The Environmental Club weeded the native plant garden next to the senior parking lot in an event Monday. Students met after school by the garden, which Science Teacher Nadine Eisenkolb has cultivated over the past few years.

Environmental Club co-leader Chloe Appel ’23 said the club organized the meeting in response to the increase in weed growth during the winter. Appel said she appreciated Eisenkolb’s leadership in promoting student awareness and organizing club events related to planting.

“I think Ms. Eisenkolb has been doing a great job this year getting people who are interested in gardening and planting involved in the hydroponics tower in that garden and [planning] our events with [Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR)] as well,” Appel said. “She has a lot of knowledge about gardening. She was talking to some people about how to start their own gardens and giving people seeds.”

Attendee Izzy Daum ’23 said although removing weeds can be tiresome, it helps promote the growth of plants that will help beautify the campus.

“It was hard work because we had to keep digging for a while,” Daum said. “But for what it’s worth, it’s going to create all these lovely plants, and it’s going to stop all these invasive species from growing. So it’s an important thing to do, and we have to keep doing it to keep our school’s community healthy and beautiful.”

Raisa Effress ’23 said she admired the Environmental Club’s efforts to preserve nature in the school’s urban setting.

“It’s great that the Environmental Club is tending to that garden area,” Effress said. “I think we take for granted that we are surrounded by nature at the upper school campus, especially since we go to school in the middle of a very urban landscape. It’s those seemingly small details that can really make a difference.”