Written by Madison Meeks.
A group of students recently founded Sustainable Harding University (SHU), a new organization on campus aiming to inform students to spark change and create a sustainable campus for the future.
“Recycling is important to me because it limits the demands for new resources to be put into action,” sophomore Abbi Rockwell, president and founder of SHU, said. “I want our [forests] to stand tall, our oceans to stay clean, our bauxite ore to stay in the ground and our carbon footprint to plummet. Thankfully, if we recycle and recycle correctly, these things can happen.”
Rockwell encourages students to remember how each person can make a difference and sustain campus and the earth.
Although the club does not yet have regular meetings, they participate in opportunities around campus to learn more about sustainability. Rockwell said she hopes students can take an interest and learn more about recycling, including what can and cannot be recycled. Labeling is a small thing but can help guide the campus in the right direction for knowing what can be sorted and reused, according to Rockwell.
“All students of all majors are welcome to come and join,” sophomore Evan Morgan, vice president of SHU, said. “We can make campus cleaner, greener and more sustainable for future Bison to come. I want to see changes in the ways we all currently live. I believe that we can all make small and subliminal changes in our lives to decrease one’s carbon footprint.”
Morgan said that small changes can make a difference and ultimately reduce people’s carbon footprint and create a more sustainable world.
“My role through Sustainable Harding is to seek out ways for improvement,” freshman McKinley Haskins said. “I am involved with this organization to help us create a cleaner and greener campus.”
Haskins encourages new students to seek out things they are passionate about and be the positive change. Haskins said she wants to see more recycling options available around campus — especially in dorms.
For more information, students may visit @sustainable.harding on Instagram or contact Morgan to learn about a living more sustainably.
