By Evan Reinhardt
With the rising global necessity to rely on cleaner sources of energy, the Nature’s Finest club at Moorpark College took its first steps to become increasingly self sufficient following their club elections in April.
In efforts to generate their own energy and reduce their club’s environmental footprint, the Nature’s Finest club is planning and campaigning for their own solar panel system to be built and finished directly next to their garden project by the end of the next fall 2018 semester. This plan will then be followed by the construction of a relaxation and education zone inside the garden called “The Oasis.”
These plans, along with garden maintenance and upkeep, are being spearheaded by the garden manager, Ramie Klocko, and the newly elected outreach director, Ophir Bonen.
“The big thing we’re working on right now is the solar project,” said Klocko, an environmental science major. “It’s been a struggle getting something like that approved.”
The idea for the solar panel system has been developed over time and has leaped over many hurdles. According to Klocko, the project had to be properly designed and budgeted, supported by the Facilities/Technologies Committee on Accreditation and Planning, approved by the Campus Environment Committee and funded by the Associated Students, who voted on the issue. The vote to determine funding resulted in a tie, which was only be broken by their current president and former Nature’s Finest club president, Payton Robinson.
The next obstacle for the club will be getting approval from the president’s council, along with hiring an electrical engineer to lend a professional hand, according to John Sinutko, director of facilities and member of the Campus Environment Committee.
The solar project, if approved, may contain the power to initiate environmental and societal change in other schools that view Moorpark College as a role model for community colleges across the nation.
“This is where we have to go if we’re going to sustain ourselves,” Klocko said. “We set an example for other places.”
Other than the solar project, the next mission on the horizon for the Nature’s Finest club is The Oasis. According to the club’s current president, Nick Boomhower, The Oasis is expected to be an area students may come to study and relax in a peaceful nature setting, as well as a place teachers and professors can bring their students to observe the various flowers native to California.
“I hope for the near future, we get a lot more of the academics involved,” Boomhower said. “Maybe get a garden bed or two dedicated to a professor and their class.”
Elections were also recently held, filling the important positions with a mixture of fresh and familiar faces. Kimberly Obando has been elected as president, along with Payton Robinson as vice president, Sophia Galicia as secretary, and Mikyla Maglente as treasurer. Klocko remains the garden manager, while Boomhower acts as the club consultant, letting a new president fill his shoes.
The club is always accepting new members, no matter the experience. According to Boomhower; anyone can learn how to garden.
“Teaching people allows them to do it themselves,” Boomhower said. “ And they often go teach somebody else too.”