Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27

Editor-in-Chief

With over a hundred student organizations at Mount Holyoke College, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when deciding which clubs to join. For those interested in joining a science or environment-focused club, Mount Holyoke News interviewed the leaders of four student organizations to learn more about their histories, what they do, and how to join.

Biology Club

Biology Club provides a community for students interested in the biological sciences, from biology majors to those who are just curious about biology. According to President Natalija Radosavljevic ’28, the club is “open to anyone.”

“[Biology] is one of the biggest majors here at Mount Holyoke, and there are so many different interests, from like plant biology, to human biology,” she said. “We just kind of want to connect people more … We're big on collaboration, bringing together … the science network in Mount Holyoke.”

While Biology Club doesn’t have regular general meetings, Radosavljevic stated they “usually just do two events a month.”

“Last semester, we did a scrapbooking collaboration with Students for Health Humanities,” Radosavljevic explained. “We had a lot of berries and snacks that everyone liked. And it was just really good to be in community and make art and talk about our classes and just be around people with similar interests.”

On Sept. 27, Biology Club hosted a nature walk along Upper Lake. “It was just kind of a scavenger hunt for all the local nature around here,” Radosavljevic said. “We're looking forward to [hosting] a picnic with the greenhouse, because people [liked] the outside walk so much.”

Later this October, Biology Club will also be holding a pumpkin painting event. Students can learn about Biology Club’s upcoming activities on their Instagram, @mhc.bioclub, or by joining their mailing list on Embark.

MHC GEO Club

MHC GEO Club offers a space for students to form friendships and explore geology and geography.

“It's not a particularly academic club, we just kind of like to do fun things and get people involved in geoscience as much as we can,” Treasurer Juliet Poppele-Green ’27 said. “We organize themed movie nights and field trips, and last semester we had [a] museum collections workshop, with like how to display rocks and minerals for a museum, which was really cool.”

GEO hosts events and activities regularly, both on and off campus. “We try to do an event every two weeks,” Poppele-Green said. Most of GEO’s events are held on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

This semester, GEO has held two events. “We had a fire pit at the beginning of the year and then we had a movie night last week,” Poppele-Green explained. “Our fire pit was a really big success. We had maybe 50 people that came throughout the evening. And some of them were interested in talking about geology and some of them were just there to enjoy s'mores, which is totally cool.”

GEO plans to host another movie night and an event for Halloween. Students can stay up-to-date with GEO by checking their Instagram, @mhcgeoclub, or by joining their mailing list on Embark.

“As long as you're interested in learning and having fun, you're totally welcome,” Poppele-Green said. “I’ve never not had a good time at a GEO Club meeting.”

Mount Holyoke Honeybees

Mount Holyoke Honeybees — also known as MHH — is all about “sustainability and … loving bees,” according to Founder and Co-Chair, Yeslee Neris ’26.

Neris created the club because she wanted to “[spread] awareness about how [bees are] vital ethological pollinators.” Currently, MHH is working to “get bees on campus to help with … the decline in bees in the area.” They hope to have bees of their own on campus by the end of the Spring 2026 semester.

Despite its newness — the club was founded last year — MHH has already had tangible impacts on campus. Last semester, MHH began growing a pollinator garden behind Creighton Hall. “One of our board members who's abroad right now was working on it. Their name is Liv,” Neris said. “They set up the flowers and they did a lot of weeding stuff and if you go back there, there are bumblebees, honeybees … It’s like the perfect spot for them.”

MHH hosted a variety of activities last semester, such as lip balm making and honey tasting. This month, the club will be traveling to UMass Amherst to get firsthand experience in beekeeping. Later this semester, they also plan to host a spelling bee to raise money. Students can compete after paying a small entrance fee.

“It's gonna be really cute. Everyone can pick out their own team,” Neris explained. “You can have your own name and you can dress up, and it's just a little fun spelling bee.”

Interested students can follow MHH’s Instagram, @mtholyokehoneybees, or join the club’s mailing list on Embark. Membership is open to everyone.

“People that have never beekeeped before come to our meetings and they're in awe about what we want to do and what we've done in the past,” Neris said. “They love it and that's all you need.”

ASTRO

President Upasana Bista ’27 describes ASTRO as a space for everyone to “[look] at the stars and … [share] their love of astronomy.” The club, founded in 2023, hopes to break the stereotype that astronomy and astronomers are “super scientific and boring.”

ASTRO meets every week in Kendade’s Physics and Astro Lounge at around 6:45 p.m. Outside of regular meetings, the club also occasionally hosts events and activities.

“I think one of our most memorable events was the solar eclipse in the 2024 spring,” said Bista. “We went to Vermont and saw the 100% eclipse … That would probably be the most historic activity we've ever done.”

This semester, ASTRO will be hosting a Friendsgiving event in mid-November. “We make bracelets, we maybe do some artsy stuff, and then it's just a nice time in the lounge,” Bista explained. The club also plans to host more open houses in the Williston Observatory in collaboration with the astronomy department.

During open houses, ASTRO opens “up the observatory and [looks] at the stars in the sky,” Bista explained. “It has a … 120-ish-year old telescope and other new telescope … [and] there's a kitchenette … [where] you can have hot chocolate … if it's cold and you can definitely hang around.”

“There's beautiful paintings and drawings and decorations and I think Tom is working on turning the basement into some sort of a gallery or a museum,” Bista said. “It's definitely a very cool place.”

Students can stay up-to-date with ASTRO by following their Instagram, @astro_mhc, or by emailing Visiting Assistant Professor in Astronomy Thomas Burbine to join their mailing list.

According to Bista, membership is open to “anyone who loves to look at the sky … who's curious about the stars and just [wants to] have a fun time.”

Past science clubs

Some of the earliest evidence of a biology club at the College actually dates back to the 1920s. A 1926 constitution from the Archives and Special Collections’ Biology Club file reads, “The purpose of this club shall be to promote a wider interest in biology.” Club membership was open to those who had “completed six hours of work in the departments of Zoology, Physiology, or Botany” and paid the club’s annual $0.50 fee. The club met monthly, and their November, January, March and May meetings were open to all students.

According to Radosavljevic, Biology Club “has a long history of dying out, starting back up, dying out, starting back up.” A 1964 constitution from the same file lays the groundwork for a similar club, and a paper from a 2001 Biology Club advertises: “A new weekly program open to all students interested in science. Every Sunday at 8’o-clock come join us for an hour of interesting television programming.” Club members watched a variety of channels, from Animal Planet to National Geographic.

In the 1950s, the College also had a Physiology Club. Its 1951 constitution read, “The purpose of this club shall be to promote interest in physiology through lectures by people in this field; and to bring physiology students and faculty advisors together.” The club met every two months, “except when otherwise determined,” and membership was open to physiology students and faculty.

A 1947 letter from the Archives’ Physics Club file discusses the existence of such a community on campus. The club was informal, with Chairman Mildred Allen writing, “There are no officers, but I usually see that a notice is posted a few days ahead and that there are tea and cookies with which to begin the meeting.”

The 1965 iteration of the club was more official, with a written statement of purpose: “Newton Never Knew Physics Club [will] promote interest in … the study of physics through sponsoring outside speakers, arranging displays, [and] rejuvenating the attic lab.”

While some of the College’s past science clubs required members to have certain majors or pay dues, all of the current student organizations interviewed by Mount Holyoke News are much more open. As Neris put it, “If you care, you can join.”

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking.