Austin & Ally star Laura Marano is hardly spending her spare time lounging around. As an ambassador for Disney’s Friends for Change, the 16-year-old recently visited San Pedro Elementary School in San Pedro, Calif., along with costar Ross Lynch. There, the duo worked together with Tree People, a nonprofit organization that promotes a sustainable future, as well as students and Disney VoluntEARS to plant trees and educational gardens in the area, helping to “greenify” the school, sharing—and gaining—tons of valuable earth-friendly knowledge along the way.

We caught up with Laura to talk about all things green, and we came away with quite the scoop! Read on to hear about her volunteer experience…and her latest eco-friendly beauty finds.

GL: Tell us a little bit about your experience with Tree People for Disney’s Friends for Change program.

Laura: It was so awesome! The Tree People were all super sweet, and there was such a peaceful vibe. After you plant a tree, you spin around [it] and do this little chant to like welcome the tree to the world. It was just a fun, beautiful experience, and I really want to do it again.

What was the coolest thing you learned?

Well I know how great trees are for us, but sometimes I take that for granted. We literally have the ability to make ourselves breathe easier by planting trees, which is kind of a crazy idea when if you think about it. And some people have the ability to make ourselves not breathe easier by cutting them down, which is obviously what we don’t want to do.

What’s one little thing every girl can do to help the environment?

Definitely remember to unplug curling irons and straighteners! And always reduce, reuse, recycle. I live by the three R’s. You can kind of make them like a fashion statement.

Have any eco-friendly fashion tips you could share with us then?

If you want to reuse bottle caps, you can make your own really cute belt. Or you can make cute purses out of recycled material. One time, I even made a hat out of newspapers. I’m not going to lie, it was super adorable. Plus, it’s a great way to get creative.

Any eco-friendly beauty products you could recommend as well?

I actually just started using Begley’s eco-friendly hand soap. It feels better on your hands and doesn’t make them feel rough! And I’m also into L’uvalla’s Gentle Foaming Cleanser and Eucalyptus Toner.

Now that you’ve learned so much through your work with Disney’s Friends for Change, what’s one eco-friendly goal you really wanna hit by the end of 2012?

Plant a lemon tree near the [Austin & Ally] studio. It would be double the fun because we could satisfy our desire to help the environment and our hunger because we could eat them. I know I can do it…I just have to talk to the right people!

Want a peek at Laura’s afternoon with Tree People? Check out this below clip, which will start airing on the Disney Channel this Friday, Sept. 28…

For more info on how you can help change your community for the better, CLICK HERE.

What’s your best eco-friendly style tip? Do you have any favorite eco-friendly beauty products? Blog about it, babes.

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POSTED IN Disney, celebrity interviews, do gooder, Laura Marano