The 2018 Earth Fair held in the Brickyard educated the NC State community about sustainability through engaging information and activities on Wednesday.
The fair, hosted by the NC State Sustainability Office, included a wide variety of vendors from around the NC State campus and surrounding community to showcase what they do for sustainability on campus and within the Raleigh area. Participants advertised their ideas and actions through engagement activities and speaking to students, faculty and staff.
Lindsay Batchelor, program coordinator for NC State’s Sustainability Office, said she thinks the vendors continue to progress and broaden each year.
“In general the types of vendors that we have out has improved,” Batchelor said. “We have expanded our definition of sustainability and what’s included in sustainability. So each year we expand who’s included in our vendors.”
Student clubs participated in the fair as well, like the horticulture club. John Nix, a third-year studying horticulture and the president of the horticulture club, spoke about the importance of the club attending the fair for the first time.
“We want people to start coming to our meetings and join our club who are excited and passionate about plants,” Nix said. “We are also here today to sell plants to make money for the club. We grew all of these plants at the [greenhouses] here on campus. The club members have helped to grow all of these plants and the funds will go to support the club and our activities throughout the year.”
The horticulture club also had a raffle and the proceeds will be donated to benefit the JC Raulston’s education program.
There were many vendors promoting sustainability and environmentally friendly practices for students. Devin McLean, the office manager for Limebike, was at the fair to promote sustainability on campus and in the community through sustainable transportation.
“We offer alternative mobility solutions rather than having people drive cars around campus and using parking because parking can always be a pain,” Mclean said. “So we offer everybody an opportunity to ride bikes around campus since not everybody is able to own a bike or bring a bike to campus. Limebike solves that solution by having bikes positioned on campus.”
As a student, it is only $0.50 per half hour to ride the bikes.
Ben Dodson, a fourth-year studying environmental sciences and treasurer for the NC State sustainability fund, helps to fund sustainability projects and proposals around campus.
“We get ideas for proposals and we select proposals,” Dodson said. “It can be things like campus facilities improvements, research, internships or educational things. We just try to fund it all so whatever the idea is, we will do it. We don’t have limits on how much an award can be, it just depends on what we can get it and we try and get a mix of small, medium and large projects. It can be from $500-$50,000. So we give out about $150,000 each year total.”
The fair is a not only a place for vendors to showcase what they do, but also a way to get students motivated to become sustainable in their own lives and around campus. With major foot traffic coming through the Brickyard each day, the fair is noticed by many. Mariyam Modan, a first-year studying life sciences and human biology, said she felt motivated after attending the fair.
“It’s my first time at the Earth Fair and it is really nice to be here,” Modan said. “Even though we have a lot of resources on campus that allow us to have sustainable methods of recycling and transportation, it’s nice to see it all in one place. This way even people who don’t know about it can know more and it’s easier for them to take advantage of those kinds of things.”
At the end of the day, the fair’s main goal was to showcase the resources and projects happening around campus and our community and to motivate students to be attentive of sustainability.
“It’s really just about being thoughtful and being thoughtful about your impact and what you’re eating, what you’re wearing, what you’re doing, what you’re buying.” Batchelor said. “Whether you’re flipping off a light when you walk out a room, you know, it’s really just a thoughtful lens to your daily life so if there’s one tip I would give about it it’s just being thoughtful.”
