LA PUENTE, CA – Five members of Bassett High’s Ecology Club won a regional environmental competition based on the extensive community work they’ve participated in throughout the school year, including advocating for more trees in the community, growing a campus pollination garden and mentoring elementary and middle school students.

The grand prize for the Tree People’s Generation Earth Streets to Sea contest is a trip to a Long Beach floating laboratory where the students will study marine life and analyze water samples.

“I joined the Ecology Club a few years ago, because I wanted to beautify my community,” Bassett High Class of 2017 graduate Amber Chacon said. “I also wanted to be involved in a club that did community activities inside and outside of school.”

Chacon was most proud of the club’s work on advocating for more trees in their community, working with the City of La Puente every other weekend to ask residents if they wanted to have a tree planted in their front yard. The students garnered the support of about 25 households each weekend. The City of La Puente designated a day when the students helped to plant the trees.

“I feel like the Ecology Club has helped me in talking with people because I want to major in sociology so I’ve gotten a lot of community skills through the club,” Chacon said.

Members met twice a week to apply their skills and knowledge to develop and implement real-world projects, as part of the District’s Project-Based Learning curriculum. They also created a lesson plan centered on environmental issues for the District’s elementary and middle schools once a month, to inform students on ways they can advocate for a healthier environment.

“Congratulations to our Bassett High School’s Ecology Club members for making a difference on your campus and in your community,” Interim Superintendent Debra French said. “You are leading your underclassmen to understand their contributions to the environment, and making a difference in our community.”

PHOTO:

062717_BASSETT_ECOCLUB: Bassett High School’s Ecology Club installs birdhouses near the campus’ pollination garden. Their projects earned them a grand prize through the Tree People’s Generation Earth Streets to Sea contest, earning them an all-expense paid day trip on a floating laboratory in Long Beach.