Environmental Club looks to expand its membership

PHOTO: President of Environmental Club Jared Umphress leads members through the agenda for the day.

By Leyla Bolkan,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff-

As the bell rings signaling lunch, members of the Environmental Club at Davis High all gather in S-10. Instead of being over Zoom, this year members see each other face to face, ready to do hands-on work in the garden.

Last year, the club held Zoom meetings with guest speakers. One of the speakers was Diana Almendariz, a Native American woman from the Wintun tribe who talked about native plants and Native American culture. 

Over the summer, the club volunteered at the North Davis Open Space Restoration project, where they helped plant native plants and construct trails.

This year, the club President, Jared Umphress, is aiming to reestablish the Thong Hy Huynh Memorial with new plants. 

The memorial, built in 1983 to honor a Vietnamese student who was killed on campus, is currently overgrown with weeds. Umphress hopes to weed it and restore it to its original condition. 

Umphress is also hoping to take the club to visit natural reserves and state/city parks so that they can learn onsite about the environment and see what they are protecting.

“I think the greatest thing about the environmental club is that you surround yourself with like-minded people who want to push for positive changes,” Umphress said. “It’s a great feeling to be surrounded by fellow peers who believe in the same thing, and not only are you working towards something together, you also get to know each other and make new friends,” 

The club meets in S-10 every Friday at lunch. Everyone is welcome to join. Members can come whenever they want to work and help out.

“I think it’s important for people to join environmental clubs considering all of the issues going on,” club member Yusuf Abdelnur said. “In the long run, it could have a bigger footprint on society as well.”.