Planet Green is a club with a goal: helping the Earth. Now in its second year, the club members work to make a difference, according to sponsor Lisa Pavic, who is also a biology and environmental science teacher.

Planet Green member and Freshman Saya Patel highlighted the importance of the club’s projects, especially when students got the chance to go out into the community. The projects were new and interesting, and they were opportunities to look forward to, Saya said. 

“It’s about helping the environment in our community, so doing anything that we can to be efficient and [bring] the community together [by] involving everybody and anybody, and just doing something together which is fun but [with] a purpose to it.” Saya said.

One of these projects was at the Grove, where members of the club were able to spend time in nature while also getting rid of invasive Buckthorn plants. Another recent event involved cleaning the Techny Basin, and the club is currently working on a pollinator garden that will be planted on school grounds.

Pavic explained that the club received a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for a pollinator garden. She said that the grant was very specific, and members had to choose species, make choices, and research budgeting. The pollinator garden is being created in order to restore natural species, native to Illinois, that will keep out weeds and attract pollinators like bees. While making plans for the garden, Planet Green’s members also considered how it can help the school community as a whole, by enabling classes to benefit from it, too.

Pavic said the club members take the initiative to get involved, planning events and running the meetings. She said that they get the chance to learn about environmental issues without the pressure of testing in a class, and with the ability to give back to the community and to the planet. These two ideas, education and action, are put into action in Planet Green’s activities, from learning how to make informational signs for their pollinator garden from professionals from Brookfield Zoo to discussing their ideas with the administration.

“[Planet Green] is a great opportunity to learn about the world that we live in [and] it’s a great place to give back,” Pavic said. “If there’s anything Covid-19 has taught me, it’s that giving back is so important; there are ways to give back that are safe and that work for everybody. It’s [our] environment, we’ve got to learn how to live with it.”

Freshman Keya Patel, a member of Planet Green, explained that the club aims to increase awareness of environmental issues and community involvement, while working to make a difference locally. She emphasized the importance of having events to help restore local ecosystems and clean up litter in Glenview, and the fact that Planet Green gives students an opportunity to make a tangible difference for the environment.

“There is no ‘Planet B’,” Keya said. “That’s what we always think of, there’s nowhere else to go so we have to protect our Earth right now.”