Students for Sustainability hosted the annual Earth Day event on the UA Mall Monday afternoon, educating the community about sustainable living.
The event was celebrated with games, prizes, question and answer sessions and a variety of tables promoting sustainability related topics by vendors throughout the Tucson community.
The event began at 3 p.m. and ended at 7:30 p.m. with a star party held by the UA Astronomy Club.
“People think that sustainability can only mean just food or just electricity or just water,” said Karen
Komine, a pre-business sophomore and an intern for Students for Sustainability. “It can range from various things like the type of clothing you wear, the type of groceries you have, the type of water you use and how frequently. There’s a lot of different facets to it and we’re kind of just trying to explore ideas of the many ways that sustainability can be applied to.”
This year’s event had about 15 vendors, the highest turnout thus far, according to Ashley Sanders, a graduate student studying veterinary sciences and the director of Students for Sustainability.
One of the vendors, Ben Nead, the membership director of the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association 2, promoted his business by displaying three electric vehicles. Nead exhibited information about fuel efficiency and sustainability through a collection of studies and pamphlets advocating the purpose of his business.
“This is the lifestyle change that a lot of people haven’t caught onto yet and I hope it sinks in,” Nead said. “I want [students] to consider owning an electric car someday. There are going to be more of them. They are going to be easier to own. The technology is only getting better and the next generation of people will hopefully be driving pollution-free.”
The National Guard was present and sought to physically engage people in the event by allowing students to climb a rock wall or jump inside of a jumping castle. Members from the the Cooking on Campus club hosted demonstrations to show attendees how to make healthy meals and use fresh ingredients.
Kayla Yates, a nutritional sciences senior and a member of the Nutritional Sciences Club, had a poster board displaying information about healthy eating habits, emphasizing the importance of eating fresh vegetables and portion control.
“I emphasize eating vegetables in general,” Yates said. “If you’re eating canned ones or cooking them, at least you are eating them. That’s like the biggest boundary to get over with most people.”
Komine said a lot of preparation went into the event and that the point was to send a clear message
to the community.
“It’s our future. Resources can be depleted, not everything can be reproduced,” Komine said. “You can only have so much of a certain thing so you have to make it last. The possibilities you can achieve through sustainability are endless.”
