This Wednesday, April 17, in preparation for the annual celebration of planet Earth, the Office of Sustainability at the University of Connecticut put together an Earth Day Spring Fling. The event was held on Fairfield Way from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offered an array of eco-friendly activities and over 40 vendors, the former ranging from plant potting to goat yoga. Yes, you read that right; goats were brought on campus to accompany a group yoga session.
All vendors and organizations in the event are committed to sustainability and its promotion on campus. While students picked up “Make America Green Again” stickers and browsed through secondhand clothing items, they enjoyed vegan burgers and salads-on-a-stick, made by UConn Dining. Outside of Fairfield Way, those exploring the campus in the pleasant 63-degree weather the day offered could also sign up for a Party Peddler Bike Tour.
The Peddler Bike consists of an open trolley with 12 pedaled seats for students to take a tour of campus without using fossil fuels. The tour, hosted by Elm City Party Bike, provided students with information about sustainability sites throughout campus, such as UConn’s Co-generation Plant. The trolley, like a traditional tour bus, blasted music filled with positive vibes through its speaker, ensuring that students saw campus through rose — or should I say green — colored glasses.
Students representing eco-friendly organizations on campus projected the positive energies that the event promised. Representatives of Spring Valley Student Farm, an organization at UConn that grows produce for dining services, were glad to attend the event. Several representatives expressed how the student-led organization motivates students to advocate for sustainability. The organization makes students realize that if other members of UConn are so involved in sustainable matters in their campus, they can do it too. The organization spent the evening giving away Marigold plants in recycled newspaper pots, which further proved their commitment to the cause.
Sustainability is important to me just because I think we should all be a little sustainable in our lifestyles and consider where we purchase items.
Madeline Kline, eighth-semester
The student-led UConn Swap Shop also appeared at the event. The innovative shop works on a system where customers can exchange clothing for other items based on the quality, which prevents the disposal of clothing made with contaminating plastics.
Eighth-semester student Madeline Kline, who represented the shop this afternoon, said “Sustainability is important to me just because I think we should all be a little sustainable in our lifestyles and consider where we purchase items.” Kline also emphasized the importance of “getting clothing items sustainably because there’s so many fast-fashion companies that pollute the environment.”
The activity that most students looked forward to was definitely goat yoga. The activity required a much wider space than what Fairfield Way offered, so it was held at the Great Lawn next to the Philip E. Austin building. The activity gave students a space on the lawn to lay down their mats, open their chakras and relax during the evening with guidance from an instructor. When students settled down onto their mats, fifteen goats were released by professionals and joined in on the fun. The goats settled on students’ backs, galloped around them and ran amongst the students in a fenced-in area. With laughter and joy coming from participants, it was definitely an unforgettable and quite unique experience.
As the event ended, representatives of the Office of Sustainability shared insights about their cause. Lilly Adamo, an eighth-semester environmental studies and political science major who interns for the office, explained, “I think [sustainability] is one of the biggest issues that we’re facing right now, so it’s really cool to be able to work with people who are also passionate about addressing things, but also be able to be involved in the sustainability space.”
The Earth Day Spring Fling may have come to an end, but students definitely will continue to make informed environmental decisions after these experiences.