From birds to tarantulas, the Biology Club at City College offers a wide variety of hands-on activities guiding students to dive deeper into our planet’s wildlife.  

Run by two co-presidents Caroline Hatcher and Alexandre Beale, the club gathers 122 members this semester and regularly throws events such as bake sales and outdoor activities. The latest event was a “Bird Walk” at the Douglas Family Preserve on Friday, Feb. 28.

The Biology Club aims to bring the community together by uniting people with similar niche interests and creating a safe space to ask for help. They organize events on and off campus to spread their love of biology and strengthen the feeling of community.

A three-day camping trip to Montaña de Oro is planned for next month. Beale pointed out that the trip has a maximum capacity of 64 people yet 78 students are on the list, highlighting the club’s popularity.

On Saturday, March 8 the Earth Biological Science Building will host a “Science Discovery Day” dedicating each floor to specific subsets of science. Beale will be there taking care of two tables displaying bird specimens which are his personal interest. Beale is looking forward to sharing his passion with others and studying the specimens.

The Biology Club has also planned outreach events in elementary schools over the next two months. These events involve visiting schools and sharing the club’s passion for biology and live species like Rosa, the Biology Club’s red knee tarantula. Beale mentioned the club’s interest in expanding the event to retirement homes.

“[Outreach events] have always been a way to help bring a lot of love and life to life sciences,” Beale said. “It’s really fun, it’s really beautiful and it helps foster such a large and unique aspect of STEM study and life in general. It’s always been such a treat to do it.”

After organizing biology-themed movie nights, Beale says the club has been considering collaborating with other clubs such as the Astronomy Club, to hold game nights.

Although the club’s main way of communication is its Discord server, it’s working on developing the MySBCC space City College’s new pipeline system, to make it more accessible to all.

The Biology Club meets at 1 p.m. biweekly every other Friday in the environmental science lab at the Earth Biological Science Building Room 209. Beale insisted on the club’s openness toward non-club members.

“Don’t feel afraid to come to our meetings, we’re not going to bite. We want you to come, we want you to have fun,” Beale said. “You don’t have to be a bio major, we’d love to have you.”

The club’s next meeting will be Friday, March 7.