Every year students in the community task themselves with creating or joining clubs designed for or by their peers. Junior Ryan Binder has decided to spearhead the MOCO Clean and Green club he inherited from his sister, recently graduated senior and current freshman at the University of Maryland Rachel Binder.

MoCo Clean and Green is a club aimed at making Montgomery County cleaner and more environmentally friendly while also getting a chance to gather a few of those ever-elusive SSL hours. Binder said, “It’s the perfect way to hang out with your friends while simultaneously making the community a better and more welcoming place.”

During a normal school year, activities consist of tree plantings, park and road clean-ups and other opportunities to help the community look as nice as it should. Binder is hopeful that during the pandemic Clean and Green will still be active. “Luckily most everything we’re doing is outside so I don’t think we’ll be as affected by the circumstances as most of the other clubs. We hope to be able to do most of the same activities we planned as long as the county is okay with it,” Binder said.

Binder does think that there is room to improve the club both during the pandemic and after the return to in-person schooling. “I want the members to feel included in the decision-making process. Because we’re distanced, if they have ideas on individual efforts members can do we’d love to hear them,” Binder said.

The biggest problem Binder feels they’ve encountered is membership. Although they have 19 members Binder said only about four or five of them have been active. “There’s really no downside, it looks good on college apps, an opportunity to be outside and just generally helping out your community in a laid back environment. Get a few friends to sign up with you and have some productive fun,” Binder said.

If school returns, the MOCO Clean and Green club will likely have multiple in-person planning meetings. “Although we can meet on Zoom it’s just not convenient. Meeting face-to-face will allow us to get to know our members better and create a community within our club. I think the great thing about our club is that we’re very inclusive and accessible but, we take a little bit of a hit with some of the restrictions that the county has set in place,” Binder said

For anyone interested in joining, log in to Facebook, search up MOCO Clean and Green, click join and Binder will accept all requests. There are no set days for meetings currently but that is likely to change in the coming months when restrictions loosen up again.