Helping the planet one day at a time
After a one-year hiatus, Diamond Bar High School’s Planet Arboretum resumed their activities in cleaning up our world and school community. The club welcomed former and new members back through their club meetings and self-organized events that aim to benefit both their members and the planet.
Planet Arboretum was created for the purpose of giving back to the Earth by volunteering to perform environmental activities. Last year, however, the club was forced to go on a temporary hiatus due to insufficient leadership.
“I wanted to take initiative in supporting and bettering our environment and encouraging others to preserve our home,” club president junior Sabrina Lim said via Instagram. “The club was really big a couple years ago, and I wanted to contribute to growing the club back to its former recognition and to encourage in doing the most to protect the earth.”
To prepare for the return of Planet Arboretum, the club officers made an appearance at Club Rush by handing out various candies and introduced incoming events over their Instagram page.
“In my freshman year, we were online and there were practically no events due to COVID, and this carried on until last year with only a couple events planned due to restrictions.” Lim said.
As event coordinator, sophomore Kaylene Trinh oversees the creation of new events for Planet Arboretum to stay environmentally engaging, most of which offer volunteer hours. Some activities she scheduled this month are to go plogging—picking up litter while jogging—together as a club and make a post encouraging people to donate electronic waste to Goodwill. Trinh is also planning to host a recycling workshop at DBHS, teaching participants to recycle used cardboard to build crafts, such as plant pots or storage boxes.
“I like to be environmentally aware and proactive so I thought it would be great to participate a lot in this club,” Trinh said. “Becoming an officer would mean that I could participate even more, and as an event coordinator, I can organize more opportunities to help out.”
While smaller events are organized by club officers like their previous Ding Tea Boba fundraiser, others are hosted by bigger, non-DB affiliated external organizations, such as the recent Coastal Cleanup on Sep. 17. Planet Arboretum, along with various groups from around the state, traveled to Huntington Beach, where they participated in picking up any trash they found in the area.
Planet Arboretum meetings are held in Room 505 and advised by biology teacher Eric Sorenson. Much like USABO and other science-oriented clubs at DBHS, club officers use slide visuals to present environmental trivia, club announcements, volunteer opportunities and upcoming events. Every club meeting averages around 30 to 40 attendees—a testament to their success.
“Through the club, I want to advocate for preserving the environment by providing learning opportunities and volunteer experiences for members,” Lim said. “Within my next two years at DBHS, I want to build a foundation for the club to grow so that our future students will continue to preserve and advocate for the environment.”
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