For seniors Bella Euan, Vanessa Estrella, Bella Simmons and Grace Wallach, environmental awareness is a mindset and a lifestyle that centers around peace, love and positivity.

Over the summer, the four planned to start the Environmental Club, a new club that meets in Mr. Kimmel’s room, H1, every blue Wednesday lunch. Their goal is to educate Rocklin students so that our community develops an environmental conscience. By bringing together people who care about the earth, they hope to cause a chain reaction that will impact the earth in a positive way.

Grace believes in the importance of teaching people about the environment.

“If we’re able to share one fact with someone that’s like ‘Oh I never knew that!’[then] that’s how environmental knowledge starts, and it becomes a lifestyle,” she said. “It becomes a way of really consciously thinking and then it’s fun… It feels good.”

In addition to educating, they also want to encourage people to take action.

So far, the club has already cleaned up trash in the greenbelt next to the school and in the field next to the CVS parking lot, filling a dozen trash bags in only one lunch period. They also joined with ROAR Club to celebrate a vegetarian-style Thanksgiving at Johnson Springview Park. They hope that coming together to affect environmental change will make people see the power of coming together.

“We’re having them see the difference that we can make,” Vanessa said.

In the coming year, they hope to go on hikes, watch documentaries, and plan action to promote environmental sustainability, including talking about legislation that is needed to protect the earth.

“We have a responsibility for the generations to come and we have a responsibility to preserve this planet,” Bella said.