Despite attempts to scale Earth Month back to fewer events, it is as big this year as it has ever been at the university.
Earth Month, which was held for the first time at Chico State in 1999, has grown bigger and has taken on a life of its own, A.S. Recycling Coordinator Robyn DiFalco said.
"Our goal this year was to actually scale it back a little bit," DiFalco said. "It hasn't really quieted down."
Students and the community celebrate Earth Month through different events, including lectures, workshops and films, according to aschico.com. The events focus on education about environmental awareness and sustainability.
Today is Earth Day, which is the highlight of Earth Month. Seven events will be held today, including an electric car display and information booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Free Speech Area and a papermaking workshop at 6 p.m. in Glenn Hall, Room 210, according to aschico.com.
Because of Earth Month, spring is the busiest time of the year for A.S. Sustainability and Recycling in the Bell Memorial Union, DiFalco said.
"These weeks, when it's in the thick of it, I feel like a Mack truck's blowing by me all the time," DiFalco said.
The organization has also become busy in the fall with the Sustainability Conference, which brings environmentalists together to advocate sustainability, DiFalco said. But it's worth it to educate students.
DiFalco thinks all of the effort to be sustainable has made Chico State one of the greener campuses and Chico one of the greener cities in the United States, she said.
"Momentum and inertia has been building for a few years," DiFalco said. "Now, there's a lot going on and there's a lot of attention being paid."
A.S. Sustainability and Recycling receives about $2,500 from student activity money that goes toward putting on Earth Month, DiFalco said. Most of that money is reimbursed through T-shirt sales, which run about $10 each.
All of the promotion of Earth Month goes to support individual groups that put on various events from conferences to activities, DiFalco said.
One of the most eye-catching promotions was a plastic-bag costume worn by senior Carol Bear, a member of Net Impact, a group which aims to improve the community through business. She wore the costume while walking through campus to draw attention to Earth Month.
Juan Blanco, assistant residence community coordinator, and Bertha Lonzi, resident community coordinator, helped put on the event, "Yours, Mine, Ours Yard Sale," Friday. Coordinators collected various items from on-campus residents, fraternities and sororities to sell, Blanco said. Instead of people throwing unwanted items away, someone else can use them.
"We're taking items out of landfills, we're making money for organizations," Blanco said. "And things that don't sell, the ARC will take them."
It's all about bringing the community together to share unwanted items instead of throwing them away, Blanco said.
Graduate Mark Herrera, compost education coordinator for A.S. Sustainability and Recycling, is also passionate about the environment and keeping things out of landfills, which are the second largest producer of methane gas, he said.
Herrera put on a workshop Saturday to educate people about composting and demonstrated different techniques, he said.
Landfills are linear, Herrera said. A person buys something and then throws it away.
People should try to be more circular by composting their waste and reusing what they can, he said.
The student involvement in Earth Month is what sets Chico State apart from other schools, DiFalco said. The student involvement draws attention from her counterparts at other colleges.
"So many of these things are student-driven," DiFalco said. "That's really impressive."
Mike North can be reached at mnorth@theorion.com
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