by: Ayla McDonald
After a very cold winter, the spring season is finally blooming in Champaign–Urbana. Signs of the season are showing around the Parkland College campus as grass begins to green, as leaves start to bud and as magnolia trees burst into flower. Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, is just around the corner. According to the Earth Day Network website, “The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed. Twenty years later, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in more than 190 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage… More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.”
Parkland College will participate in the global celebration of Earth Day with a Sustainability Fair to be held on Monday, April 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Flag Lounge. According to the event page at parkland.edu, “The Sustainability Fair is an opportunity for students to learn about sustainability efforts at Parkland and in the community.” The Fair is to feature student organizations Phi Theta Kappa, the Art and Design Club, and the Science Club, with demonstrations of how to reuse materials and how to make homes for local bees. Students will also be able obtain free water bottles handed out by the Student Life office.
Making an effort to maintain a sustainable campus is an important mission of Parkland College. According to the College’s website, “At Parkland College, our goal is to become a sustainable campus and to teach and train the students and staff to become sustainable citizens in all aspects of their lives. We have taken several steps to help the regional community to become more sustainable through example and education.” A list of sustainable choices made by the college can be found online at parkland.edu. Regarding sustainability efforts at Parkland, Josh Clark, Activities Program Manager and organizer of the Sustainability Fair said, “Parkland has a Green Revolving Fund which is used to fund sustainable efforts and then the savings from those projects are reinvested to fund more projects. An 8-acre solar field is planned for construction soon.”
While Parkland College is active in its sustainability efforts, student interest in sustainable efforts has been inconsistent. Two separate Student Sustainability Clubs consisting of Parkland students have been organized and disbanded within the past four years. Benjamin Roberts, former president of the first club, told the Prospectus, “We started in the spring semester of 2016, and stopped meeting in the fall of 2017. The most members we had was 9.”
The original club organized events such as an environmental film viewing and a locally sourced food fair. A second Student Sustainability Club was formed during Fall semester of 2018. Lauren Urie, Parkland student and founder of the club, told the Prospectus, “During the warmer part of the year, we would…have prairie restoration workday on Fridays. We were a very small group. I believe there were only about four other students. Though having a small group made progress more challenging, it did not impact the amount of enthusiasm we had for our projects.” The Fall 2018 club being the most recent effort, this club disbanded with the start Spring 2019 semester.
While there is not currently an active student organization for sustainability efforts at Parkland, Urie encourages students to make environmentally friendly choices on their own. “The point is often made that our choices will impact the habitability of our planet, and that we should think of ourselves as well as future generations.” Urie said. “Even if one believes that it is too late for us, it does not give us a free pass to be irresponsible about our choices as consumers, which impact the lives of people working in these industries as well as wildlife and their habitats…Take interest and spread interest. It’s important to educate yourself about these issues and to start a conversation.”
Josh Clark offers suggestions of ways that students can make an impact on their own, and how they can get involved with sustainability on campus. “You can always make changes to your personal behavior by using less water, energy, etc.,” Clark said. “However, if a student is interested in making real changes on campus, I would encourage them to advocate for the changes they want to see by getting involved with Student Government or starting a student organization.”
