Nature: at the core of Club Green

As the name might imply, Club Green is an organization focused on the environment. In addition to maintaining the school’s butterfly garden, the organization fundraises for environmentally-focused charities.

“I’ve been doing Club Green, I don’t know…maybe fifteen years? It was actually me and Mrs. Ferreiro who started it when she started teaching as well,” said sponsor and science teacher Suzanne Burchaki.

Burchaki has long loved nature, and desired to care for the environment. She enjoys outdoor activities, and grew up amongst nature. In fact, her upbringing made her decide to teach science. 

“Doing things with nature was always something that I did as a kid growing up, like camping, and hiking, and things like that, so I’ve been interested in the environment and nature. And animals, as well. And that’s kind of what got me into teaching science,” said Burchaki.

Club Green oversees the garden planted near the arcade (on the east side of the school), which is designed to attract butterflies. The group’s new t-shirt pays tribute to the butterfly garden, featuring a bright orange monarch.

The club also holds fundraisers for charities chosen by the students from the handful that the science teacher finds are environmentally focused.

“I just found a bunch of different organizations and then had the students vote to see which ones they were most interested in,” said Burchacki. 

When the pandemic hit, Club Green was forced to change its focus. Doing so was not a problem for Burchaki, however, because “it changes from year to year anyway, because you just have a new group of freshmen coming in, and you have seniors leaving. So even without the pandemic being there, things are always kind of evolving and changing.”

In December, Club Green hoped to hold a fundraiser using a pop-a-shot, making every play about 50 cents. Anyone who earned the highest score won a $20 gift certificate. All proceeds benefitted the World Wildlife Foundation, which cares for endangered species across the globe. 

Students who are concerned about the environment and want to make a difference should consider joining Club Green in January.

“I would say it’s great if you’re really interested in nature things, environment things, you know, working together. It’s a great place to be,” said Burchaki.