Senior Mia Martin never expected to find herself covered in peanut butter while working with the environmental club, but she found herself immensely enjoying the project nonetheless.

“Recently, we made some pine cone feeders,” Mia said. “It was kind of out of the box. [We asked], ‘why don’t we do this? It sounds fun.’ We were all covered in peanut butter and bird seeds, but it was a lot of fun, and I feel like we grow a lot closer as we do things like that.”

Crafting these unique bird feeders is one of the many activities that students can immerse themselves in through FHC’s Environmental Club. Meeting nearly every Tuesday in science teacher Chad Scholten’s classroom, students participate in a variety of projects to help the environment from making recycling boxes to picking up trash.

As the club’s president, Mia has watched the club grow through the small yet impactful deeds students do to help the outside world.

“I’ve been a lot more aware [of the environment],” Mia said. “I think of what I personally can do to help and how I can get other people to join. By making it more fun, you can get a lot more kids to join—finding new ways to help out [in a way] that not everyone does.”

Saving the environment doesn’t always necessitate sacrifice; instead, students can use their time creating solutions such as making recycling easier with artistic boxes. The leaders of the club have been brainstorming more environmental undertakings such as adding more plants to the school or traveling to clean up other areas. 

One of Scholten’s favorite aspects of the club is the drive and passion that students exemplify. Even though he acts as the advisor, his role is to simply ensure that the activities remain within school guidelines as the members get to plan their own ventures. 

“A lot of times, students will ask me what we’re doing,” Scholten said. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know’ because it’s the students who are coming up with the ideas, so it’s them with the energy and them with a passion. I just help direct that.”

Scholten continued the position of club advisor due to his own passion for the environment which stemmed from a childhood spent outdoors camping and catching frogs. Through his teaching of AP Environmental Science, Scholten is often credited with not only inspiring students to join the Environmental Club but also planting the seed of small changes in their lifestyles to conserve what’s left of the planet in an economy-driven world.

After all, environmental science is arguably the most directly related branch of science to our everyday lives; countless decisions on a daily basis make an impact.

“There’s quite a ripple effect when we talk about impacting the environment,” Scholten said. “A lot of times, students feel like ‘what can I do about deforestation in Indonesia?’ Maybe they can’t [do something], right? Or, [they’ll say], ‘I can’t change how much oil gets drilled out of the ground,’ but I always say [that] when you purchase things, that’s your environmental impact. That’s your vote: what you buy, where you put your money, whether it’s the food or the clothing or any other items, that’s [your] way of impacting the environment.”

Senior Savannah Blue, the co-president of the club, agrees with Scholten and encourages others to make easy adjustments to their habits to ensure a healthy planet for future generations. 

“Just think a little more and do small things,” Savannah said. “If you’re about to throw something, just take 20 steps towards the trash can, or if you’re driving somewhere, maybe offer to carpool. There are small ways that you can help, but it’s just a tad more effort.”

The lack of consideration in regard to protecting the environment is a disheartening reality. To combat this, members dedicate themselves to a cleaner environment—taking the time after school to clean up trash left behind.

This can often be an eye-opening experience as there’s no limit to what kinds of items students may stumble upon.

“[We find] weird things,” Savannah said. “[In the parking lot], we found some cans, bottles, and a whole pizza box. I feel like every time we go out there, we find multiple of these D&W sushi containers. They’re all in the same general area. I think it’s just one person who gets it at lunch, and then, they just throw it out of their car every time.”

If everyone were more conscious of their actions, the population would have the power to collectively improve the condition of life. With people as passionate as the members of FHC’s environmental club, hopefully, future generations will see a turn for the better. 

“We’re in [the environment] every day of our lives,” Mia said. “If something bad happens to it, it affects us directly. It’s something that everyone needs to take into consideration. I think people can be a little selfish sometimes, and as humans, we need to be a lot more caring and gentle with things that are important to us.”