Sustainability club plans Earth Week

An event that is usually constrained to a single day in celebration of Earth is being celebrated this year for an entire week on campus. The Sustainability Club invites Xavier to celebrate Earth Week, April 16-22.

The week's kick-off on April 16, will include live music, sustainability bingo, herb planting and food from Chipotle. Students will also learn how to make homemade

composting bins. Other events throughout the week include the showing of the documentary, Wasteland, tours of the Rumpke landfill, composting demonstrations at the NEXUS community garden and community trash pick-up, as well as "SustainabiliTEA," a discussion hosted by Student Activities Council. At an event called "Taste of Xavier," local "restaurants, businesses and resources will be on campus to educate students on ways to support the local community," junior Elle Ross, sustainability intern and co-president of Sustainability Club, said via e-mail.

On Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, the Bellarmine Chapel Mass at 10 p.m. will take on a special sustainability theme.

"Earth Day is important to celebrate... because it's a chance to step back and appreciate the natural

beauty the world has to offer, which is sometimes overlooked in [our] everyday routines," Ross said.

Ross noted that there has been an increase in student interest in Earth Day as well as sustainability in general.

"We would love for this to be the highest attended Earth Week to date," she said. "Earth Week will hopefully be a wonderful spark in educating campus, while also showing students other ways to get involved either individually

or through the Sustainability Club." She also said that it is important to remember that the word "sustainability" does not just apply to the environment. "Sustainability...also speaks to social and economic sustainability," she said. "I try to live a sustainable lifestyle every day, but Earth Day is a humble reminder that we only have one Earth to share."