On Thursday afternoons, while most students are scattered around Redwood’s campus for lunch, a group of passionate student ecologists gather in Redwood’s Friendship Garden, tending to ecology beds and discussing plants since fall of 2021. The Botany Club created by Holden Hitchcock and Aiden Tribolet has been beautifying the Redwood campus and the community as one of the club’s main activities.

“During my junior year, during cross country practice, [Aiden and I] would talk about all these things and then we had this idea to start the Botany Club,” Hitchcock said.
From there, the two gathered students in Mr. Summary’s room where they created lessons to educate students about botany and the natural plant world around us.
“[We would meet] once a week, and we would just go over a different topic in botany, just teaching people because a lot of people are not the most aware of things relating to plants, growing plants and botany. So we just wanted to bring awareness to that,” Hitchcock said.
To teach people about botany, Hitchcock and Tribolet would incorporate projects such as gathering leaves and studying the structure, collecting dirt from around Marin, and planting their own seeds.
For Hitchcock, one of the things he loved was weeding dilapidated beds and growing sunflowers and lupin. Through these projects, Hitchcock’s passion for botany grew. With the success of the club, and as his time at Redwood came to a close, it became apparent that they needed a successor, a new president who would be equally passionate.
In the fall of 2023, Hitchcock’s younger sister, current Redwood senior Emily Hitchcock, took over the Botany Club. Since then she’s carried on her brother’s legacy and grown the club to create a change in our community. Long-time member senior Courtney Kunz is captivated by Emily’s leadership.
“I love having such dedicated leaders, like our current president Emily. She’s so passionate about the club, which just makes it so much more fun to be a part of the club. So we’re doing all these really incredible things and opportunities. And it’s just so inspirational to be around her and that inspiration has definitely also fueled my love for the Botany Club,” Kunz said.
Watching his little sister take over his club, Hitchcock agrees.
“[Emily] doesn’t have as much knowledge about plants that Aiden and I did, but as a result, I think it helps her connect with the average student. She also definitely has a lot bigger ambitions for the club. She’s utilizing Botany Club to execute some pretty big projects, and that’s only something that Aiden and I weren’t thinking about and it seems like Emily does a really great job at pulling people in that otherwise wouldn’t be interested. I think that’s where her leadership definitely shines,” Hitchcock said.
Emily has proven herself as a leader by incorporating ways to get involved in the community beyond

Botany Club such as working with the non-profit Refugia Marin, an organization dedicated to enhancing the beauty of our local community and educating the community about phytogeography. To further their community engagement, the club has created “Botany Band,” a subset of club members who will perform music to raise money for their club at the Cove School on October 17.
While the siblings share somewhat different leadership styles, both continue to focus on the core values of the club. As Emily reaches her senior year, she is tasked with the mission to find someone equally passionate to take over her presidency. The search concluded with Redwood junior, Claire Mussche, a current member ready to carry on the legacy of the previous presidents.
“[From Botany Club] I’ve learned not only how to manage gardening and plants but I’ve learned that botany can help you relax, add a routine to your life and honestly just stay rooted,” Mussche said.