Sustainability Spotlight: East High Horticulture Club

November’s Sustainability Spotlight shines on the group of students who roll up their sleeves every Friday for Horticulture Club! Bryan Penas, Lincoln East Science teacher, began Horticulture Club two years ago for all students interested in plants. Over the last two years, the club has become a place for students of all grades to relax, connect with each other, and most importantly, learn about plants! The club spends time working with many plants in various stages of life. Students plant seeds, transfer seedlings, water plants, and maintain the school garden. 

Students in the club plant something new every week. This week, the students planted lettuce seeds. They began by filling containers with soil. Next, they used their fingers to create rows in the soil where the seeds would be placed. Once the seeds were placed into the soil, the students watered the soil and set the containers in the window. Next Friday, the students will return to lettuce that has sprouted into seedlings, just like the greens the students planted a week prior.

Horticulture Club has attracted students from each grade level who all share an interest in plants. Mr. Penas continues to provide opportunities for the students to interact with plants every week. The club collectively agreed that their favorite activity this year was removing seedlings from a basil plant and transplanting the seedlings into small cups to continue growing. The club plans to continue selling vegetables and herbs to LPS families and staff and hopes to sell their produce at the Lincoln Farmers Market someday.

Alongside growing plants indoors, the club also built and continues to maintain a pollinator garden outside at Lincoln East. The club grew edible plants, including peppers and tomatoes, and sold them to teachers and parents to raise money for the materials to build the garden.  Students led the initiative for the garden throughout the process. Once funding was raised, the club purchased wood for raised beds, soil, and starter plants and seeds. The club members built the garden with the help of Mr. Penas. Today the garden has a variety of flowering and pollinator friendly plants and is a popular pitstop for many Lincoln pollinators. The club continues to maintain the garden by watering, weeding, and planting new vegetation. The club is currently planning to build a fence around a compost pile to have a designated compost station in the garden.

The Horticulture Club grows relationships alongside lettuce and greens. Sador, LEHS Senior, shared “Becoming part of the club, growing with my friends, and finding new friends has been really fun. I sometimes spend my free time up here prepping for the club.” Sador helped build and plant the garden for the first time and water it through the summer. “Horticulture club is a fun way to do something good for the environment,” commented Sador. Ninth grader, Moth, shared her reason for joining the club: “I really got into plants during quarantine and I started growing them in my room. I want to learn more about plants and continue in my knowledge.”  Horticulture Club has given students new opportunities to interact with plants and spend time outside. The students enjoy the club as a way to both care for plants, and spend meaningful time with friends. The Horticulture Club is a community in itself that hopes to see even more members join in the future.