Grace LaTourelle-
A celebration of Earth Day and a campus clean-up will take place Friday, April 26th. The initiative will be led by the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation. This year’s Earth Day events have the central theme of ‘plastic reduction’, which involves boosting composting and recycling efforts across campus.
President Bergman will kick off the activities at 2:00 p.m. Following this, the ten groups, dictated by the sign-up list on the Gustavus Website, will scatter to their respective locations across campus and to Big Hill Farm. The groups will be tasked with cleaning up trash, sorting hard-to-recycle plastics, planting on the farm for Spring and Summer, or raking debris. Around 3:30 p.m., the groups will reconvene for treats in either the Courtyard or Banquet rooms, weather dependent. The Climate Teach-In will begin at 4 p.m. and will detail sustainability efforts on campus and how students may get involved.
“It’s designed to be: get your hands dirty, have fun, learn about the earth, give back,” Sustainability Manager and Co-Director of the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation, Kari Wallin said.
The events will also include tabling from sustainable organizations on campus, such as the Botanical Society, the Arb, the E-bike Rental Program, Big Hill Farm, and faculty with their various research opportunities. Along with that, there will be bingo cards, prizes, free tee shirts, and limited prairie plants.
The Big Hill Farm, one of the prominent sustainability organizations on campus, is a micro-farm on campus that provides produce locally and to the Caf, with an emphasis on low-input, organic farming.
“We include this in Earth Day events because the farm is part of our sustainability on campus, with local food production and helping people understand where their food comes from,” Sustainability Intern and Big Hill Farm Co-President Sophomore Soren Sackreiter said.
The Big Hill Farm spends time on the farm as an organization, as well as giving presentations during the Winter months. Past presentations have included topics such as foreign farming practices and farmers’ rights.
“It’s both about what we’re doing here and what’s happening around the world,” Sackreiter said.
The Farm organization encourages Gusties to get involved, especially during the transition between Spring to Summer and Summer to Fall, when there is harvesting work. There are also volunteer opportunities on Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
“People will care more about the Earth if they can see what they get from it,” Big Hill Farm Executive Board Member Sophomore Eleanor Habben said. “That’s why I think Farm is so great…because it…helps people connect with the Earth…”
Nationally, Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970, with the creation of Gaylord Nelson and Dennis Hayes.
“…it’s one of the biggest known, international celebrations and awareness around environmental action,” Wallin said.
Earth Day is celebrated at Gustavus as an effort for community building, getting connected on campus, promotion of eco-friendly practices, giving back to the Earth, and fun. One of the challenges, Sackreiter and Wallin identified, was how to rechannel the energy from Earth Day-fueled passion, back into the Farm and trash sorting within buildings for the duration of the year.
“…I love seeing how much gets done when people work together to clean up the world around them. But it makes you wonder why it has to be just one day per year…for me, Earth Day is every day,” Sackreiter said.
Wallin noted that local businesses and organizations are beneficial in Earth Day causes, because they work as an accessible entry point for people to join broader, sustainable change efforts.
“…Because everyone’s coming together, you can get these big groups and projects that you are able to achieve something with that you probably wouldn’t be able to on your own,” Big Hill Farm Co-President, Senior Isabella Aase said.
The efforts of the Earth Day events also are a display of leading by example. “By doing clean up on our campus and showing up to clean up, we’re showing the community around us that we care for our land and they should care for their land too,” Sackreiter said. “If we can all hold each other accountable, then that makes the world a better place.”
Gusties are encouraged to come to the Earth Day events, as well as implement eco-friendly practices into their lives going forward. Learning what is compostable and recyclable, sorting waste, getting involved with programs such as the Recreation Program or Big Hill farm, carpooling, finding activities to do around campus, utilizing other modes of transportation such as the E-bike rentals, and reaching out with questions are all suggestions students can implement.
“You can take this new knowledge and bring it into…when you graduate, your workplace, your home…and build sustainability into your life,” Wallin said.
As well as being a day for education and teamwork, Earth Day is also a celebration of nature and the environment. Students are encouraged to reconnect with nature in personal ways.
“It’s… a good day to actually observe the Earth around you and…take some time to actually go out in nature and…appreciate it that you might not otherwise…” Aase said.
The Farm members and Wallin highlighted the importance of a deep, human connection to nature.
“…humans have become disconnected from nature. Humans are no longer considered a part of nature…” Habben said. “…it’s important to reconnect with nature because we are a part of it. And because we are a part of it, it’s a part of us and we should love it as we love ourselves.”