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For the last 50 years, April 22 has stood as a day to stop and reflect on the status of our environment and ways we can preserve our green earth. This year, Spokane Falls Community College students Ava Knight and Elliot Weidmann, president and vice president of the SFCC Environmental Club, have shared some tips and tricks for ways we can keep our environment in mind all year long.
Bring Back Native Plants
With lush mountains, abundant wildlife and a never-ending supply of freshwater lakes it’s no wonder people can’t get enough of the Inland Northwest.
Urbanization is a growing threat to rich environments like this one. Weidman and Knight are using their leadership roles at SFCC to challenge campus to reimagine urban spaces as the green spaces they were meant to be.
In working with leadership at SFCC, the duo hopes to reach an agreement on plans to turn the old Fine Arts building into an area rehabilitated with native plants that will bring back pollinators, insects and small wildlife too.
“It’s a big space so we want it to be a community green space, so students can be outside and appreciate the variety of native plants, and we want it to be an opportunity to collaborate with the Red Nations Club so we could include the perspective of the native land we’re on,” Weidmann said.
Opportunities on Campus
Just before the end of the quarter, Environmental Club members are partnering with Zero Waste Spokane for their Mend-It Café event on May 22.
“They will teach you and mend your clothes,” Knight said. “Clothing is such a prominent thing right now, and I never want to diminish the accessibility to fashion, but what’s accessible is going into landfills eventually, which is sad. Go thrifting… Learn how to mend clothes, how to get things to fit and rework those clothing staples. It’s about cycling. My philosophy, with the environment is there are so many cycles naturally, so let’s create a cycle to be sustainable and leave a more fulfilling life.”
Reducing Carbon Footprints
There are a million different ways to integrate sustainable practices into our day-to-day routines. Weidmann suggests small adjustments here and there can make a large impact in our communities and on our planet.
“I’m trying to go vegetarian because the meat industry produces a lot of waste. By using more vegetables, you can go to farmers markets and reducing vegetable waste by composting, making vegetable broth and more.”
For a smaller leap and a great impact, Weidmann suggests purchasing a reusable lunch box and packing a lunch. This sustainable option will leave you producing less waste and consuming less packaged foods.
If not now, when?
Learn about your environment and its systems to work with it, not against it.
Let’s keep the Earth green and keep the celebration going. What will you do now to protect tomorrow?