Starting out in 2004, the environmental club at FHC was created with the intent purpose of trying to make a difference. Whether it be worldwide or more likely locally, these students wanted to make a change.

“This year we’re focusing more right here [in Ada] with local events,” said club advisor Chad Scholten.

Led by Scholten, a group of FHC students come together in attempt to clean up the environment.

Because it is a student-led club, seniors Sam Plouff and Joey Hartert are given the tasks of leading club members and helping raise awareness for the environment. Plouff has been a member of the Environmental Club for all four years of high school and wishes to make a difference.

“Coming out of Goodwillie and everything, I just have a really strong passion for the environment,” Plouff said. “I feel like I needed to step up and do my part for it.”

Hartert, on the other hand, is only entering his second year in the club. However, he has taken charge and helped lead the club in the right direction.

“I was looking for a club to join and thought the Environmental Club would be great for me,” Hartert said. “I was already aware of the environmental problems surrounding us, so I figured I’d step in and get involved.”

Meeting every Tuesday, students in the Environmental Club gather in room 231. Work is done, awareness is in the process of being raised, and events are scheduled and planned out for future dates.

On October 17th, FHC students of all ages fled to the shoreline of Grand Haven, ready for the year’s first beach cleanup.
“This first cleanup was really well attended, with students from all grades,” Plouff said. “We have another one planned for later in the spring, so hopefully the attendance will be just as strong.”

Other than the beach cleanup, the members of the Environmental Club have had some other ideas stirring. Focusing more on local issues, and less on global issues, there have been discussions of future events that will positively affect the FHC community.

One such idea brought up by the Environmental Club is the idea of composting the recyclable food from the cafeteria.

“The idea is that we compost the food over the whole year and then move it to the compost bin outside every day,” Hartert said. “This way, at the start of the spring we can put the fresh compost into the gardens for the spring season.”

Another creative idea thought up by Plouff was taking on the task of collecting graduation gowns from past years. Reusing them, the purpose is to sell the gowns to seniors graduating in the class of 2016.

“This’ll be helpful especially if there’s someone less fortunate who’d want a gown,” Scholten said. “You only wear it once and they don’t change style so this is a great alternative.”

The Environmental Club is in the process of creating new activities to be put into action in the near future. According to Hartert, the club has raised large sums of money through can drives. This fundraising has helped raise awareness in the community and has provided the club with some extra cash. The idea is to put this money to use, jump-starting the next project.

“There is no planet B, so why shouldn’t we take care of the only planet we have?” said Scholten. “It’s easy to make small changes; the tough part is educating others and making a widespread difference.”