This Thursday, April 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Comstock Memorial Union (CMU) Sun Garden Lounge at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM), the Sustainable Students Association (SSA) will be hosting its first of two Earth Day events: A Students for Sustainability Celebration.
Mary Sandeen, SSA President, said of the event offerings, “Student organizations, local business, and nonprofits will provide visitors with information and activities on how to live more sustainably. SSA will be facilitating a scavenger hunt!”
My colleague Rick Schara and I will be tabling for West Central Initiative at the Students for Sustainability Celebration, and we’d love to meet you; stop by! Other organizations presenting include Oceanarium, Dark Sky Association, Ceramics Guild, Society of Physics, PartnerSHIP 4 Health, and the Geology Club.
The second event will take place on the day – the Earth Day Community Celebration with the Red River Market on Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event was originally to take place on MSUM’s campus mall, but, due to bad weather forecasts, it has been relocated to the West Acres Mall in Fargo.
“Local vendors will be selling food, crafts, and other goods,” Sandeen said. Red River Farmers Market will be there, alongside Dragon Mental Health, MSUM Planetarium, Community Repair Station, Student Senate representatives, and Crossroads.
“SSA hosts events year-round, but this year’s Earth Day Community Celebration is the first time we’ve worked on an event with a community partner,” Sandeen said. Joe Burgum, co-founder of Red River Market, had reached out to Sandeen and her team in mid-February with the idea. “We Zoomed and emailed a lot with Burgum to work out the details of Earth Day celebration, which we’d normally have started planning on month earlier.”
“From this experience, I learned the importance of flexibility and good communication,” Sandeen said. “As a leader of SSA and one who spearheaded the planning of these two events with the help of Student Senate PR Chair and MSUM Sustainability Coordinator Intern Will Rops, I also learned how important it is to check in with those I work alongside to make sure we’re all on the same page, aligned towards the same goal, with a clear work flow in mind.”
“This year, our team is pretty small,” Sandeen said, “We have only five active members and a few in orbit, though next year, I’m hoping to grow this organization and increase our campus presence.” SSA advocates for sustainable development on and off campus, and puts on five events throughout the academic year, including those for Earth Day.
In the fall, SSA does something they call “Take Back Jack,” where members collect and compost aging Jack o’ lanterns from peoples’ driveways. They’ve also partnered with an entertainment group on campus to operate a thrift store for the past few years. The last event after Earth Day, which Sandeen said they plan to return this end-of-year, is a donation drive for students moving out to sustainably get rid of their dorm-room or apartment stuff.
Incredible work for five students. The goal of which, what makes it all worthwhile, Sandeen said, “is the power that comes from reminding people to practice more sustainable measures in their life. Even small things can make a big difference.”
About the Author
Benjamin Velani is the Lead for America Climate Fellow and serving AmeriCorps member at West Central Initiative. He recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University, majoring in Religious Studies and Government and writing an undergraduate thesis on the human and ecological effects of light pollution and dark night skies. He was formerly the Dining Editor at The Cornell Daily Sun, and he’s now taking the lead on West Central Initiative’s Climate Action Newsletter.
