April is Earth Month, and to celebrate, UW-Eau Claire is hosting a wide range of events and activities throughout the month to educate students on sustainability. All events are free to attend.
According to Lily Strehlow, UW-Eau Claire’s sustainability coordinator, the month will feature a large number of events with collaborations of different organizations.
“There are a lot of really fun things going on,” Strehlow said. “So we have several ecotherapy things happening, and that is put together by Student Senate, the Equity and Student Matters Commission, the Student Office of Sustainability (SOS) and I think the Wellness Commission is new and contributing as well.”
The first event will be from 1 to 4 p.m. on April 11, on the Towers Hall Lawn, where there will be a hang out session on the lawn.
The next event, trash pickup, will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 12, at Haas Fine Arts Center. Honors Student Council and the SOS will be picking up trash along Water Street from Hass to Hobbs. Volunteers must register by April 9. Food will be provided after the event.
Following, from 2 to 3 p.m. on April 14, Ashley Beal will be giving a talk for Eco Therapy Day. The location is to be determined at the moment.
From 12 to 12:50 p.m. on April 15 in the Dakota Ballroom, the Administrative Office of Sustainability will host a presentation on the “State of Sustainability” at UW-Eau Claire.
According to the UW-Eau Claire website, this talk will be about the intersection of climate and businesses.
Students intending to go will need to register before the event online.
Kristen O’Brien, the student director for SOS, is looking forward to “Earth Claire” the most out of all the events.
“I’m most excited to see all the different companies,” O’Brien said. “I’m excited to see what they bring to the tables.”
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 17, “Earth Claire,” will have a “fair-like” tabling event on campus with representation from many different environmental and sustainability-focused organizations on campus and in the community.
There will be games, food, giveaways, music and demonstrations at the event.
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on April 17 at the Chippewa Lounge, there will be an eco therapy Sunset smores event.
There will be an eco therapy plants event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 23 at the Campus Mall.
On campus, the Blugold Makerspace is hosting events from April 20 to 26.
Events will include mending, upcycling bookends, scrap fabric bookmarks, electronics
and recycled T-shirt totes. Details can be found online.
Lastly, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 26 on the third floor of Davies Student Center, there will be a repair fair.
At the repair fair, students will have the opportunity to learn how to fix and mend their items and clothes.
However, attending these events is not the only way for students to make their lives more sustainable.
O’Brien said students implement sustainable practices into their own lives by doing simple acts like sorting their food waste.
“Just making sure they are sorting out the compost and plastic and making sure to clean out their bottles before tossing them,” O’Brien said.
Strehlow said there are four major things students can do to live a more sustainable life: participating in democracy, eating less meat, reducing flying or buying certified carbon offsets and better commuting.
“It’s OK if you can’t make that happen now, but consider it in the future,” Strehlow said. “Transportation, if you can bike or take the bus or walk, I think many of our students do that. Over half of the students on campus commute in a sustainable form of transportation.”
O’Brien said she knows that it may be hard for students to watch where they are spending but advises students to try their best to shop with businesses that have good sustainable practices.
“I know it’s hard as college students, but they should try to avoid big corporations,” O’Brien said. “They should shop with places that have good sustainable practices, not the companies that are leading in causing air pollution.”
In general, Strehlow said everyone, not just students, should take a personal inventory of their hobbies and skills and see where they interact with climate action to leave a positive impact on the world.
“Everyone has a role to play in making our planet more sustainable,” Strehlow said. “And every student here should, if they can, take a moment to think about where their passions and where their skills intersect with where we need climate action.”
Boggess can be reached at boggestm7197@uwec.edu.
