“Clubs of PHS” is a new weekly series that showcases the unrecognized clubs of PHS. As a school we have so many interesting clubs and groups that aren’t recognized enough. The goal of the new series is to give recognition to these groups. Our first week recognizes Nature Club.
Monthly hikes, outdoors, nature, animals and helping the ecosystem. Nature Club does it all. Run by club president Nate McPeak and science teacher and sponsor Daniel Jonas, Nature Club started in 2016, ended in 2018 but was revived in 2021. After being revived it became what it is now, with 35 members and around three hikes a month.
“It’s about going out, hiking and trying to see species, different natural events, different ecosystems,” said Jonas. “Just kinda hiking trails and looking for wildlife.”
But according to McPeak, it’s more than that. It’s about becoming friends, learning together and experiencing nature as a group.
“The greatest simplification of Nature Club is that it is an excuse for kids to go outside,” said McPeak, a senior. “Everyone that’s in the Nature Club likes nature, they like going outside, they like hiking. We could all do it on our own, but this is a way for us to all meet up together and go to local parks, and just explore nature. If some students don’t know as much about certain aspects of nature than others, it could also be a learning experience where students can teach each other about what we’re looking at.”
Nature Club is for anyone who wants to explore and learn about nature.
“It’s open to any grade, any kind of person, just as long as they’re willing to participate sometimes and get themselves to the events,” said Jonas. “We don’t do strenuous hikes like New River Gorge or anything, I mean we’re pretty much hiking just short trails like McDonough, Mountwood and local parks like that.”
