EPHS clubs stitch sustainability into student life

Two student-led clubs at Eden Prairie High School are giving students a chance to learn about sustainable practices and help the environment.

Environmental Club was founded around 2020 and is run by Ella Brazil, Ani Dirks, Erica Forsyth, Lila VanGoethem and Ashley Prodoehl.

Threads for Change was founded in fall 2024 by Gabe Hernandez and Derrick Srun, who wanted to start a club focused on thrifting and sustainability.

Environmental Club meets once a month with the goal of raising awareness and teaching students how to live more sustainably. Activities include making posters and crafting with recycled materials. As the weather warms, the club plans outdoor projects, such as a cleanup at Round Lake Park.

To Brazil, sustainability means living in a way that doesn’t deplete the Earth’s resources. It also means protecting the environment and caring about the future.

Threads for Change promotes reusing, reducing and recycling. Meetings focus on the importance of sustainability in fashion, such as learning to mend clothes.

The club has 170 members, with about 40 regularly attending each meeting.

Hernandez said the club’s officers are hoping to increase attendance.“The more people that learn to practice sustainability, the more help we can give the environment,” he said.

According to Srun, the club’s leaders take their environmental impact seriously. Members track the gallons of water saved through upcycling – reusing or recycling items in ways that increase their value. By the end of the year, they hope to save more than 100,000 gallons.

“The two things you can leave behind are your impact on other people and the love you show to people and things,” Hernandez said. “A great way to do that is through upcycling clothing. This is a great way to relieve our impact on future generations. Keeping sustainability at the forefront of all things helps with the idea of climate change.”

Environmental Club meets one Friday a month at 7:50 a.m. in Room 219 at Eden Prairie High School. More information is available on Instagram at @eptreehuggersclub.

Threads for Change meets once a month after school at Eden Prairie High School. More information is available on Instagram at @threads4changeep.

Editor’s note: This story is the fourth in an ongoing series called “Sustainability in Action.” The series spotlights sustainability efforts in Eden Prairie at various levels, from local government and businesses to community groups and residents. It includes a page dedicated to local, state, and national sustainability resources. This series has received support from a grant from the Eden Prairie Community Foundation.

If you have an idea for this series, contact the editors.