Samo is "Branching Out" for the environment

On Tuesday, Sept.18, the Branching Out ceremony was held on the southwest corner of the Samo football field. Coordinated by the Samo Gardening Club, with trees provided by Tree People, administration and members of the Gardening Club hope this project will help make Samo a more environmentally-friendly campus. All attendees of the ceremony were encouraged to involve themselves in the planting of the trees, as members of the Gardening Club worked to spread their cause of reveling in and protecting the environment. Molly McGee (’19), Co-President of the Gardening Club, spoke about her time in the club and the beginnings of creating the garden.“[Ava Tung (’19)] and I are Co-Presidents and we started this gardening project at the beginning of last school year but we did not officially have a space until this school year,” McGee said. Members of the club as well as club attendees were excited to see a bit of greenery being added to the campus, which sits in urban Santa Monica. The push to make Samo a more sustainable campus is an important component of the school’s 25-year Campus Plan, alongside the construction and demolition of various campus structures. Bella Boucher (’22) spoke about her excitement for the garden on campus which she heard about through her teacher, Benjamin Kay. “I thought it could be cool to be able to help and get involved in the community. You look around parts of the city and you rarely see greenery or trees because it is [basically the middle of the desert]. So, [students and administration] bringing more greenery and life into Samo will make it more beautiful,” Boucher said. McGee and Tung were inspired to facilitate the Branching Out project through their passion for the outdoors as well as for environmental science. “We love the outdoors and go on backpacking and camping trips all the time. We both took AP Environmental Science last year. And we both do a lot of gardening at home,” Tung said. McGee explains that she and Tung both hope to incorporate environmental studies into their college studies as well as their career paths. “We both want to be environmentalists and study environmental science and sustainability,” McGee said.      AP Environmental Science teaches students about their environment and instills in them a sense of responsibility for maintaining the health of this environment. Pressing issues such as climate change and its effects on wildlife are discussed in great depth in the class. An important takeaway from the curriculum is that humans have the opportunity to reverse and prevent further damaging effects of their activities on the Earth. Sustainability projects like Branching Out are changing the way that communities around the world are viewing and facilitating interactions between human beings and the environment. Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton also weighed in about the tree project as he praised the lasting benefits the garden will have for the Samohi community in the future. “Branching Out will root the students within the Samohi campus and future building projects for long-term engagement and school spirit,” Shelton said. If you would like to learn more about Gardening Club and/or get involved in the Branching Out Project, attend a Gardening Club meeting in H122 on Fridays at lunch or come to the southwest corner of the football field during sixth period Monday-Friday.