Succulent Success, a celebration for Earth Day organized by the Trojan Activities Board (TAB), had students lining up under the sun on Tuesday, April 23.
“A lot of them don’t know about Earth Day… it is a day we should enjoy, going outside, going on a walk, especially when there’s lawn games they can also play outside… take a break, relax from school and studies while being on campus,” said TAB Coordinator Younmi Ngo.
Numerous methods were used to advertise the event, including posters, social media posts and little paper handouts called handbills.
“The handbills were the most effective because we were able to meet students through the handbills,” Ngo said.
The event was held on the Index Lawn, which sees a lot of foot traffic. Some students stumbled upon the activities that way.
“In celebration of Earth Day… I just wanted to do something earthy like planting a plant,” Ngo said.
Finding a plant that could easily be taken care of by anyone was a problem TAB had to solve. Echeveria succulents were deemed the perfect choice, as maintenance for the plants is simple; they only need to be watered a few times a month.
“They prefer indoor, they like the sun… they can be indoor and live through the winter,” Ngo said. “Low maintenance… students won’t kill them as fast.”
“Succulents are cute. They’re easy to maintain and they grow easily … just a nice plant,” said student Kevin Sandstrom.
A line formed 10 minutes before the scheduled start time, with eager attendants waiting to collect their succulent. Once the clock finally struck noon, the planting process began.
“First they would pick out a pot and pick out a succulent they like. They then come to my station and I have a tray of dirt set up.. They can wear gloves or go bare-handed, they just then tip out the succulent from the nursery pot … add dirt to the ceramic pot and move the succulent in … we have handbills for a care guide that they can take as well,” Ngo said.
“Personally this is my first one… I wouldn’t mind starting a collection … and there’s a variety as well,” said student Brian Sandstrom (no relation to Kevin). “I like it. It looks cool. I’ll make sure it looks cooler by keeping it growing.”
After students finished planting their succulents, they were welcomed to hang out and play the games TAB had set up, including pingpong and volleyball.
“I did expect a lot of people, but I was not expecting that many people to line up, so I was really surprised,” Ngo said. TAB was sure to meet demand with preparedness from past experiences with similar events. They brought 300 succulents to give away.
“Usually not many people come to the events… class may have gotten out,” Brian Sandstrom said. “I like the free activities.” He’d been to events other than Succulent Success, including comic Ben Palmer’s performance in February which was held at Henry M. Jackson conference center.
Sunny weather provided perfect conditions for this event.
“This weather is more enjoyable… the atmosphere is more bright and people like to go out on sunny days,” Ngo said.
TAB ensured the event would be free so anyone interested had the chance to partake.
“I feel like it is important to give back and find an event that all students can enjoy and is free for them, since they already pay for school,” said Ngo.
“I’m very thankful for my team,” said Ngo about her fellow TAB coordinators.
For anyone interested in learning how to work together to run campus events, TAB is taking applications. To apply, reach out to [email protected].
