One of the newer clubs formed this year at East High School is the Environmental Club, run by juniors Sonia Piombino and Sofia Wilson. The Norse Code sat down with them to learn more about the clubs upcoming volunteer events and plans.

What is the main purpose or goal of the club?

We formed it because we wanted to give students the opportunity to work in the local community, not just the school community, while also helping the environment by volunteering.

What would you say is the most important part about the club?

Probably bringing students together outside of school to help a bigger cause. This is very important for the community aspect, and it helps people get outside of their usual comfort zone.

Why/when did you decide to start the club?

The club actually got approved at the end of November, but we’ve been talking about the idea for a while. We wanted to start the club because we thought it would be a good opportunity for students to volunteer and help the community and environment. With so many environmental issues going on, we just really wanted to help make small changes and show people, even kids, that they can make a difference. We even did a presentation to the East Goshen community about ways kids can help out within their community.

What are your future plans for the club?

Obviously, we want to continue our volunteering events like our invasive species removal. We have a cool project that we have coming up where we will plant flowers into painted pots to give to a nursing home. Some people can’t see their family due to COVID, so we thought it would be a great way to cheer them up. We are also going to add handmade cards when we give the flowers. Our Chipotle fundraiser was actually held so that we could buy our supplies for this project.

You’ve been having a lot of volunteer events lately. Have they been successful?

They have been very successful. The first event we set up had 20 people sign up, which was surprising because it was in January and it was pretty cold. The last event we did had a similar number. In each volunteer event, we were able to get a lot done, and our club members really enjoyed it. We also just had an Earth Day cleanup last week where we were able to fill up a bunch of bags with trash.

Out of all of the volunteer events you had, which one was your favorite?

Honestly, I think the Earth Day Cleanup. I really liked how everyone was pitching in, even though in every event I felt like that happened. It was just especially nice seeing all our work at the end and the real difference we made. We also got to do it in conjunction with the Recycling Club, so we got to see a lot of new faces. At the end of the year, we're actually merging with the Recycling Club (since the leaders of the club are graduating) to become a bigger Environmental Club.

Have you run into any problems in running your club due to the pandemic?

Definitely. Just trying to plan the previous volunteer events was hard because there were so many restrictions, and not many events going on at the time. It’s also difficult because we have to have limited people like at the last one we could only have 14 people due to social distancing. The cold weather made volunteering harder, but we were still able to do our East Goshen presentation and the first volunteer event before the snow. It’s been hard, but we’ve been getting back in the swing of things.

Feel free to promote your club here! Why do you people should participate?

I would say, especially while COVID is around, our club provides a good way to get out and hang out with people from school, all while doing something good for the environment, which always feels great. In the past years, there’s been a lot of climate issues, like the Australian bushfire, so it’s always great helping the environment when you can.

Wow! The Environmental Club sounds like so much fun and a great way to give back to the community. If you’re interested in joining, the meetings are usually on Tuesdays (5:30 pm), and the Schoology code is

WS4X-2ZVH-WP7B9.