Green Practices Planted At Harvest Fest

Last Thursday, students were surprised to find out they could recycle more than just pieces of paper and water bottles at EcoPledge's Harvest Fest.

The month of October has unofficially been declared "green" month; students and groups on campus have worked to make others aware of how to create a more sustainable campus.

"Our goal is to create awareness on BC's campus of the many important environmental issues that affect everyone's lives, which range from what we eat to what we buy to how we get from place to place," Natalie Raffol, co-leader of EcoPledge, co-director of sustainability for the UGBC, and A&S '10, said.

Throughout this month, several events will focus on promoting ways for students to "live green." The events include a screening of Food Inc., a film about the American food industry, an "Eco-product Night," a celebration of International Day of Climate Action, and an environmentally-friendly fashion show.

At the festival Thursday, students promoted green awareness with posters and activities that gave students opportunities to donate old jeans, learn about what can and cannot be recycled, plant flowers, sign up for events to help promote climate change, and even to make suggestions as to how BC students can live a more ecologically friendly life.

"Many people were surprised to find to you can recycle a lot more than the typical bottle or cardboard box," Raffol said. "We had recyclables including plastic iced coffee cups, aluminum foil, and even spiral bound notebooks."

Harvest Fest also provided students with information on how to sign up for an event called MAPS, a sleep-out event in Boston Commons to promote climate change awareness. The event will take place Oct. 25.

At the festival, students also engaged in a water taste test during which they were asked if they could tell the difference between three kinds of water: Smart Water, filtered water, and Brita-filtered water. While some people could taste the difference, many were deceived.

"I even mixed up the Brita-filtered and tap water," Raffol said. "Some people even mistook Smart Water for tap water."

The goal of the taste test was to prove to students that the differences between tap water and bottled water are trivial.

"I think the main point is that the difference in taste is so small it's not worth $4 to buy bottled water that has devastating effects on the environment and sources of water throughout the world," Raffol said. In attendance at the Festival was Real Food BC, a group of which Julia Gabbert, A&S '10, is a founding member.

"This world has a serious food issue on both a local and global scale and something really needs to be done,"Gabbert said.

"We created the goal of getting a cafe on campus dedicated to serving more local, sustainable, and organic food because it is focused and visible," Gabbert said. "We thought that it was a great way to educate, while also being political about food choices."

Gabbert has even gone as far as to help change the kind of apples being served in BC's dining halls.

"If you look in the dining hall today, you'll see that most of the apples we have in there right now are from Washington state, but we are in the height of apple season in New England," she said.

Gabbert said that when students see the apples from New England they are discouraged from buying them because they might not look as attractive as apples from Chile or New Zealand.

What they don't know is that the taste of New England apples is superior to that of foreign apples, Gabbert said.

Although the weather presented complications, it was successful in informing students on ways to help improve their environment at BC as well as at home, Raffol said.

While many students participated in activities at the event itself, Raffol said she believes that the group was also successful in promoting long-term projects on campus, as well.

"I think both the University and the students have come a long way, since I was a freshman here. EcoPledge was a very small group of 10 dedicated students up against the huge institution that seemed reluctant to change. Now our listserv includes hundreds of students," Raffol said.

Natalie said she hopes Harvest Fest was successful in making students aware of how the Earth affects everyone.

"Hopefully, students will change their living habits by learning and having fun. Sustainability has a structural side, which focuses on improving energy efficiency, green building, and making infrastructure to support localized living and public transportation," she said. "However, the other side is behavioral and people must actively engage in what they do, what they buy, and what they eat to reduce energy usage and decrease climate change," she said.