Many Northwestern University students and campus organizations are trading in purple for green this month to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and Arbor Day on April 26.
“With the increasing climate change concerns about the future of our planet and the sustainability of our planet, I think it’s important to have events where college students can actively do something about it,” said Sophia Liu, Vice President of Philanthropic Affairs on the Residential College Board.
Liu, a sophomore majoring in neuroscience, is responsible for finding community service events and encouraging people to volunteer. The first such opportunity of her term is called RCB Clean Up Evanston, in which residential college students will help clean up the 12th hole of the Canal Shores Golf Course on Saturday, April 27. This is part of a larger initiative by the city called Clean Up, Evanston! with several other clean up projects at different locations.
“The city of Evanston has this event every single year, so it’s nice to live in a community that actually supports this,” Liu said. “They’re willing to invest in it and advertise the event and make people more interested in helping the environment.”
Residents of GREEN House, a campus residence focused on sustainable living, are also attending a Clean Up, Evanston! event at Evanston Fountain Square, but they try to focus on environmental activities year round as well. Their activities range from Chicago River clean up days to removing invasive species in the forest preserves to inviting professors to talk about the environment.
This greater emphasis on the environment is be necessary, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports a 1.5℃ temperature increase from pre-industrial levels is likely by 2052 if our current rate of impact continues. As temperatures warm, biodiversity, ecosystems, and humans are all put at risk.
“I think we should do stuff more than just on Earth Day or Arbor Day… It’s good to have a reminder for people to be a bit more cognizant,” said Lisa Mende, an environmental science major and former GREEN House vice president. “I’d love it if everyone was thinking about it all the time,” said the sophomore, though she admits not everyone can.
Mende, a Chicago native, first began thinking about environmental issues when the older kids in her neighborhood littered beer bottles all over the forest across the street from her house. Taking the lead from her dad, the two often went out around Earth Day to help clean it up. Now, beyond encouraging others to reuse water bottles and buy local and organic goods, she says to think bigger.
“Think about policies being implemented and if you have a way to sway those policies,” Mende said. “I think a lot of people kind of minimize the politics side of environmental change and climate change because it has been kind of a polarized topic, which is unfortunate.”
Northwestern is taking steps such as implementing the university’s Strategic Sustainability Plan over the next four years, which outlines plans to decrease emissions and waste while increasing energy and water efficiency. Northwestern is now hosting an inaugural Earth Day Fair on April 23 to teach students about what the university, its vendors, and student groups are doing to advance sustainability. On the 26th, there will also be an Arbor Day Tree Planting event. Liu says these types of events are great because they show what Northwestern values.
“It’s important to have an awareness for environment, sustainability, and a love for the Earth because there is only one Earth,” Liu said. “If people continue to neglect it or put in negative pollution and other stuff, it’s not going to be good for future generations.”