Sustainability movements have been a frequent topic of discussion this year, and the discussion continues with several upcoming events, Earth Week and Justice, Faith, and Climate Change conversation.

Several groups are combining for for Earth Week. The week takes place beginning Monday, April 20 and ending April 25. Earth Week is put on by the Arboretum staff in collaboration with the Gustavus Greens and the Kappa Sigma Chi fraternity.

Senior Political Science Major Nicole Ektnitphong has been a leader on campus in the movement toward sustainability, especially with the results of the sustainability discussion in February and where that has brought the Gustavus Greens today. 

“In February, what came from that discussion was a report that captured the local knowledge in the room and what we were willing to commit to. Its purpose was to unify the effort rather than one organization or one department doing this,” Ektnitphong said.

The group was focused on moving forward to create tangible change, so a structure was set up following the discussion to best address these topics.

“Six themes emerged from that conversation. We are working toward a platform to unify sustainability from divestments, to education, to personal commitments to environmental justice,” Ektnitphong said.

Linnaeus Arboretum Director and Naturalist Scott Moeller has been planning Earth Week.

“It’s a big week. Earth Day is the 22nd. Arbor Day is Friday the 24th. This is our busy season, so in the past, even we have been too busy to acknowledge Earth Day and Arbor Day. This year we decided it was really important, especially now that the campus is beginning to have a campus wide conversation about sustainability,” Moeller said.

First-year Gwen Saliares is part of the Gustavus Greens and helped plan some of the Earth Week events. She recognized the importance of education and awareness surrounding these issues.

“The week is important for raising awareness on campus. There’s a small group of people who know a lot about sustainability and are very pro-action, but there’s a group of people who are kind of informed but don’t really know what impacts they are having,” Saliares said.

Monday through Wednesday, Arboretum staff, the Greens and the Kappas will table outside of the cafeteria, displaying information in creative ways.

Monday evening there will be a screening of the documentary “Do the Math” in Beck 101 discussing the detrimental effects of fossil fuels on the environment.

“The documentary talks about fossil fuels and why we should divest from them. It’s actually the movie that sparked a lot of the divestment campaigns on college campuses,” Ektnitphong said.

“It’s about bridging that connection because in the end we all breathe the same air, live on the same land, and share the same space.”—Nicole Ektnitphong

On Thursday there will be a sustainability fair in the upper level of the Campus Center, displaying the efforts the school has already made to combat climate change.

There will be a sustainability pillar for students to sign. Administrative Assistant to the Arboretum Shirley Mellema says they’re hoping to inform students and encourage them to take further action through the fair.

“Students can see the actions the campus has taken. We want to keep the ball rolling and not let the conversations end,” Mellema said.

Moeller mentioned the campus takes many measures to increase sustainability, but there are many gaps to still be filled.

“There’s a spectrum. Starting with the basic stuff that all of us can do today, like shorter showers or recycling, all the way to the lofty goals. I think we’re doing stuff all along the spectrum on this campus, but there’s still more we can do,” Moeller said.

Another event taking place Saturday, April 25 at 9:30 a.m. is Justice, Faith and Climate Change. This event is put on by Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light and is open to Gustavus students and encourages members of the St. Peter community to take a stand for sustainability.

Professor of Religion Deborah Goodwin has been leading this event, hoping to connect these two often separated groups.

“There’s clearly interest in the community to learn more. The overarching goal is to create a structure that is flexible and permanent to keep the connection between the community and the campus,” Goodwin said.

Religious groups often have a huge impact on the community, so inclusion is important when discussing sustainability.

“They all have made statements about environmental justice, but those denominational statements aren’t always making it down to the people in the pews. Especially when talking about our duty to the poor or our duty to God’s creation, it’s hard to say this doesn’t matter,” Goodwin said.

Justice, Faith, and Climate Change is open for all students and community members to attend.

“There are segments of the program if you can’t come for the entire day. This is an opportunity for people on the campus to connect with people in the community or if they want to make a difference and don’t know how,” Goodwin said.

Many groups on campus advocating for sustainability hope to come together to create real change. Moeller discussed the goals that he has for the Arboretum.

“The Arboretum has always done educational programming about the environment but when it comes to conservation, we kind of tiptoe around it. What we do in the Arboretum can become conservation oriented, so we’re not just teaching about trees or mammals or birds, but we’re teaching about those things in the context of protecting them,” Moeller said.

Sustainability will be in the forefront of campus life in the next few weeks, as several groups work to solve this huge issue. Promoting positive change and increasing awareness is necessary to make these things possible.

“We live at Gustavus and people have experiences that don’t align with those that are most impacted of climate change. It’s hard to connect. For me it’s about bridging that connection because in the end we all breathe the same air, live on the same land, and share the same space,” Ektnitphong said.

For information on Earth Week events, contact Scott Moeller. For more information on the Justice, Faith, and Climate Change event, contact Deborah Goodwin.

-Laura Isdahl