Universities are buzzing with young adults passionate about protecting the planet, and student environmental organizations direct all that energy into action.
Student projects promoting sustainability are usually quite effective because they’re fueled by young adults who are enthusiastic, persistent and innovative, according to Talia Haller, director and founder the Green Greek Representative Program at the University of Washington in Seattle.
It poises us for success in a lot of ways.” Green Greeks The Green Greek Program is a network of representatives from sororities and fraternities at UW who devise and implement planet-friendly practices in their houses.
A Green Greek project at a UW fraternity, for example, involved equipping the house with several strategically placed recycling and composting bins, and switching to products that support the effort, such as disposable utensils that are composted instead of tossed into the trash.
Sustainable Farming Students at various universities, including Washington University in St. Louis, run their own farms, often with an emphasis on organic fruits and vegetables.
In addition to offering tours of the garden, students from Burning Kumquat set up a folding table on campus and sell lettuce and other freshly picked fruits and vegetables.
“I think it’s good for people to understand what they eat and what’s needed to produce the food,” Pomerantz says.
Burning Kumquat’s environmental focus also includes such activities as screening films and leading a bike tour of local urban farms.
Arendt is an informal advisor to the recycling effort, which his institute launched as part of a student internship program.
The students package the plastic into bales, which are sold to a firm that incorporates recycled wood and recycled plastic film into decking material.