It’s always dreary to walk into a generic school campus at 7 in the morning, without anything to see that might brighten up one’s day. However, the Sprouting Spartans aim to change that with their new gardening projects. They have been transplanting all sorts of flowers in the gardens in the front of the school building to make the school a more uplifting environment and give members a fun way to devote their time. The club also spends its meetings on a variety of other activities related to nurturing plants.
“Every two months we will try to fit in two outside gardening meetings, while the other two will be learning and activity based,” junior and club president Rebecca Yu said. “My personal favorite activities have been the candy plants (where we sculpted and researched flowers made out of candy) and our recent take-home sprouts: where members were able to take home and take care of edible lentil sprouts.”
The focus of the club, however, is evidently working on the garden beds at the front of the school and bringing biodiversity to the school’s gardens.
“It’s an honor to be taking care of the plant life that everyone sees upon entry to the school,” Yu said. “Aside from gardening, I love art, and I like to think of the garden beds as giant canvases that the club works on and beautifies together.”
In the business of creating garden beds at Seven Lakes, the Sprouting Spartans must choose the right plants and find the right place to purchase them. They have sourced all their plants from Enchanted Gardens.
“It’s a wonderful small business that is able to add a cozy touch to whatever garden project you are working on,” Yu said. “Typically, the plant choices for Sprouting Spartans are made by the officers: we look through what is available and prioritize color and nutrition.”
Sprouting Spartans meetings are a great way to learn more about plants and biodiversity.
“I honestly feel like the short presentations that they give at every meeting are super interesting,” junior and club member Zoe Huyse said. “Even people who know a lot about gardening will learn something because they often include information about specific plants.”
Gardening is also a very interesting activity to engage in with one’s peers, which makes participating in the Sprouting Spartans a fun way to pass time.
“I joined Sprouting Spartans because I thought it would be fun to garden with other people instead of just alone and I could see from the first couple meetings that the club was really well organized,” Huyse said.
The Sprouting Spartans, however, extend their reach beyond just gardening. They aim to impact the community at Seven Lakes with every seed they sow.
“I… love working for new opportunities to spread our impact, such as attaining the 5k grant from Katy ISD with the help of our sponsors to create a new garden in the back of the school for our special education students,” Yu said.
However, the club’s laid-back nature makes it easy for anyone to make an impact with whatever little they do.
“I would encourage everyone to join–there’s not a big time commitment and previous experience isn’t required,” Yu said. “If I had to be more specific though, if anyone’s ever had the thought of creating and nurturing their garden, Sprouting Spartans is the first step to that journey.”
