Saving the planet one day at a time

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Students get the opportunity to hear their professors speak on art pieces at the Museum

By Forest Lassman

Photo illustration by Anya Ivantseva
Photo illustration by Anya Ivantseva


flassman@jccc.edu

To celebrate Earth Day, the college will be holding environmentally friendly events all week long.

Events kick off Friday, April 17 with a crop mop, where students can come and help harvest various crops. The food will then be used at the Epicenter conference on Monday, April 20.

Student sustainability committee (SSC) secretary Megan Gladbach is look­ing forward to the harvest.
“I really like being on the farm har­vesting stuff … hopefully it will be really nice,” Gladbach said.

Epicenter is a student-funded and student-focused conference based on im­proving our food system. From restaurant owners to students, presentations will be given all day long. Epicenter is free, but it is asked that those interested RSVP before the conference starts.

The official Earth Day is Tuesday, April 21, and to celebrate, TED talks will be held in the Craig Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A clothing swap and a recycling Jeop­ardy will be held in the Fountain Square the following day. Walking tours and a book club will conclude the activity on Wednesday, April 23.

SSC member Kali Hiatt is excited to take part in the events.

“There’s one person at the Epicenter conference … from Marketplace Restau­rant.” Hiatt said. “I’m also looking for­ward to the variety of TED talks. I don’t know what is going to be shown, so I’m just looking forward to seeing what’s being picked out. Last year the clothing swap was a lot of fun.”

These events highlight the college’s commitment to being environmentally conscious, and Sustainablity Education and Engagement coordinator Kristy Howell feels the college does a good job.

“We do a very good job of being re­sponsible stewards of our resources. We have to,” Howell said. “As an educational institution, we have an obligation to do a really good job being good stewards, and I feel like we do a phenomenal job of pro­tecting resources and using them respon­sibly.”

Howell feels that the steps taken by the college make the community stronger.

“There are ways for us to be much bet­ter neighbors. Stormwater runoff is an ex­ample. Because we have so much paved and flat space on campus, if we didn’t have that stormwater runoff abatement system installed, we would continue to cause flooding in our neighbors’ yards,” Howell said. “That’s just one small ex­ample, but one very powerful and useful example of what good neighbors we are by protecting our resources here on cam­pus.”

Even with these measures in place, Howell still sees ways the college can im­prove.

“I would love for us to increase our curriculum offerings. That’s one thing that’s really, really special to me.”

Discounts will be given at various stores around campus for using reusable cups and bags. A contest will also be held to come up with new ideas on how to im­prove the college, which will go until the end of the month with a grand prize of $500 to the winning idea.
 

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