The COVID-19 pandemic has scattered all Santa Clara University students and teachers throughout the country and world. Even if we are in our respective hometowns, it is worthy to recognize all that the Santa Clara University Center for Sustainability does to promote not only sustainability, but also a litter-free campus and community.
The Center for Sustainability (CfS) at SCU has been an integral organization that promotes sustainability and environmentalism on-campus as well as off-campus. Some activities they are involved in include:
- Strategic Playbook Actions
- tUrn Week Activities
- Social Media Engagement
There are many ways to get involved with the Center for Sustainability as a student, professor, administrator, facility manager, and alumni/family. While it sometimes may seem as if the pandemic has limited our ability to interact with people, the Center for Sustainability has been able to offer many different ways to connect with others passionate about sustainability through synchronous and asynchronous opportunities that cater to different audiences.
If we were on-campus, we would’ve had the opportunity to participate in a waste audit. Luckily, you can also do that from home! The Center for Sustainability also hosts a plethora of events such as Energy Audit, Tree Trackers, and more throughout the year (usually at tUrn week)!
Take action and earn a badge by participating in the Strategic Playbook actions. For litter, try stopping junk mail with stopjunkmail.org. They sky is truly the limit with the things you can do to lessen waste production in the first place. It sometimes can get overwhelming to think that you need to get involved 100% from the get-go, but I like to think of being sustainable in increments. The little actions every day are the ones that truly help out on a regular basis.
As the pandemic eases up and restrictions are lifted, look into volunteering at the Forge Garden – they are now operating on a lottery system that picks a volunteer for their volunteer days. Sign up here if interested.
Getting involved even if you are away from SCU is easier than ever! Make sure you submit your actions to the Center for Sustainability for a Virtual Badge that you can turn in for the chance to get a sticker version of the patch.