The PUC Green Club was established last year (but restarted their club this past fall) and are on a mission to protect and better serve our beautiful planet earth. They have been working with the Napa County Resource Conservation District to help plant acorns and spreading awareness about sustainability and the environment through their Instagram @puc.green. They share tips and information about recycling, composting, and ways to reduce waste and single-use plastic.
Sarah Franklin is the public relations officer of the Green Club. She coordinates events and connects with other organizations and individuals who can help with their mission. Sarah also runs the club’s Instagram account. She kindly answered some questions for us to learn more about the PUC Green Club.
How did the Green Club get started?
At the beginning of the fall quarter, I was really interested in finding out if there was an environmental club or opportunities on campus because I wanted to get involved in an activity somehow. I found out that there was a Green Club that started last year but didn’t have much success. So the leaders, Kaylyn and Marriah, wanted to “restart” the club. As the head of Public Relations, I made a new Instagram account, and the three of us revamped our club.
How did you get started in environmental issues?
As a sophomore in high school, I took AP Environmental Science, which started my love for planet earth and grew my knowledge about issues our planet faces. In high school, I was a part of our school’s greenhouse, garden; Napa River cleanups; and acorn plantings at Alston Park in Napa. Doing these things to help the environment and our community made me feel so happy and grateful for our earth, and I want to spread those feelings to others through this club.
Have you been able to help the community during this time?
We have helped educate the PUC community through our Instagram account about sustainability, zero-waste, and plastic-free tips. I have been wanting to plan a trash pickup day at the Napa River and/or the beach, and I have been trying to set up an acorn planting event with the City of Napa as well, but things have been on hold due to Covid. So hopefully, we will start becoming more active soon!
In previous school years, our main goals were to clean up the garden at PUC for the gardening class to use and basically spread awareness about what people can do to reduce their impact on planet Earth, like recycling, composting, reducing plastic waste, and reusing/repurposing food to avoid excess food waste!

What other activities do you have planned or hope to do this year?
We are currently working with the Napa Valley Conservation District to plan acorn planting events in the valley. We also hope to coordinate some hikes and trash cleanups.
What is the most urgent issue, or issues, for the club to spread awareness about?
Sustainability is a huge issue we care about. We want to encourage people to use what they have instead of buying new things, use sustainable materials instead of plastics or synthetics which harm the environment, and shop locally to reduce our carbon footprint. There are many simple things that you can do in your everyday life that can make a huge difference, and that is what we want to educate people about on our Instagram.
How will the Green Club help these issues?
We will help these issues by educating people through our social media platforms. We are also working to organize more hands-on events such as trash cleanups, tree plantings, and hikes.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Green Club?
My favorite thing about being a part of the Green Club is that it allows me to have a platform to reach out to people and students in order to educate them about serious environmental issues and actions that can be done to help solve these issues.
What are the small steps we can take at home to become eco-friendly?
Use what you have instead of buying new things; When buying new things, make sure it’s something that you can use for a lifetime, not just a few months (especially prevalent with clothing); SHOP LOCAL (this helps our economy and the environment); try to opt for plastic-free items (reusable bags and water bottles, bring your own utensils, reusable straw, reusable containers for food, use bar soap/shampoo bars instead of in the bottle, etc.)
Convince me to join the Green Club in five sentences.
If you care about the environment, we would love to have you be a part of this amazing cause. Our goal is to spread awareness about how to practice sustainability and protect the environment. By joining the club, you can help spread that message to as many people as possible in order to make an important change. Even if you just want to know more about simple steps you can take to help our environment, the Green Club is for you. Check us out on Instagram to learn more, and follow us for updates on special club events for Winter Quarter. @puc.green

Follow the Green Club on Instagram to stay up-to-date on their events and to learn about environmental issues. Be a part of this great club and join them in helping make our world better one action at a time.