Greenkeepers is an environmental honors society at Spring Hill College, and members of this club work toward keeping Mobile clean, starting with the SHC campus.

Members of Greenkeepers volunteer hours of their day to clean up campus and discover other ways to make SHC more environmentally friendly. As an initiative to join the club, Greenkeepers allows members the opportunity to earn a cord or stole to wear at graduation. To earn a chord, a member must commit anywhere from 40 to 120 hours depending on grade level. These hours can be acquired by attending meetings and completing service hours. 

Although Greenkeepers may not be very well-known around campus, it is not a new club. It has been around for years but fell under the radar around the same time that COVID-19 shut down campus in March 2020. In September 2020, SHC alumni Reese Lebbing and Lizzie Barrios re-introduced Greenkeepers and campus cleanups. The club did not receive the necessary attention at the time. Current president Joseph Studt said he still struggles with student engagement. He attributed this struggle to the fact that cleanups are often scheduled for Sunday mornings. 

SHC sophomore Jack Robinson claimed to have never heard of Greenkeepers until recently. Because Greenkeepers does not seem to be widely advertised, Robinson said, “Maybe if we could get some announcements in the caf or emails to show how we can support or volunteer, that would be a good way to get it going.”

There are currently about 40 active members; only about six members continue to frequently participate. Studt plans to partner with SHC’s Student Government Association in the future to increase involvement and productivity. “If we can get more people to start showing up to other events besides just cleanups, we’ll have a great turnout with the club,” said Studt. 

Studt also looks forward to introducing a new compost system to the cafeteria during the 2023-2024 school year. Food waste from the cafeteria would be turned into compost, and the compost would be made into soil, which would then be put toward Studt’s next initiative of creating a campus garden. 

Members of Greenkeepers hope to inspire others to clean up after themselves and work together to make SHC the campus students deserve. Studt said, “A big reason that we haven’t been doing a lot of campus cleanups this semester is because we were doing them like every other week, and it just kept getting messier and messier. So, that is something we would like students to be more aware of…is making sure that trash goes into the waste receptacles and that the burden isn’t placed on just certain members of the campus community that want to make this campus a more beautiful place. But rather, let’s make this a community effort to make Spring Hill a more beautiful place”

All students at SHC are welcome to join Greenkeepers. The amount of time you dedicate to the club is completely up to you, but your participation is always appreciated. 

For more information or to ask any questions regarding the club, contact [email protected] or visit Instagram @shc.greenkeepers.