The Environmental Club Trash-the-Runway fashion show has been a Lauralton tradition for over twenty years!

The fashion show was first created under the guidance of retired English teacher, Donna DiMassa (1997-2016), to raise awareness of the sheer volume of waste generated in our community. The hope was that by encouraging students to examine their waste stream and turn the trash into treasure, the school community would gain a greater appreciation for the Sisters of Mercy's critical concern: Earth. We believe in the need for sustainability of life, supporting both a lifestyle and legislation that acknowledge everyone’s right to water and the need to address climate change.

That first show was a tremendous success! And each year since, Lauralton students have created haute couture out of everything from recycled newspapers and corks to candy wrappers and CDs.

On Tuesday, April 5 the Environmental Club partnered with the New Paradigm Theater to create “Trash to Treasure” costumes and sets for their summer production of Disney’s Little Mermaid. Students were encouraged to create “Trash the Runway” outfits reflecting an aquatic/steampunk theme. Lauralton students shared pertinent environmental and marine life facts as part of their bios which were read as each model strut down the runway, raising awareness among students and faculty about how our actions impact not only our local environment but the global environment. Did you know that recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours?

Thank you to all of our student designers and models for participating this year:

• Katherine Baisley ‘23
• Emily Varian ‘23
• Natalie Newton ‘25
• Lily Garate ‘25
• Caroline Newton ‘23
• Sinead McGuirk ‘22
• Lily Bolash ‘22
• Aida Ehlers ‘24
• Mia Hamilton ‘24
• Sana Ahmed ‘23
• Rinei Hawke ‘23
• Hailey Black ‘23
• Iliana Christakos ‘23
• Maddy Paine ‘22
• Anna Garate ‘22
• Marina Pinto ‘24