SUNY Geneseo is celebrating Campus Sustainability Month with a variety of activities, lectures and learning sessions.
October is Campus Sustainability Month at SUNY Geneseo and the college community is hosting a variety of lectures, workshops and hands-on events to raise awareness, spark discussion and promote personal involvement. Held every October, Campus Sustainability Month is an international celebration of sustainability in higher education, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, David O. Carpenter will present the President’s Sustainability Lecture, “Is the Human Race Sustainable After the Age of Chemicals?” in the Union ballroom at 2:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Several student-led groups are planning activities, outings and discussions throughout the month. Events include the Geneseo chapter of FORCES (Friends Of Recreation, Conservations, and Environmental Stewardship), who have a camping trip in Letchworth that includes pulling invasive buckthorn in the park and The Ephemeral Arts Festival where students create and display art with objects found in the Roemer Arboretum.
"Campus Sustainability Month is a way to increase visibility and awareness of sustainability efforts and challenges facing our campus,” said Margaret Reitz, assistant director of student life for educational initiatives and co-chair of the President’s Commission on Sustainability at Geneseo. “Specifically, to be successful advocates and stewards of sustainability, our efforts need to include three pillars — economic sustainability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability. When we think about sustainability, it's often focused on the environmental pillar. This month gives us a chance to highlight all aspects of our sustainability work and includes events from across the campus and community, like Cultural Harmony Week and Wellness Week."
Oher activities include an essential-oil workshop, discussions on a wide range of topics, an annual EcoHouse Walk for Water, and an applesauce-making and canning session with members of the GEO student group. The GEO apple event is part of New York Campus Crunch, when members of campuses across the state all bite into an apple at noon to promote New York State apples.
A GOLD workshop will address the history of energy use in the United States. Cultural Harmony Week, Oct. 15-21, has activities whose topics and themes overlap with sustainability, and are in the month’s listing of events.