Students came together to celebrate Earth Day in LMC’s Nature Preserve April 22. The party, which was hosted by MESA, Honors, the Art department, and the Hyphae Club, had food and activities to introduce everyone to the native species on campus.

The first activity was a scavenger hunt where participants were given a list of ten plants to find in the preserve which included physical descriptions of each. Additional facts about the plants were also included so people could learn more about them.

Students Maron Zewdie, Natalie Tucker, and Michael Ray Stubbs Jr. were the first team to successfully complete the scavenger hunt and they won one houseplant and a mushroom growing kit. Zewdie explained that the lacy phacelia plant was the most difficult for them to find.

A houseplant was also given to students Paris Carlos and Danica Lopez for placing second. Lopez said she had fun doing the activity and it introduced her to white sage and lemonade berry plants.

In third place were students Daniela Hernandez and Britney Orihuela who won seed packets.

Hyphae Officer Dahn Nguyen who had the idea to include the activity in the celebration said he was pleased with the turnout because it got a lot of people excited to look for plants in the nature preserve.

Hyphae Co-Advisor and Nature Preserve Caretaker Ricardo Black thought the scavenger hunt was a fun way for participants to expand their knowledge of the nature preserve.

“It exposed people to some of the collection that we have here,” Black said. “We have over 80 native species in this little two-acre garden and it’s growing.”

To close out the celebration, everyone took turns hitting a piñata of planet Earth, which was handmade by Hyphae members. Once it was broken, various plant seeds fell onto the ground which Black said would later become a patch of wildflowers.

Nguyen said he hoped the party would bring more awareness to what the nature preserve has to offer.

“I would love for everyone to learn more about the native plants that we have in our nature preserve,” Nguyen said. “The nature preserve has been forgotten for a long time so I just wanted to advertise it more.”

Black explained that many people have disconnected from nature, so he thought it was important to celebrate Earth Day as it gave people the chance to reconnect with it and see how they can protect it.

“The main takeaway is to remember that you’re part of nature and you have the power to make a change,” Black said.