Ellie Kahn
Contributing Writer
Greenhouse, the student environmental organization at The College of Wooster, will soon attend the Mid-West Student Coalition for Climate Action, a conference that will take place on April 1. The conference is a collaboration on behalf of the Five Colleges of Ohio consortium, which includes Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College and Ohio Wesleyan University, in addition to Wooster.
Members of Greenhouse will serve as representatives of the College to present on the successes and challenges found when implementing environmental change specifically at Wooster.
When asked about the upcoming conference, Laura Leventhal ’18, who serves as the current president of Greenhouse, said, “All of the sustainability clubs from the Ohio 5 schools will come together and talk about successes and challenges they’ve seen on their campus while trying to implement change. Additionally, it will serve as an interdisciplinary forum for discussing climate change and climate action.”
This conference, which hopes to become an annual event, is particularly exciting as it is the first one of its kind to take place in the midwest, allowing representatives from all five schools to come together and collaborate on environmental and relevant issues.
The conference itinerary is equally as impressive, and seems to be action-packed. As Leventhal elaborates, “There [will be] several keynote speakers, networking opportunities, break-out sessions, sustainability and climate change presentations and a closing celebration.”
At Wooster, Greenhouse is composed of 20 active student members, and is advised by Dr. Setsuko Matsuzawa, a professor of sociology and the Chair of East Asian Studies at the College. Meeting every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Lowry 119, the club brings more awareness to the campus community about various environmental issues, crearing initiatives and projects that promote sustainability.
Greenhouse works in collaboration with members of the administration, such as Dining Management as well as Waste Management and the Grounds Department to ensure that The College of Wooster is as eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable as possible.
In the past, Greenhouse has worked on a number of projects, including increasing the College’s rating in the Campus Sustainability Report Card, as well as implementing automatic hand dryers in several bathrooms around campus.
Currently, Greenhouse is “working on creating an on campus Free-Store, which would serve as a way to divert waste from landfills and as a forum for the free exchange of goods between staff, students and faculty,” said Leventhal.
Additionally, Greenhouse is the group that coordinates and plans Earthfest, an annual campus-wide celebration of the earth and sustainability. Greenhouse is already working hard on this years’ Earthfest celebration, which will take place on Friday, April 21 from 4 – 7 p.m. on Lowry Patio.
That same day, Greenhouse will host a “brown bag lunch” at noon in the CoRE, for “students to attend and learn about how they can be sustainable and fight climate change on this campus,” said Leventhal.