The environmental organizations of Manhattan High saw both highs and lows  last week as the Green Champions organization prepared for their upcoming Green Gathering trip and the Environmental Science Investigations club officially cancelled their scheduled Reach Out Day event.

After a long planning period, ESI officially cancelled Reach Out Day due to a combination of factors. According to club sponsor Clancey Livingston, they found that they did not have the “people power” to support the event, which meant that they were not able to meet the deadlines they had put in place.

“Letting [people] know that we’re here and we’re trying to do things and having their support would really help us,” ESI secretary Elora Neff, junior, said.

The cancellation came as a disappointment to club members who had been working to try to organize the event, but many of those members will be participating in the Green Champions’ Green Gathering event, which is scheduled for tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. The Green Champions are a group of K-12 teachers and students who want to work toward making USD 383 greener. Their Green Gathering event will take place at the Household Hazardous Facility and is open to anyone interested in attending and learning something new.

“We’ve always been able to get a lot of good stuff done [with the Green Champions and at Green Gatherings], so I’m hoping stuff like that we can do again,” ESI president Andrew Ward, senior, said.

ESI members also hope that there are many people who choose to participate in the event and make the most of the opportunity.

“I’m hoping that we can get a lot of people there and just interested in the trip,” Neff said.

As the final quarter of the school year begins, the Green Champions and ESI are already looking toward the future and seeing what they can improve for the next year.

“My hope is that as time goes on the club grows enough that we can do more ambitious things and we can really do things that that make the school better for the whole student body,” Livingston said.

Another goal that ESI has looking forward is expanding its involvement with people in the Manhattan High community.

“[I hope that] the club itself will grow, but also that we can have a better capacity to include even more and more people whether or not they’re in the club,” Ward said.

ESI maintains that their club is dedicated to bettering the community, and encourages anyone who is interested in assisting them to reach out and together, they can make a difference.

“We have the ‘environmental’ in our club name,” Livingston said, “but really anyone who’s interested in making MHS better, we would love to have you.”