The Environmental Club met on January 23rd near the SAC to expand their community butterfly garden.

The 200 square foot butterfly garden was first built last March to protect and preserve the natural environment. 

“Our community garden is one of our proudest achievements,” Club President Philippe Hempel said. “[Since last year] We have added a second garden bed and are preparing the site for planting once the weather warms up. Although the garden may look barren in the winter, throughout the rest of the year it is a beautiful and flourishing display of nature’s harmony.”

Materials for the garden beds were gathered in January, and on the day of the expansion, a group of 25 club members met in the morning and set to work.

“First we built the frame; next we laid cardboard at the bottom and went through the layering process, which consisted of cardboard, recycled paper, compost, more paper and cardboard, sticks, and finally mulch,” said Hadia Khatri, Co-President and founder of Environmental Club.

Hadia Khatri created the club initially to bring awareness to environmental issues: both ones that are discussed frequently and ones of which people may not be aware.

“Everyone knows about climate change, but people don’t know about fast fashion, aka extremely cheap clothing (usually made in sweatshops) that fray and tear, eventually leading to mass landfills of clothes that end up back in countries with majority sweatshops,” said Khatri.

Still to come for the garden beds is the addition of plants and butterflies, which will happen in April.

“We wanted to wait until after the freeze,” said Khatri.

In addition to the butterfly garden, the Environmental Club is working on adding a pocket prairie to the campus.

“Pocket prairies are generally 100 square foot to 200 square foot areas of Blackland Prairie that’s restored. Before buildings were built in these areas, it was black land soil,” said Khatri. “Most of the animals and species that existed in those areas are extinct or endangered, so the pocket prairies are a show of respect and awareness for people to understand that that was a native area.”

Environmental Club meets the first Tuesday of every month in room B110 after school to discuss future projects and climate issues to be combatted on a local and global level, making an immense impression here in Plano.

“With over 120 members, we have grown into a strong and influential organization, taking on numerous projects and making a noticeable impact in Plano,” said Hempel, “These projects serve as a symbol of what can be done when we come together in a combined effort for a more sustainable and beautiful future.”