For one fall afternoon, part of campus will be transformed into an eco-friendly extravaganza, complete with games, giveaways and a recycled clothing fashion show. This Sunday, Nov. 14, the Student Environmental Action Coalition will host the second-annual America Recycles Day from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Sunken Garden.
The free event, organized by SEAC’s Recycling Committee, intends to educate the school community about recycling and other environmental issues, while also providing attendees with a lively atmosphere.
The club hopes to attract students through fun activities, such as parachute games, free food and live music.
“Our biggest job is promoting awareness of recycling, but we also want to make it as fun [of] an event as possible,” SEAC Recycling Committee member Sharon Hartzell ’14 said.
Throughout the event, SEAC will be offering free cookies and apple cider to those who bring their own mugs. Two student bands, The Pseudo Hipcats and Beast and the Masters, will be playing for the first four hours of the event. The Lorax and the Griffin will also be making a joint onstage appearance.
Tables stocked with free giveaways, raffles and tips on how to be more environmentally friendly will line the garden. SEAC will give away eco-friendly shopping bags and raffle off Wawa gift cards. By bringing a recyclable item to the event, you will automatically be entered in the raffle.
Although the day has an educational purpose, another highlight is the Recycled Fashion Show. The Sunken Garden will be transformed into a runway as students model outfits they have constructed entirely out of recycled materials.
Last year some of the re-imagined recycled items constructed into dresses included used paper, candy wrappers and trash bags. This year’s designers have been working on their designs for weeks. Recycling designer Grace McGinnis ’11 designed a dress for the show made out of recycled cookie packages and other materials. She said she constructed the skirt portion out of ginger snap packages she had lying around.
“This will actually be my first year attending [and designing for] the event,” McGinnis said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the creative recycled outfits that everyone comes up with, and I hope it helps raise awareness about how much garbage we throw out each year.”
Although some students have been working for weeks on such outfits, all students are invited to create their own recycled fashions and participate in the show beginning Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The Griffin and College President Taylor Reveley will judge the event. Winners will receive $25 gift cards from Goodwill and The Cheese Shop. There is no cost to enter the event, and all are encouraged to come watch.
This year’s event has a particular significance because it marks the first school year in which the College has instituted a school-run recycling program. Over the past two years, the College has raised its sustainability rating grade from a D- to a B+ and much of this improvement is due to the recycling program, according to Sustainable Endowments Institute’s 2011 Green Report Cards.
In previous years, the all-school recycling program was limited to dorm rooms and some academic buildings and functioned on a volunteer basis. Now due to the efforts of the SEAC Recycling Committee, the College has recycling receptacles in each academic building, dorm and dining hall, as well as large recycling bins located around campus.
“With this event, we are hoping to continue enhancing the recycling program,” SEAC Recycling Committee member Jamison Shebanowitz ’12 said. “It’s amazing how far recycling on campus has come since last year.”
SEAC hopes to branch out and educate as many people as possible.
“If you’re going to have any sort of sustained recycling program on campus, you need a variety of people involved,” Shebanowitz said. “America Recycles Day is a good event for all people — whether you are in SEAC, in a sorority, or on the football team. We want all types of people out there Sunday. Plus, when you have Reveley, the Griffin, the Lorax and free food and drinks in the Sunken Garden, who wouldn’t want to be there?”