An environmental fair will highlight the benefits of sustainable living tomorrow at Mississippi State University in observance of Earth Day. Green Starkville, the MSU Environmental Collaborative Office (ECO) and the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program are the hosts of the fair.
The celebration will provide students and community members with an opportunity to gain valuable information about the conservation and recycling movements. Music will officially kick off the event at 11 a.m. At Noon, MSU President Mark Keenum will sign the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, holding the school accountable for efforts taken towards sustainability.
Barnes & Noble will have products for sale made from recycled material, and there will be a recycled art show displaying competition entries for the best junk art.
Booths will be on display on the Plaza from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. A booth displaying current sustainable and green research at MSU will be provided by ECO. Green Starkville, the MSU Recycling Club, Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity, the Sierra Club and the Golden Triangle Sierra Club, Starkville in Motion, Nucor Steel, the MSU Department of Geosciences, MSU Dining Services and several other organizations will also be available to provide a wide range of education about sustainable living.
The MSU ecoCar will be on display and team members will distribute information about hybrid vehicle designs, alternative fuel and the importance of energy conservation.
Wednesday is also Walk to School Day.
Jeremy Murdock, Community Planner for Mississippi State Community Action Team, said he thinks Earth Day is a good thing to get involved with.
“It’s important to educate people about the importance of walking and biking,” he said.
Murdock is a member of Starkville in Motion and said some of SIM’s priorities include promoting the construction of sidewalks and bike trails and the improvement of handicap accessibility.
“It’s good to learn about how to minimize impact on the environment and talk about good growth and development,” he said. “The better growth is compact.”
Compact growth may seem like a bit of an oxymoron, but landscape architecture students are going to demonstrate just that.
Nisreen Cain, founder of Green Starkville, said students are going to take spaces the size of parking spots and build gardens or parks.
“The landscape students will demonstrate how a small space can be used for a garden,” she said. “Most students live in apartments and small spaces so this is good.”
Cari Varner, assistant director of the Carl Small Town Center, said the School of Architecture began a recycling program before it caught university-wide attention.
“We were really involved in recycling two or three years ago,” she said. “Two students began a recycling program before the university.”
Junior architecture major Chris Estill said he believes recycling is important for MSU.
“Our university is in the process of establishing a recycling program, and I think that would be a big step in the right direction,” Estill said.
He said he also believes recycling is not just about saving the environment.
“I know that resources are limited, and things like aluminum are a lot more economically savable,” he said. “It makes sense environmentally and economically to recycle.”
Cain said awareness of recycling on campus has grown tremendously.
“To go from less than 200 pounds of recyclables per week to over 1000 pounds of recyclables per week is incredible,” she said.
With frequent Go Green and Save the Planet campaigns, students need to be aware that sustainability is more than reusing Wal-Mart bags.
“Sustainability is not just recycling. It’s energy saving, landscaping and taking care of wildlife,” Cain said.
Defined further, sustainability involves using natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area.
Cain said she believes the lack of recycled material on campus may not be because of a lack of education but a lack of effort.
“We would like all of the efforts to come together and become stronger,” she said. “We must distribute the effort and work towards one goal because working together is much more effective.”