By Michael Harman
Elm Staff Writer
As the weather grows warmer and the trees revert back to their spring-time likeliness, people around school are beginning to feel an appreciation for nature. Not only does this time of year mean wearing shorts and T-shirts, but it also means the arrival of Earth Day. Known to many as the day in elementary school where students were brought outside to collect trash around school, here at Washington College, it has its own week and for good reason.
In this day and age, most people have given up on the idea of trying to save the Earth. In fact, people barely even recycle anymore. This is why WC has hosted a few events to make students aware of the fact that it is “Earth Week” and ensure that students continue to consciously make an effort to take care of the environment.
One event in particular that occurred on Friday, April 19 during the Greenstock Lunch at Hodson was the Sculpture contest. Open for viewing during the day, in which students were able to eat their lunch without producing waste products, these sculptures on display were made entirely of recyclable materials. There were two teams that competed: Health Services and the Student Environmental Alliance. Health Services created a palm tree sculpture made entirely of recycled Coke cans, and the SSEA made a recycled bottle watering can.
“I think that this is a creative way to engage in recycling and to make environmentalism more fun,” said Rachel Field ’11, the program coordinator for the Center for Environment and Society.
“The contest was started just a few years ago under the direction of JoAnn Fairchild who was the senior program coordinator for CES,” says Field. “It was (and still is) a way to demonstrate visually one of the most important parts of Earth Day: recycling!”
The planning for this year’s sculpture contest was not just a one man job for Field. Whitley Purnell, CES event planning intern, coordinated the details for the sculpture contest. Centered on the ideas of Earth Day, this sculpture contest was also an eye opener for many, with Field hoping that “for students who saw the sculptures at lunch, I think there was a lot of interest in participating next year.”
Freshman Emily Smith, who stopped to look at the sculptures, said, “It was interesting to see how the recycled materials were used to create sculptures. If recycled products could be used for that reason then there must be many other things that we can do with them to help the environment.”
With events such as this bringing light to a fact that affects our everyday life, it is important to step forward and take notice of the things around you. With the help of Field and the Center for Environment and Society, students at WC have the privilege to get to know the facts and see firsthand what taking care of the environment can truly do, not only for the campus and the surrounding communities, but for the world.