Working toward living a more sustainable life can seem like, well, work. It sounds like a lot of responsibility and it can be hard to believe that an individual can even hope to create a small amount of change. However, small actions over time can have a huge impact on the preservation of planet Earth.
The Sustainability Council is an organization focused on showing students around campus just that. Incorporating sustainable practices doesn’t have to feel like an entire lifestyle change.
When you walk into their meeting, the members greet students with a ton of smiling faces making space around the table and introducing themselves. The open environment, created by the students, parallels the easy-going nature of the organization, whose goals include educating others on simple and important ways to reduce waste and help the environment.
For students curious about learning ways they can help Earth, the council’s Tuesday evening meetings are full of a variety of information.
As the council’s president, Bella Vaz, says, “Anyone can be sustainable, no matter what they’re interested in.” Last week’s meeting, for example, included a presentation explaining why eating locally can help the planet and local places to go around Grand Junction.
Across the council, students decided to make the effort to bring mugs into cafe’s to use for their coffee instead of being served in a paper cup. At the meeting, they checked in on one another on how they’re doing and tried to keep a count of the number of paper cups saved. The council also hosts different workshops, such as a DIY Herb Garden.
The council has a University Garden at the WCCC campus and every Thursday they put on a farmers market in the Plaza, where they sell the vegetables grown by the students. They’re also going to be at the farmers market hosted by student life, later this month. Another campus wide event they host is their spring “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Fashion Show.” Open to the whole campus, students make garments from repurposed materials to show off at the show.
The Sustainability Council is young, only in its third year as an organization. They’re focusing on creating a member base that’s really organic and fluid. For students interested in joining, this means that the council is very open to new ideas students might have in regards to conserving resources and creating a more sustainable campus. In fact, one of the goals the executive board has is to grow their leadership.
“I really want to see our roles be filled by someone that’s really excited,” Vaz said. Two members of the executive board, including Vaz, are in their last year at CMU and they want their places to be taken by students who show excitement and motivation.
“We’re here to instill sustainable values into the campus community,” Vaz explains. More and more schools, businesses and governments are recognizing the importance of the preservation of Earth. The goal is to incorporate sustainable values into the lives of students in hope that as they leave, they continue to work towards the preservation of Earth and its recourses for future generation.
