BY MAGGIE HINES

Photo Editor

Students taking the main stairwell up to the third floor will find a surprise there today: a 10-foot tall tree made out of water bottles.

Junior Natalie Weida constructed the tree out of over 800 water bottles collected by family, friends, and the National Honor Society. She made the art installation to raise awareness of the wastefulness of today’s society.

“I want people to read my statement and think about what we use” Weida said. “We need to make changes and realize what we are doing before it is too late.”

Weida’s statement, which is posted on the cage, is titled “Half a Second,” and includes statistics on how many water bottles are thrown out in half a second, as well as how quickly humans throw out a million water bottles.

The art installation piece will be up in the main stairwell for the next few weeks. It is the second art installation in that location this year.