Cholla Charger Network

By Mariana Gastelum and Evelyn Rivas

The Garden Club at Cholla High School is a place where students can go if they want to help with the animals and the plants. In the Garden Club, the students can help with fish, frogs and chickens. The students also help with the various kinds of herbs, umbrella plants and other greenery. The Garden Club gives our school more interesting creatures to look at. This club meets every morning from 7:00 am – 7:45 am. They also meet after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. They have tanks in the commons by the pond and in Mrs. Hetschel’s classroom. Her classroom is very welcoming and has many diverse types of living things all around.

At the Garden club, there is one teacher who runs it, Mrs. Hetschel. Even though Mrs. Hetschel runs the club, everyone picks what they want to work on. During an interview with Mrs. Hetschel, she said “Some people want to learn marine biology, they want to do that as a adult, so they’re learning the harder tanks, and how to maintain them.” It is a fact that putting your hands in soil can increase serotonin levels. Another fact is that watching a fish tank can reduce anxiety.

Another member of the garden club was interviewed, named Anita. Anita said she mostly works with the tanks and the chickens. Her favorite thing about the club is “being able to learn about different creatures like sea creatures and everything, because we have so many tanks around.” Another thing the garden club has is seasonal plants. This means they get different plants, depending on the season because some die off. For example, their parsley plant dies every summer.

Next, a couple more students were interviewed. Their names were Faeolin Bozdag, and Johnathan Titus. This group of individuals told us how they care for multiple plants and animals. They make sure that each plant has the amount of water it needs. They also take care of the animals and make sure they are fed on a specific schedule. This group agreed with each other that their favorite part about the club is the animals. They also favor learning how to take care of the many plants.

Overall, the Garden Club is a helpful activity. Not only does it benefit your mental health but also your physical health. The Garden Club could also be a way to make new friends. The animals and plants are very cool to learn about.