Campus beautification

By Justin.Wang

Swarms of students spent their Saturday cleaning campus

On Sat., Mar. 30, about 400 students arrived on campus with one goal in mind: to beautify the PHHS campus with the event called Pick Me Up which was organized by Insane Ink.

“This time we replaced the light pole banners, planted 12 trees, picked up all the little trash around campus, mulched and pulled weeds,” said business teacher Mitch Method.

Trees were provided by Our City Forest, an organization that provides trees and assists in tree care.

“We want to maintain and protect our urban forest and we do that through the engagement of our volunteer. So, we’re providing ten trees for Piedmont High,” said Our City Forest personnel Briana Horta.

This time, Insane Ink provided free lunch and a complimentary reusable bottle to participating students.

“We got the district to install filtered refillable water bottle stations. So, hopefully, instead of buying a bunch of plastic bottles that people throw away, we’re just going to give away ones that they can use over and over,” said Mr. Method.

Most who attended this year’s Pick Me Up and people who participated in previous years have had overall positive experiences with the event.

“It was a great way to help beautify our school while still hanging out with our friends. The food afterward was also a big plus,” said senior Sanya Kooplicat.

The food provided included hotdogs, chips and sandwiches.

“Having attended Insane Ink’s Pick Me Up a few times in the past, Insane Ink always provides a rewarding experience every year. It’s always great to see the school cleaned up. I was excited for this year, as we were going to be planting new trees and replacing the old,” mentioned senior Aaron Lee.

Pick Me Up happens irregularly every other year and started around 15 years ago, according to Mr. Method.

“It’s just a name we came up with to keep our campus clean, everyone picks up and everybody chips in a little bit,” said Mr. Method.