Squash It!

This past May, Joy Kochar and 10 other students from P.S. 124 gathered in Columbus Park, in New York City. They set up a table with lemonade, cookies, and origami figures for sale. The kids were hoping to raise money for their school to address a big problem: the spotted lanternfly, which had recently infested the area.

RAISING FUNDS Joy and her team sell cookies and lemonade to raise money.

But the kids struggled for attention. “We were staying close to our area,” Joy, 10, told TIME for Kids. “Everyone was looking at us like we just didn’t belong.”

The students began to talk louder and walked around the park, holding up signs for their fundraiser. Passersby took notice. “We did some bargaining and negotiated deals,” Joy says.

The kids’ goal was to raise $200, the cost of the equipment needed to stamp out lanternflies around their school. They got part of the way there, with about $75. They decided to hold more fundraisers. “We discovered that if you find your voice,” Joy says, “you can do so much more.”

Bad Bugs

Spotted lanternflies are an invasive species. They are native to China. Since 2014, they have been seen all across the eastern United States. The insects are harmful to many plants, and can disturb entire ecosystems. State officials have urged people to kill lanternflies wherever they see them.

INVADERS The spotted lanternfly is an invasive species. To help the environment, officials instruct people to kill them.

When Joy saw the pests in her school courtyard, she had to do something. “I’ve always wanted to take environmental action,” she says, “and show people that no one is ever too small to make a difference.”

So she started a club called Squash. Its mission is to kill lanternflies around the school. More than 20 students have joined. At first, they trapped the pests in empty water bottles and then squashed them. In a single day, the club managed to kill more than a hundred lanternflies.

TEAMWORK Joy’s lanternfly-stomping club is called Squash. It’s made up of more than 20 students.

A Better Way

Joy wanted to do more. With research, she discovered a plant called milkweed. It’s nutritious for pollinators such as monarch butterflies but toxic to lanternflies. Joy decided that using milkweed along with traps made specifically for lanternflies would be a better way to kill them.

TRAPPED Squash raises money for environmentally friendly bug traps.

Eventually, the fundraisers in Columbus Park paid off. Squash raised $197, enough to buy milkweed and traps. The school’s sustainability coordinator purchased the traps, and at recess, Squash members set them up on trees around the park.

The effort would not have been a success without teamwork, Joy says. “I learned that two minds are better than one,” she says. “Initially, I just wanted this to be an individual project. But when I decided to involve other students, I was amazed at how our progress increased.”

CLEANING UP Joy Kochar and her classmates help their school and community by addressing the infestation of spotted lanternflies.

Squash plans to hold more fundraisers, selling cider and pies. The money will be used to buy milkweed for next spring, when lanternflies will begin to hatch.

Joy says she’s proud of how far the club has progressed since it started out, squashing lanternflies with napkins. “We’ve come a long way.”

Feeling Inspired?

Next month, we’ll feature kids who are helping others feel better. Could you be one of them? Click here for ideas on how you can plan a service project that improves the well-being of your community.