“I want to become an ecologist,” Lucas Fink tells me, “because It’s my passion.”

Ecology studies the relationships between organisms and the environment. Lucas, a current Glen Ridge High School senior, has turned passion into progress by expanding the role of ecology in the school community.

This year, Lucas started the Ecospheres Club. Members learn about the components of ecosystems, food chains, and other natural processes and cycles, and map out these relationships. This knowledge is then applied to the real world by creating a tangible product visible to the school community: the club is placing aquariums, terrariums, and vivariums around the building.

 “Its what I’ve been doing for the last decade– running around photographing wildlife, creating all sorts of natural art, so doing this sort of fits right in there,” Lucas says.

The creation of the club is part of Lucas’s attempt to address issues he sees in the community, particularly his feeling that the school doesn’t treat nature as seriously as it should. 

“I think that I add an element of nature into the school community that I feel is not present enough as it is,” he explains. “There’s a lot of unused wild land that’s not utilized around the school; the courtyard is permanently locked year round.” To combat this, Lucas has been given permission by the administration to use the courtyard for his club and is planning environmental cleanup projects alongside the addition of ecospheres into the school. In addition, Lucas is hoping for the club to collect, raise, and maybe breed pets such as praying mantises.

Lucas is involved in the GRHS community in other ways as well. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Engineering Club, and Photography Club. Outside of school, he participates in martial arts, and of course, studies ecology and creates natural art.

Being a senior is already intense, and throwing a new club on top of all of these commitments is not without its costs– but Lucas is handling it, regardless of his rigorous course-load that includes AP Biology. 

“Senior year is really stressful, but I’m doing well so far,” Lucas tells me, adding that, “I really like gym class!”

Lucas is recognized as senior of the month because of how he has taken his passion for ecology and used it to better the school community. If you spot a terrarium in the hallways, you know who to thank!