NR week kicks off with clean up at three dams
The College of Natural Resources isn’t made up of “bunny-huggers,” said CNR Dean Nat Frazer, but rather is made up of scientists, and this is one thing they hope to prove this week.
Natural Resources Week began Saturday, Oct. 15 with a Logan Canyon cleanup project and will end Thursday, Oct. 22 with a speech on local environmental issues by Logan City Councilman Herm Olsen.
Although the CNR will use the week to bring current and pressing environmental issues to the forefront of USU students’ attention, Frazer said, this year there are additional goals.
“Last year, as an NR student, I didn’t know about any of this; I didn’t go to many of the events,” said ASUSU CNR Senator Blake Thomas. “So this year I wanted to be economically wise and stay within my means but have events that have more of a university-wide appeal.”
Thomas said he wants USU’s student population to recognize that those within CNR are more than what they appear to be — “granola-munching kids wearing Chacos” — and that the college is a necessary piece of USU, especially considering Cache Valley’s numerous resources.
CNR had a head start on the week, beginning its events Saturday with a cleanup event between First Dam and Third Dam in Logan Canyon.
“We cleaned up so much,” said Jared Stapp, service director for the Natural Resources Council, “maybe 15 trash bags full of garbage, which was shocking to me.”
Stapp said he played a big part in this event and organized the Sustainable Food Drive that will run throughout the week. Everything collected will be donated to USU’s Student Nutrition Access Center — a student-run organization that helps students who may not be able to afford groceries.
“Everyone has the right to eat healthy food that’s good for the environment,” Stapp said, “Nothing with high fructose corn syrup … try to get as all-natural or organic as you can get. Bring pastas, rice — and there are lots of different canned goods that meet those qualifications.”
It isn’t necessary to spend the money normally required in bringing a nationally recognized figure to campus for Natural Resources Week, Thomas said, because many knowledgeable people are found nearby.
Jared Quayle, an alumnus of the CNR and former Aggie basketball star, will challenge participating students in a three-point shootout Monday at 10 a.m. on the TSC Patio. USU natural resources Professor Robert Schmidt will address students regarding human habitats overlapping with animal habitats and how to manage this relationship, Blake said. This is an issue that influences the lives of Cache Valley residents every day.
Many of the events were planned strictly as a fun break in between classes, but others will focus on environmental and sustainability education, Blake said. Tuesday may be the best day for those who want to learn more, starting with the Natural Resources Expo on the Quad, where CNR-related booths will represent various areas of expertise in the college as well as organizations that value sustainable living practices.
Amid the booths, any student can go head to head in a cross-cut sawing competition. Later that day a panel will address and discuss issues regarding water bottle industries, Blake said.
Prior to the panel, the documentary “Tapped” will show in the TSC International Lounge, which also addresses these issues, one of which being whether the water bottle industry uses tap water as its product, he said. This issue was confronted earlier this year when water bottle filling aparati were built into TSC drinking fountains.
During the recent summer, there was talk of possibly merging CNR with another college, while Administration evaluated the allocations of this year’s budget, but, Frazer said, the college is here to stay.
The natural resources college is a necessary part of USU, especially in Logan, Frazer said, “just look around you.”
“My hope is people would learn more about what CNR is,” he said. “In a state like Utah that’s heavily dependent on public land, we wouldn’t want outdoor recreation to have a negative effect on the land. So we provide the information to make sure that does not happen.”
Outdoor recreation is one example on a long list of impacts humans have on the local environment, Frazer said. Students, faculty and staff of CNR analyze and predict these impacts, which is why they are more accurately classified as scientists than the assumed green advocates, he said.
–catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu
Denton Nielson (below) cleans trash out of the reservoir at Second Dam as part of a service project for NR Week. CODY GOCHNOUR photo