The Office of Sustainability Initiatives invited the St. Thomas community to celebrate Sustainability Week on campus beginning April 21.
Celebrations included the Mississippi River cleanup on Sunday, a sustainable hygiene product giveaway on Earth Day and a sustainability takeover at The View on Thursday. More festivities continue throughout the week and are available on Tommie Link.
St. Thomas ranked among the top 50 of the nation’s most Green Colleges by the Princeton Review in 2023. The campus has also seen a 40% reduction in carbon emissions since 2007, and a 59% waste diversion rate in 2019. These achievements go hand-in-hand with 160 undergraduate sustainability courses and over 150 regional and on-campus sustainability projects in courses across 25 disciplines.
There are also many on-campus groups for sustainability, including The Sustainable Communities Partnership, the Sustainability Living Learning Community and the Office of Sustainability Initiatives, a group of students and staff at St. Thomas who are committed to sustainable actions.
Sophomore Hapaki Lorenzo is involved with the Student Sustainability Leadership Program with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives.
“You can see sustainability as a way to balance people, the planet and the economy so people can have a better future,” Lorenzo said.
Senior Amelia Zentner, an environmental studies and psychology double major, is also involved with the Student Sustainability Leadership Program on campus.
“Sustainability is not only (an) eco-nature-focused action but also environmental and social justice (action). How can we make it so that all people in all spaces — regardless of socio-economic class or race — have access to clean air, clean water, lack of pollution and clean food?” Zentner said.
Thomas Hickson, an environmental geology professor at St. Thomas, said that he uses his knowledge of the Earth’s surface and processes to inform his idea of sustainability.
“We as a species are limited by the resources that are on the planet. Everything that sustains our life comes from those ancient rocks and the soil. For human life to thrive and flourish on our planet, we have to use our resources in a way that allows for that thriving and flourishing, and to me, that is what sustainability is all about,” Hickson said.
Hickson said that there are everyday actions that students can take to help combat this issue.
“Bike to work. Cut your red meat consumption at least in half. The biggest thing you can do is reduce your consumption. Just think about the low-hanging fruit,” Hickson said.
EcoChallenge is another way for students to practice sustainable behaviors by practicing daily swaps to more sustainable choices.
Zentner said that the most important aspect of sustainability is everyday action.
“I’m always an advocate for progress over perfection. Never feel bad for what you haven’t done or what you’re not doing. Focus instead on little things you can do in the future or what you can do now to help,” Zentner said.
Hickson also said that voting plays an important role in sustainable action.
“Get out and vote. Don’t vote for people who deny climate change. Don’t vote for people who don’t want to support a green economy,” Hickson said.
Events like Sustainability Week on campus are vital, according to Hickson.
“Everything that we do to be more sustainable makes our lives better, makes our health better, and makes our environment better. It sustains our children’s lives and their children’s and their children’s. Sustainable practices make everything better,” Hickson said.
Sabrina Thompson can be reached at thom4836@stthomas.edu.