How to live sustainably as a student
How can students live sustainably? This is the kind of question that USU’s Sustainability Club answers.
“Sustainability Club is trying to get students involved in sustainability initiatives in approachable ways,” Mercy Smith, the Sustainability Club’s president, said.
Because of their initiative to teach and excite students about sustainability, the club often welcomes students passionate about sustainability and those wanting to know more about it. Smith said she wants the club to be a pathway for students to become more involved with sustainability in their own community.
“It’s really important for people to be educated and aware of how the choices they make personally do affect the environment and people around them.” Smith said.
According to the club, the environment in Cache County and all of Utah has a few issues that need attention. Some of these issues include water conservation, air quality and, most commonly among college students, waste.
Maddy Guillory, the club’s vice president, said that students are often moving around, rarely staying in the same place from year to year. This leads to the inevitable clean-out after each school year, finding things that may no longer be needed or wanted and not knowing what to do with them. Guillory said many students throw items away instead of finding sustainable ways to displace them.
“It’s about preserving the earth for future generations,” Taelie Kennedy told The Utah Statesman.
Kennedy is the president of the Food Science Club and was a participant at the Plant-Based Potluck held by the Sustainability Club and the Culinary Arts Club on Nov. 14.
“Sustainability in general is really important in today’s world of consumption,” Smith said, “it’s important to encourage the small steps that people can take towards living more sustainable lives in ways that aren’t extremely inconvenient or extremely scary.”
Smith said that sustainability is sometimes a more privileged lifestyle — it can be hard to make some of these inconvenient or expensive decisions when you don’t have the funds to do so.
This makes living a sustainable life as a student much more difficult, Smith said. But while there are disadvantages, students do have a few perks when it comes to living sustainably.
According to Guillory, there are many resources on campus that can be used to the advantage of students. These advantages include recycling and compost bins all around campus, as well as the extreme walkability of campus that gives students an opportunity to be sustainable that many outside of the school do not have, Smith said.
“We live on or near a campus and we do a lot of stuff on campus,” Smith said, “it’s a very centralized location where you have your classes and people to hang out with, and the library and food, all in close proximity.”
While sustainability can require a lot, Smith said there are many simple and easy ways that students can make their lives more sustainable.
According to Smith, biking or walking is an indirect way of reducing the pollution here in Logan. Another suggestion Smith makes is limiting the amount of waste being produced.
“Being conscious of how much waste you’re producing, trying to reuse things whenever you can, trying to recycle things — it’s a tiny bit more effort to sort out your recycling and trash, but you can do it,” Smith said.
Being conscious is especially important when it comes to clothes, Smith said.
“It’s both a financially positive decision and a sustainable decision to reuse or repair your clothes,” Smith said. “Wear them for a long time, thrift them.”
The Christensen Office of Service and Sustainability provides opportunities for students to make sustainable decisions with their clothing., Aaccording to Guillory, students can donate their clothes to COSAS and participate in clothing swaps held by COSAS and the Sustainability Club.
“I’m a big supporter of hand-me-downs,” Smith said, “free stuff on the side of the road, Facebook Mmarketplace.”
Guillory encourages anyone passionate or simply interested in sustainability to follow the club’s events and come to some of the activities.
“The whole point of clubs is so that you can make friends and you can meet people who are like-minded,” Guillory said.
Smith explained that when she first started school, she found it hard to find clubs for the topics she was passionate about.
“I want to make it easier for other students to be able to connect with initiatives that they’re interested in,” Smith said. “I feel like it’s just nice to see people around you in your college who are also interested in the same sort of thing.”
Beyond USU, opportunities to make a sustainable impact exist in the Cache Valley community, says Smith. These opportunities include organizations such as Flores Family Community Garden, Hope Community Garden, Utah Conservation Corps Farm, Cache Valley Gardening Club, Stokes Nature Center and soon, the Grow the Flow movement.
“I want to get people involved with off-campus sustainability initiatives as well,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of cool stuff that goes on just within Cache Valley itself.”
To learn more about sustainability and ways to get involved, visit the Sustainability Club’s Iinstagram @sustainabilityclub.usu and the following websites.
Flores Family Community Garden
Hope Community Garden | garden in Logan Utah | 930 N 400 W, Logan, UT, USA
Utah Conservation Corps | USU
Cache Garden Club | Utah Associated Garden Clubs
Stokes Nature Center
Grow The Flow – Utah – Rise and Restore: Rescuing Great Salt Lake
Smith also suggests watching or listening to a short documentary by Patagonia titled “We Are the Water” about sustainability.