A Green Future: Alief ISD’s Earth Club Thrives

For Earth Club members at Alief ISD’s Early College High School, giving back to their community is a key reason they get involved. However, it’s the club’s projects, their role in environmental sustainability, and global impact that drive the work.

“Instead of only learning about environmental issues in a classroom, we actively work on solutions,” Angelina Nguyen, a junior and the club’s treasurer, said. “I liked the idea of being able to see the direct results of my work, whether that’s a garden growing over time or knowing that our efforts contributed to a cleaner, healthier environment. It made the experience feel more meaningful and impactful.”

Three of the club’s leaders — Angelina Nguyen, senior Anthony Nguyen, the club’s president, and senior Minh-Minh Nguyen, club vice president — all agree that the Earth Club is popular with students because of the wide variety of volunteer projects offered, from tree planting to recycling to garden projects. While the three share the same last name, they are not related.

“This flexibility allows students with different interests and schedules to participate in ways that suit them best,” Angelina Nguyen said.

Strong Student Participation

Misty Chen-Goodspeed, the club’s sponsor, said the group was founded in 2017 by three students who saw an opportunity to work with the Alief Super Neighborhood Council. Alief ISD serves about 36,441 students, with Alief Early College High School enrolling about 400. The Earth Club has strong student participation and though it started small, today the club has about 60 members.

“That is how Earth Club started, with the purpose of offering opportunities to the students to give back to the local communities by participating in and taking care of the community garden and other projects,” she said.

Over the years, the club expanded its partnership network, working with CITGO, the Alief Super Neighborhood Council, Rice University, SEWA International, and the IDEAStudio at West Houston Institute, part of Houston Community College. Through these partnerships, the club gets support for field trips, volunteer events, and garden projects.

One project, the Enchanted Grove, is now a thriving permaculture garden at West Houston Institute. Once a garden in need of care, the club was tasked with generating ideas for the garden, compiling their findings, creating a sketch of the future garden, and pitching the idea through a presentation, said Anthony Nguyen.

For junior Samad Bisuga, the club’s assistant president, the Enchanted Grove is the project he is most proud of, and the other students seem to agree.

“I’m proud of the amount of time and dedication we put into this project,” Bisuga said. “I’m proud to see the garden when I’m walking toward WHI. It constantly reminds me that ‘we did this,’ and I remember what the old pond used to look like and the process of deconstructing it. Even to this day, when our members are maintaining the garden, it reminds me how far we have come.”

This school year, the club worked on two projects, including a sensory garden on the school campus and a Texas native plants garden that members hope to have certified by the National Wildlife Federation, Anthony Nguyen said. To gain certification, the project must meet specific criteria, such as having a place for insects, a certain number of plants, and a resting area for birds and other small animals.

The sensory garden will offer students an interactive experience when they walk through.

“We hope to accomplish this by adding interactive features and fragrant plants that have a soothing/relaxing effect,” he said. “We also hope to add a waterspout to stimulate the auditory senses.”

Minh-Minh Nguyen said the impact of Earth Club spans far beyond campus.

“Although we do much of our work on our school’s campus, the impact on our community is everlasting,” she said. “We hope to continue our efforts to make Alief greener for all and teach incoming students the value of the environment and why it’s so important to maintain. With this, Earth Club is more than just a school organization, but rather a learning experience to grow as an individual.”

Photo courtesy of Alief ISD.

This article first appeared in the June/July 2026 issue of Texas Lone Star.

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