The Environmental Club hosted an educational and clean- up event with Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) and Heal the Bay as a part of their monthly event series during a Feb. 2 Flex Day.

Environmental Club Leader Maya Mathur ’22 said she believes it is important for students and faculty to work together to raise awareness and aid the environment. She said this event was successful in allowing attendees to do so.

“It’s important to host the events to raise awareness about environmental issues and actually do something that has a positive impact on our surroundings,” Mathur said. “At this event, we got some teachers involved to try and motivate environmental awareness in faculty as well. I think it was a successful event, as we had over 30 attendees.”

Members of the Environmental Club visited Heal the Bay’s aquarium in Santa Monica to interact with marine animals in the aquarium and learn about the tangible impact the clean-up events the Environmental

Club has on the environment and wildlife. After the education portion of the event, attendees participated in a beach clean-up close to a nearby sewer outlet.

Environmental Club Leader Chloe Appel ’23 said though the nature of the event differed from past events, due to the event’s educational aspect, she appreciated the opportunity to better under- stand the difference the clean-ups make to the environment.

“This event was unlike the [events] we typically host with FoLAR each month, but it was a nice opportunity to learn more about marine life and the impacts of population on sea creatures,” Appel said.

Derek Schneider ’22 said he originally attended the event be- cause his friends asked him to, he ended up gaining a deeper understanding of the effect garbage has on the ocean through Heal the Bay’s facility and the cleanup effort he partook in.

“I went [to the event] because I was asked to,” Schneider said. “[Through the education and beach clean-up], I learned just how bad garbage is for the ocean and how [trash] affects the wild- life living there.”