From discussing water policies to holding campus yard sales, Environmental Advocacy, Restoration and Technology for Humanity club at ASU West campus is seeking to establish a sustainable future through student-led involvement on campus.
Business junior Kaysey England, one of the founders of the E.A.R.T.H. club, said the it's is still gaining members, but is currently focusing on workshops and student-led events to accompany Earth Month.
Past events put on by the E.A.R.T.H club include minimizing packaging wastes and advocating sustainable living habits by making DIY laundry detergent, lotion, sunscreen, toothpaste and face scrubs.
England said coming together and participating in these workshops acts as an environmental, social and economical initiative to raise awareness to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
England said the club has also taken the ideas from these workshops and distilled them into real benefits for the ASU community.
The E.A.R.T.H. club has partnered with organizations such as Borderlands Food Bank to have surplus produce delivered to the metro Phoenix area and distributed to places such as the West campus.
"This produce would normally end up in landfills because of minor imperfections," England said. "And organizations such as the E.A.R.T.H. club help reduce the chances of it going to waste."
For two years, the E.A.R.T.H. club has been organizing and selling the produce to the ASU West campus at $10 for 60 pounds of produce.
“Making ASU West fully sustainable is one of my main goals,” England said.
Members of the club, such as Miranda Vega , an environmental science senior, share England's goal.
Her passion for the environment stems from personal impact from climate change.
“My family is being directly affected by climate change in Mexico," Vega said. "They have to travel miles just to get fresh water. We are directly seeing the effects of climate change.”
She believes that being a part of the club has led her to care more for the environment when it comes to protecting, conserving and advocating for it.
“I am very passionate about the environment and education," Vega said. "My ultimate goal is to become a professor and teach environmental science."
JoEllen Alberhasky, the faculty advisor for the E.A.R.T.H. club, said working with fellow members is motivating, especially when small ideas turn into huge events on campus.
“The whole idea of sustainability is very broad," she said. "There's an environmental, economical and social piece to it."
Alberhasky said she believes college students now are paying more attention to their impact on the environment than ever before, something she sees as a crucial step forward in the conservation effort.
"It is going to make a difference," Alberhasky said. "And we really need to make (that) difference."
Several upcoming events have been planned by the club for Earth Month including Sparky’s Yard Sale, Screening Leonardo DiCaprio's "Before the Flood," and March for Science.
Reach the reporter at quindrea.yazzie@asu.eduor follow @quindreayazzie on Twitter.
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