Students, faculty, vendors, student organizations and environmental groups gathered in the Brickyard on Wednesday in celebration of Earth Day.
The event featured roughly 75 different organizations, each with their own booth.
At the different booths, students could win prizes, like t-shirts, buttons and water bottles, and learn more about maintaining a sustainable lifestyle and making environmentally friendly decisions.
“I like how N.C. State hosts awareness events,” Susan Mykalcio, a freshman in computer engineering, said. “They’re always large, so they draw my attention and I get to learn a lot of vital information.”
Students could also sign the “For the Farm” pledge, which states their desire to incorporate more locally grown food into dining facilities on campus.
Lindsay Batchelor, program development specialist for the University Sustainability Office, explained that the For the Farm initiative would allow for students to grow food on campus to be served in dining halls.
The number of in-person pledges was “easily 750 and quickly reaching 1,000,” according to Batchelor.
Students can still sign the pledge online or in person at any of the Earth Day events.
Samantha Hinson, a senior in biological sciences, said she appreciated the emphasis on local food.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to raise awareness about how N.C. State is going local,” Hinson said. “It’s good to get back to roots as an agricultural institution.”
William Paige, an Earth Day volunteer and senior in tourism management, agreed with Hinson.
“We’re an agricultural school, but we don’t have anything in place where students can grow crops for other students to eat on campus,” Paige said.
Paige added that having a system like For the Farm would support University Dining and students studying agriculture.
WESA completed another art project for its Plastic Propaganda campaign and displayed it at the event. Flowers made from 1,000 plastic bottles were given to those who went to the event to raise awareness about single-use plastic waste.
86it, a Wake County based campaign to encourage people not to litter, was also at the event.
“It’s important to keep our roads and sidewalks clean because litter can end up in storm drains and then be carried to bodies of water and our water supply,” Jenny Bonchak, a representative with 86it, said. “We want to build pride, keep communities beautiful, and protect our natural resources.”
Another booth was hosted by NC GreenPower, a Raleigh-based non-profit.
GreenPower works with individuals and businesses to help them utilize clean energy, which includes electricity that is generated from
