It seems almost alien looking back that one of my cabinet members would suggest doing another project for Green Club when we had the lowest amount of members we’ve had for years, struggled doing the last project that we were going to do again this year, and had almost no experience doing something like this. From an outsider perspective, it was daunting to imagine learning an entire lab and sequentially teaching a cast of members, each of whom have never done something like this, the proper procedure and planning to attempt this. Discord, malice, and theatrics were all stagehands in this grand proposition, but I have to say now that the hardships fell away to an interesting concept that might be upheld for years to come. I had not even finished filling out the background information for my college applications when Khuyen burst out about her proposal on a creek monitoring during the officer meeting. Initially, it was such a stunning idea that most of the officers could not wrap their heads about what would really be happening. But it was exciting, bold, and it was certainly something that the club needed to stay afloat, so who was I to deny an interesting idea? We left content, pondering over the complex ideas presented. Officer training, officer sampling, member training, member sampling. Simple. 5 dates in total because member sampling happens twice. Officer training and sampling were cruel, to say the least. Dates could never align, a different schedule was being enforced this year, and surprise, surprise, my deadline for college was coming soon. Tensions brew up as they naturally do when nothing goes according to plan. Our group chats became zones of war and ignorance, while our meetings became a shadow of what they once were. It was clear action was needed, and thus action was brought. An intervention was heeded to order, brought by Khuyen. Feelings were spilt, I was unjustly called out, and our president was defended by our advisor. All in an average day’s work. This isn’t to say that nothing happened; rather it allowed pent up feelings to dissipate. It was very eye-opening to see what people actually thought and brought a cohesive ending to this drama. This was the turning point where composed ourselves and actually started working. Officer dates didn’t align? That was fine, we could inform whoever was gone about the processes they missed out on. Jurisdiction and trespassing? We could call in a city sheriff or have this done outside of school hours. Member dates and recruitment? Raffle out a hydro flask using club funds where raffle tickets could only be obtained by signing up for the event and create polls to find times that best suit the members needs. Learning the lab wasn’t as difficult as aforementioned, and we got to it. It’s here that I have to give out thanks to our club advisor, Ms. Hoang, for having experience in a lab and making sure that while following instructions we kept the lab environment as sterile as possible for accurate data. The member sampling days were interesting to say the least. It seems as if once you plan out everything for a date in the future there must be one thing that goes unaccounted for. In this case it was how we were going to split up the groups in accordance to the training and sampling. We developed a rather short-sighted system, which I can say now since the project for this year is over, where each group did a section of the monitoring. pH, Phosphate, Temperature, and Dissolved Oxygen. This resulted in the temperature and pH groups being done in under 5 minutes, and the DO group taking half an hour to go through it once. Acquiring the sample was also a difficult task, as there was no surefire way to obtain the most accurate sample since the environment constantly shifted throughout the year. The first sampling had a tree branch to cross over, and trash was further into the creek. The second had no pathway to acquire a sample in the middle of the stream, and had trash very close to the sample. We still managed to obtain a sample that was undisturbed by other factors in the end. Luring members into these events was very simple. The average highschooler will always be hungry and will do anything for the promise of food, academic credit, or both. Many of them had other priorities to take care of, but for the most part they attended both sessions; the turnout was much higher than initially anticipated. Our results, datawise and project management wise, were interesting to say the least. We weren’t quite sure if our data was correct, because many of the numbers obtained for the chemical testing were questionably low. This may be a great thing, that our creek is very clean, but they could be retried. Project management wise, this opens a completely new blank page for Green Club. It’s clear that two projects per year is not out of reach, as long as we have proper experience and communication. Should we continue this creek monitoring project and expand it to other locations? Should we try out different projects every year that have to do with the environment? Should we expand the project manager officer role? With the emergence of these questions comes even more branching thoughts and ideas. How will hours go into play here? Will we do collaborations? Senior rewards? Community involvement? The success of this event allows an infinite amount of possibilities, and it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. -Minhquan Nguyen
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Nowadays, the thought of staying inside is much appealing--made possible by the genius inventions of Nintendo Switch, Playstation, flag-ship phones, and a plethora of inventions. While it would be ignorant to criticize the advancements technology has made to our society--especially at the heart of Silicon Valley--we should also recognize that with its advancement, fewer youths are interacting with the environment.
The situation is no different at my school, Yerba Buena High School, where there seems to be a mainstream indifference to the degradation of Coyote Creek--a segment of water and wild habitat that runs behind the school. Over the summer of my Sophomore year, I decided to form a project named “YBHS-Go-Green” to get students at my school involved with the creek through water sampling. My goal was to create a bridge between the students and the creek so they could learn about the environment scientifically through three chemical tests: dissolved oxygen (DO), phosphate, and pH, along with physically observations about the neighboring environment. With the tremendous help of our advisor, Ms. Hoang, and my fellow officers from Green Club: Rose L., Hailey T., Nhi D., Minhquan N., and Elizabeth C., the project began. On November 22nd, we led a group of students down to the segment of Coyote Creek on Roberts Ave. We did physical measurements and I collected the water for the DO test, which was a thrilling process. Predicting what the measurements would be in my head and planning out the next steps gave me a rush of adrenaline. It was a touching experience for me to see the members of the project with their eyes glistening in curiosity at the sight. Much of their excitement reminded me of my first time encountering the site, often filled with a myriad of unanswered questions: How would rain shed affect the water quality? Would the data change with different parts of the creek? If so, by how much? Etc. When we returned to the classroom to perform the chemical tests, the group was split, each with a designated officer to guide the members. Quan and I were in charge of DO and through the long process connected with those in our group in laughter and fascination. I felt overjoyed at the sight of how the members’ eyes lit up when the colors from the flask changed from a dark blue to a colorless liquid as we dropped in Sodium Thiosulfate. Feedback from members like Matthew T. inspires Green Club and I to create a change in our environment: “Going down to the creek and watching the process of collecting water was very interesting. It was my first time doing anything like this, and I felt like the whole experience was great in general!” The second sampling posed a greater challenge as we were faced with muddy slopes leading to the creek. Just as last time, the process was made possible with each Green Club officer leading a chemical test and the involvement of our dedicated members. This year was Green Club’s first time starting this project and inevitably, several mistakes were made along the way. As Quan puts it: “Officer training and sampling were cruel, to say the least. Dates could never align, a different schedule was being enforced this year, and surprise, surprise, my deadline for college was coming soon. Tensions brew up as they naturally do when nothing goes according to plan. Our group chats became zones of war and ignorance, while our meetings became a shadow of what they once were. It was clear action was needed, and thus action was brought.” From miscommunication to not maintaining a sterile environment in our second sampling, our club definitely has room to grow. But it is through these mistakes and the guidance of our pertinacity that we have learned more about the environment--via Coyote Creek. Through these months, I grew more confident as a leader and the same could be said of my fellow officers. To the members who have participated, I genuinely thank you for your excitement and commitment. And, of course, I have Ms. Hoang to thank for her persistence and belief in our project and also the generosity of Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful for their knowledge of the creek and willingness to cooperate. -Khuyen Nguyen |
Purpose:
Here is where we post blogs about our experience regarding the project. Through writing, we hope to give insight into our experiences. Enjoy! Archives |