The annual Campus Sustainability Month is approaching its end for this year. Many new events have taken place across this past month with just a few more before it all wraps up. 

The University hosted many events for Campus Sustainability Month for the entirety of October in order to spread awareness of the sustainability issues and events happening around campus.

Originally, campus sustainability month started as a week-long event to raise awareness of the ongoing sustainability projects on campus. It has now expanded to the entirety of October each year.

Maria Maring, senior in LAS and a current communications intern for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment, helped oversee some of the events this month such as the Campus Sustainability Day. Maring described how they hold an annual sustainability conference each year, with this year’s being online and consisting of panelists and talks. 

“There is also Illinois Lights Out which is where students go around campus on a Friday and turn off lights, with one taking place in November,” Maring said. 

The Student Sustainability Leadership Council and the Student Sustainability Council coordinated and held the first ever Student Sustainability Summit this past month. This summit was a series of student-led events which consisted of a Green Quad Day, research symposium and a lecture series at Bevier café. 

“Looking forward, April is Earth Month where similar events will be held throughout the entire month. Although every month is Earth Month, we’re planning events for it right now,” Maring said. 

Jack Reicherts, junior in Engineering and co-president of SSLC, described how this year, they planned for more events than ever. Reicherts described the SSLC’s slow transition to allowing student organizations to have a more active role in sustainability efforts, such as participating in Green Quad Day. 

“All of these different people who are working really hard to make our campus become a more sustainable place, we gave them direct spotlight in the union,” Reicherts said. “It has been my favorite event so far and was a blast due to how many people had come out.” 

There are more sustainability events coming this month including a Sustainability Research Symposium featuring undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members.

With October coming to an end, Reicherts said how they’re beginning to plan similar events in April such as another Green Quad Day and café talks to highlight sustainability.

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