2008 Woodie Awards
Just Earth! club encourages students to live 'green'
Megan Kenny and Jamie Robinson
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News
Saint Louis University's Just Earth! club is gearing up for the greenest day of the year and hoping to make this year's Earth Day celebration into an Earth Week of awareness.
"We are really trying this year not only to spread awareness but also to get people to commit to something," said club Treasurer John Kelly. "Earth Day is every day, not just a one-day thing."
The club will have a booth at St. Louis Earth Day in Forest Park on Sunday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The celebration features live music and a parade and organizers hope it will be a channel to connect people with conservation groups, local and national energy initiatives, local food producers and many other educational exhibitors.
On Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, the club is co-sponsoring an event with the Commuter Student Association to encourage students to find alternative means of transportation to and from SLU.
"Our hope for these events is to really encourage people to think in new ways about how they use and abuse the earth," said club President Gina Meyer. "Often we do not realize how small changes in the way we live can have huge impacts on us, our neighbors and our world. This is our biggest Earth Day celebration for several years, and we are excited to celebrate the earth and consider how we are living on it and with it."
Just Earth! grew out of Amnesty International, Meyer said; it is an environmental student organization that focuses on sustainable living and increasing environmental awareness on SLU's campus. The group hosts the annual Spring Cleaning Salvage Drive, and the last two years it has worked with the Environmental Task Force, a student-led group that works to enact positive change on campus, by increasing recycling on campus.
"Compared with many other universities, SLU is lagging in many areas, including energy use and conservation, recycling, environmental awareness and programming. As an urban campus, it is important that we learn to effectively utilize the space we have in a sustainable and life-giving way."
"We are really trying this year not only to spread awareness but also to get people to commit to something," said club Treasurer John Kelly. "Earth Day is every day, not just a one-day thing."
The club will have a booth at St. Louis Earth Day in Forest Park on Sunday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The celebration features live music and a parade and organizers hope it will be a channel to connect people with conservation groups, local and national energy initiatives, local food producers and many other educational exhibitors.
On Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, the club is co-sponsoring an event with the Commuter Student Association to encourage students to find alternative means of transportation to and from SLU.
"Our hope for these events is to really encourage people to think in new ways about how they use and abuse the earth," said club President Gina Meyer. "Often we do not realize how small changes in the way we live can have huge impacts on us, our neighbors and our world. This is our biggest Earth Day celebration for several years, and we are excited to celebrate the earth and consider how we are living on it and with it."
Just Earth! grew out of Amnesty International, Meyer said; it is an environmental student organization that focuses on sustainable living and increasing environmental awareness on SLU's campus. The group hosts the annual Spring Cleaning Salvage Drive, and the last two years it has worked with the Environmental Task Force, a student-led group that works to enact positive change on campus, by increasing recycling on campus.
"Compared with many other universities, SLU is lagging in many areas, including energy use and conservation, recycling, environmental awareness and programming. As an urban campus, it is important that we learn to effectively utilize the space we have in a sustainable and life-giving way."
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