save our earth.

The South Medford High School Biodiesel Club started during the 2006-2007 school year. The club was not well known and the members were scarce. But at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, word of the earth saving club spread like a wild fire.

I had heard of the club the year before, but I didn't know what biodiesel was. The description of the club was "help us turn the French fry grease from our cafeteria into oil for your car." It was intriguing, but intimidating, so instead I stuck with SEA (Students for Eco-Awareness) Club.

As the new school year rolled around, I decided I wanted to try and be more involved in clubs, seeing as it was my final year in high school. I had taken an environmental science class my junior year and was inspired more than ever to help and save our planet. SEA Club didn't seem to be organized yet at the beginning of the year, so a couple of my friends and I decided that we would join the Biodiesel Club.

I didn't quite know what to expect, but after the great turn out for the first meeting, and numerous amounts of ideas and goals this club had, I knew I was going to be quite involved. I soon learned that this club really was a group of students dedicated to trying to promote biodiesel, alternative fuels, and any other ways to help our dying world by starting in our very own community. This was the perfect club for me, and I was quite disappointed that I had chickened out and not joined the year before.

After several meetings, I was assigned treasurer of the club. We began discussing our goals, and it was obvious we had amazing potential. Not only were we just a club that made biodiesel, but we were a club that wanted to get the community involved, we wanted to spread the word of eco-awareness, we wanted to get all of the school buses in the district to convert to biodiesel, we wanted to write a letter to the legislator asking to blend diesel with biodiesel in all of the Oregon pumps, and our biggest idea was that we wanted to grow from not just being a school club but to eventually turning into a non-profit organization.

For the first many meetings, we all had so many ideas that we didn't actually get anything accomplished. We didn't actually start anything. But we did brainstorm. And that is why I can say that this club has an endless amount of potential. I am very proud and honored to say that I am actively apart of the growing and expanding South Medford Biodiesel Club.