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Before California announced its State of Emergency drought measures in January of 2014 my father and I had already been collecting rainwater since 2009. My father did not have a college degree but he did have a vision. He landscaped our backyard planting drought tolerant plants and palm trees with only some help of his brother. He’ also resourceful, so when pressed with the challenge of cheaply and sustainably irrigating the backyard, he looked to the sky. He uttered “We must adapt and take the opportunities life gives us, even the ones that fall from the sky.” Likewise, in my junior year when I came across the abandoned greenhouse on my high school campus, I saw the opportunity for growth. Eager to learn more, I sought out Mr. Merzbacherz, the school librarian, and experienced botanist. His ability to name plants by their common and scientific names regardless of their origin was fascinating to me. From him, I learned a lot about the chaparral and coastal sage brush that surrounds San Diego. The fact that only 15% of the worldwide 20% of coastal sage remains astonished me and inspired me to take an interest in native plants. In the spark of this passion and need to conserve amidst our drought, I established the Botany Club. The image of my dad working in our backyard in 2009 fueled me to renovate and bring new life to the greenhouse and garden at school. Within weeks, I recruited 19 students, teachers, and community members. We took to the garden with shovels, picks, and axes removing fifteen-year-old matter and debris. Within months, we had new life with vegetables, agaves, and natives growing abundantly in the garden. At the end of the growing season, we had a potluck where all the club members rejoiced in the fruits of our labors – something many of us had never done. This proved to me, if students get excited about growing simple organic matter, we have to ensure as a collective we do not lose the ground to table connection or worst, the connection to nature. Through these pivotal experiences, I decided to dedicate my studies to the environment. I’ve chosen this path because my dad demonstrated to me how accessible mitigating one’s environmental impact is. If a community effort tried to collect at least one or two barrels of water when it rained for outdoors uses then 32gallons x homes in the community would equal the amount of water we don’t have to pump from the ground, import from out of state and get to keep in reservoirs. Additionally, my teacher taught me how the coastal sage scrub I used to think of as boring is actually one of the most unique and best smelling ecosystems out there. Plus, how rewarding it is to be in nature’ presence. Lastly, my club’ energy and enthusiasm for nature and the garden encouraged me to believe that these are causes worth fighting for the people of today and tomorrow.