What might have originally been trash was given a new life on Friday, March 6, when students from Rooftop Garden Club and Study of Life Club gathered in the school’s rooftop garden to create miniature ecosystems from old plastic water bottles.During Cardinal Hour, nearly 25 students customized their bottles with various vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds while learning how small acts of reuse can support the environment.

“We really just wanted to befriend and get to know other clubs that we could potentially collaborate with,” Study of Life vice president and sophomore Candace Huang said. “So we reached out to Rooftop Garden and we asked if we could both show the members of our clubs our purpose.”

Meeting attendees could choose between 11 different seeds to plant. The most “popular” seeds included zucchini, lettuce and broccoli, according to Huang.

“We were hoping that the attendees would really look into sustainable sustenance agriculture and that they would learn how to create their own garden,” Huang said. “We’re looking to reduce the amount of overproduction and the intake of harmful ingredients by giving them a chance to grow their own organic USDA approved plants.”

Rooftop Garden Club spends most of their meetings fertilizing, planting and watering plants and getting rid of bugs, according to Rooftop Garden Club vice president and junior Elaine Wang. Wang agreed to the collaboration because both clubs share similar goals.

“We just felt like the Study of Life Club looked like a really amazing club that was trying to bring environmental awareness just like us,” Wang said. “But this is a good mix between us because it combines our garden and Study of Life’s ideas into really cool crafts.”

Study of Life Club member and sophomore Liam Rosanes had never gone to a Rooftop Garden Club meeting before but found planting “super fun.” Rosanes chose to plant basil in his water bottle ecosystem to give to his mom.

“I think I might join the Rooftop Garden Club,” Rosanes said. “I have a lot of friends that are in the club, and I think it’s really cool. I wouldn’t mind coming up here once a week or so to help out with the garden and stuff.”

As the Study of Life Club primarily tries to teach members biological concepts, Huang thought it would be a “fun” opportunity to teach attendees about both ecosystems and botany.

“Both of our clubs have a focus on sustainability,” Wang said. “I hope that by building their own ecosystem, the attendees can realize how beautiful and important nature is to protect our environment.”

Keep up with Study of Life Club and Rooftop Garden Club by joining their Reminds, @lifestudy0 and @rooftop26, or by following their Instagrams, @bhsstudyoflife and @rooftopgardenclub.