happening in just under 2 hours. I couldn’t believe it. I was nervous and excited and frantic all at once.

People began filtering in slowly, and seats slowly filled. I made sure the models were all set, took one last deep breath, looked out over the crowd, and the night began. After thanking everyone for coming out, my co-MC talked about the charity we were donating to that focused on the Great Garbage Patch, then I talked about the local charity.

Things just fell into place and ran as smoothly as can be expected. There were a few technical glitches that we were able to make fun of and have a laugh, of course. Along with this, there was a lot of time when it came to tallying where we didn’t have anything going on; in hindsight, we needed another video. Aside from these couple of things, however, things went smoothly.

In the end, our only male model won for the group category as he represented Math Team. His suit was made from retired flash cards and soduko puzzles. For the individuals, a flower inspired theme won.

Each of us had our personal favorites, however, which is why we weren’t judging. My personal favorite was an individual entry made entirely from pepsi cans. The dress was beyond amazing. Putting favorites aside though, I appreciate all of the work each model and designer put into the dress. Each dress, and the suit, was beautiful, and unique, and really got the point across how much we waste every day.

A Green Fashion Show is a big project, no doubt, but if you have enough passion, it’s do-able event. Even though as many people didn’t show up as originally expected, I’m proud that we were able to reach and impact the amount of people we did. I know that they will spread the word, and they will influence others on their own, even if they don’t realize it. Being that this is my last year with the Sanford Environmental Club, I’m sad that I won’t be there to do it again; but, if they decide to do it again, I will give them my full support and remind them what we needed to improve on. Even with all of the work, it was one of the most fun things I’ve done thus far in life, and I hope the same applies for other people involved.