Crenshaw Eco-Club
Does Dirty Work
to Close Out 2007

There were no minced words on recruitment fliers for the Crenshaw HS Community Garden workday. “Do not come if you are lazy, a whiner or don’t want to get dirty!” said the brochure, designed by Sierra Club Project Administrator and Crenshaw HS Eco-Club mentor Bill Vanderberg. The four-hour project promised hands-on work for Eco-Club members and their peers at the campus garden last December and November, 2007.

Hard work is not new to the Eco-Club and Venture Crew at Crenshaw HS. Throughout the autumn and winter, they have partnered with community stewards – including the Sierra Club and the Boy Scouts – on several projects. Other high school students also attended, but Eco-Club and Venture Crew members earn community service credits.

In addition to a coastal cleanup and several outdoor education hikes around the Los Angeles area, the Crenshaw Eco-Club also participated in the Survivor Challenge at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in late October. Over 120 people attended the overnight activity, which focused on promoting the need for environmental education programs and to introduce local students to the natural resources and public parks in their home communities. Students participated in a campfire program, a sunset hike and received a new Coleman sleeping bag to keep after the event.

The Eco-Club has over 25 members, and has been a long-standing active program with WildLink.