(Photo by: Cady Herring)
Cody Thurkill, 9, looks at litter that has been collected from the University of Mississippi campus during last year’s green week.
Oxford and the University of Mississippi are prepping for the annual celebration of Green Week starting this Saturday with events that can to appeal to a range of students.
Joe Scott, Green Week marketing and communications intern, said he loves how Green Week provides unique opportunities for students, faculty and staff to come together to get involved and learn more about sustainability.
“My favorite part of Green Week is the cooperation and the involvement that it generates in the campus community,” Scott said.
The first event of the week will be off-campus. The Mississippi River Water Dance will kick off 2:30 p.m. on Saturday on Mud Island River in Memphis. The event is organized by the Mississippi Dance Company and the Green Fund as a part of the National Water Dance Movement.
The first on-campus event is the Tree Trail Walk, a tour of campus trees guided by a licensed arborist. Kendall McDonald, fellow for the UM Office of Sustainability, said the walk will take place twice – Monday at 10 a.m. and Tuesday at 1 p.m. The groups will meet in front of the fountain in the Quad.
The Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network and Sustainable Oxford will host the movie “End of Suburbia” from 6 to 8 p.m Tuesday night at their local office on Highway 338.
McDonald said she likes the variety of events students are able to attend.
“We try to plan our events in a way that they engage a broad audience and incorporate many different entities on campus so it really is a community-wide celebration of sustainability,” McDonald said.
Mcdonald said they try to touch on many different topics and issues so the week’s events are comprehensive and educational.
McDonald explained that the office tries to touch on many different topics and issues so the week’s events are comprehensive and educational. All of the projects included in the week are funded by the UM Green Fund.
Some of the other events taking place during the week include a panel discussion, film screening and the sustainability fair.
The fair takes place every year as a fun and interactive way for students to learn more about sustainability at Ole Miss, complete with vendor and organization participation.
Kelli Coleman junior biology is also a Green Week intern at the University. She said the sustainability fair is an informative opportunity.
“The goal of the fair is to offer a wide range of information for anyone wanting to learn more about sustainability on campus and in our community,” Coleman said.
Coleman said Green Week is an opportunity to spread the word about environmental issues and create a call to action.
On Thursday, the day will begin with “Brunch and Bloom”, a brunch starting at 11 a.m. in the UM Campus Garden. Poet and novelist Linda Hogan will end the day as the week’s keynote speaker. She will be speaking 7 p.m. Thursday in the Ford Center with a talk titled, “Speaking Earth.”
The week will conclude the following weekend with an Earth Day and nature and yoga hike Friday with separate sunrise and sunset sessions, an Arbor Day tree planting at noon across from Brevard Hall and finish with a sustainable Oxford potluck 6 to 8 p.m. April 24 at the Powerhouse.
For Scott, Green Week is an expression of the values by which he lives.
“Green Week is a celebration of all my favorite values,” Scott said. “Sustainability is a non-partisan, unifying issue that we can all agree with. Sustainability is a commitment to environmental well-being, economic prosperity and personal health. At the end of the day, it’s simply about making our community a place to live.”
