New club at Albuquerque High School is helping beautify the campus

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Helping high school students find their green thumb is the goal of a new club at Albuquerque High School.

With a trickle of water going into the soil, a group of Albuquerque High School students are learning how to keep a garden green. Darlene Alvarado is one of nearly 25 students who are part of the gardening club. She said becoming part of the small club is part of making a bigger difference.

“I wanted to join because it seemed like such a positive thing to do for the school, to get involved in something that is beneficial not only to our campus looking nice, but to the earth because it is plants,” said Alvarado.

Andrew Tafoya Leverette started the club two years ago after noticing that an air conditioning unit from one of the portable classrooms was leaking water. That’s when he turned a problem into a solution, taking the wasted runoff and growing an onion with it. From there he realized all the different ways he could beautify the campus with the help of students. “So far over the last two years it started off with one garden and now in the last two years it has emerged to six gardens,” said Tafoya Leverette.

Those gardens are filled with vegetables and fruits with one watermelon even growing to about 28 pounds. “In my health class we had cut it up and served it to all the students and we even had extra and had the students walk around and serve it to other teachers and staff around school,” said Tafoya Leverette.

Tafoya Leverette said it’s a win-win for students, learning ways to help the environment and beautifying their campus at the same time. The club also accepts coffee grounds from different coffee shops for planting, along with donations from gardening stores.

If you would like to donate to the club, donations can be dropped off at the Albuquerque High School Office.