By Emily Chaffins -

MIAMI GARDENS | April 4, 2025 started off as just another day for Emilie Alvarez – but it was about to become one of the best days of her life. 

Then a sophomore at Monsignor Edward Pace High School, Emilie was hanging out at home when her mother, an employee at the school, received a note from Lillian Dubon, principal: “Tell Emilie to check her email.”

The email in question? An announcement that Emilie and her friend and fellow Pace student, Angelina Vargas, had landed a $2,000 grant for the school environmental club the girls had formed. 

An idea blossoms

The path to that moment began earlier that semester. Before coming to Pace, Angelina and Emilie hadn’t taken classes together since attending the same public elementary school many years before. At Pace in the spring of 2025, their friendship cemented over a message that motivated them both: environmental stewardship.

“She was taking AP [Advanced Placement] Environmental Science,” recalled Emilie. “We were talking about it one day I think in religion class, and we found we had a common interest in the environment, so we decided to run with the idea to start a club.”

The girls got to work putting together a PowerPoint outlining their ideas. After their activities director showcased it to faculty, Angelina and Emilie received the green light and launched the Evergreen Club, beginning with over 10 members. 

However, the co-founders recognized the new club could use more resources. Principal Lillian Dubon suggested applying for the $2,000 Ecology Grant Award from the Marist Brothers USA Province. 

Angelina and Emilie “decided to apply because we felt a calling to do this,” as Emilie explained. “In order to make the club successful and actually make an impact, we needed some sort of foundation.” 

Their purpose: setting up a greenhouse and garden at Pace. The club not only hoped to brighten students’ day with homegrown flowers, but also to supply vegetables to food-insecure members of the school and community. 

Living out Laudato Si’ 

In their grant application, Angelina and Emilie drew from the late Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental stewardship, Laudato Si’, which marks its 10th anniversary this year. 

Emilie explained their project matches the Laudato Si’ message of “ecological spirituality” because “we can showcase God’s creations even more” and “recognize God’s beauty.” 

Additionally, the greenhouse would respond to Pope Francis’ concept of “ecological education” – not only for the original club members, but also for a group Angelina and Emilie hoped to include: students in the school’s Spe Salvi Program for those with learning and developmental disabilities. 

“We really wanted them to be part of our club as well,” said Emilie. “In their program, they have a course where they teach them about real-life skills, so we thought it would be a really great opportunity for them to join us and learn to care for the plants.”

Receiving the April 4 notification that the grant was theirs left Emilie “in shock.”

“I didn’t really expect it to happen,” she said. “I was overwhelmed, and I was really happy because it made our goal of the club more accomplishable.”

Regarding Angelina and Emilie’s grant proposal, Yvette de la Vega, Pace faculty member, commented in a press release, “Their efforts reflect the spirit of innovation, responsibility, and care for creation that lies at the heart of Catholic education.” 

The club celebrated their victory and moved forward with the project. The greenhouse would not be constructed until the week of August 18. As the summer vacation approached, the club thought ahead. Each member took charge of a plant, so that by the time the fall semester rolled around, the plants could be installed in the greenhouse. 

“We had to first figure out a specific location,” Emilie explained. Hurricane safety was a big consideration. As of the week of August 25, the greenhouse is situated on a concrete foundation “in the heart of the campus,” near a plot of grass that can eventually be converted into a garden.

“We’re also planning on decorating it,” Emilie said. “In our club, we have a few very talented artists that we hope can help us.”

The club aspires to “hopefully have already harvested” some plants before the school year is over, Emilie noted.

Emilie reflected on this year’s Jubilee of Hope and the work of the Evergreen Club.

“For me, the Jubilee is like a representation of young people’s faith,” she said. “We want the Pace garden to be a symbol of faith at our school.”