Last modified: Friday, April 5, 2013
Fifth annual SustainIU Week taking place at IU Bloomington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The fifth annual SustainIU Week, organized by the Student Sustainability Council at Indiana University Bloomington and taking place throughout next week, will spread awareness about sustainability and show how individuals can have a positive impact on their environment, economy and society.
This initiative, titled "Supply Change," features a week of diverse events focused on environmental and sustainability issues. Events will kick off on Saturday, April 6, with the first Student Sustainability Summit and will end Friday, April 12. Admission to all events is free. For a full list of events and their time and location, visit the SustainIU website.
The Sustainability Leadership Summit will gather student leaders in sustainability to discuss the future of the sustainability movement at IU Bloomington. Highlighting the week is the screening of "Everglades of the North," a documentary created by a group of Indiana natives to tell the history of Grand Kankakee Marsh.
SustainIU Week will feature several workshops, some of which are focused on sustainable food and led by chef Daniel Orr of Farm Bloomington, and platforms in sustainability. Other events include a Green Cyber Infrastructure Building Tour, a film screening, an Oxfam concert and a major tree planting event.
The week will conclude with an Arbor Day-Earth Day tree planting at 10 a.m. Friday in Dunn Meadow, sponsored by Campus Division, the Integrated Program in the Environment, the Office of Sustainability and the Student Sustainability Council. Volunteers are invited -- no tree-planting experience necessary. The IU Energy Challenge Awards and the Michael Hamburger Award for Sustainability Action will be presented at the tree-planting celebration. For information, email sustain@indiana.edu.
SustainIU incorporates student initiatives that extend beyond the week of focused events, including a Coal Free IU-sponsored tour to the IU Physical Plant. Another student group, the Oxfam Club at IU will host the first Oxfam Benefit Concert, proceeds from which will support those affected by a food crisis in West Africa's Sahel region. Oxfam at IU is a newly established chapter which advocates for social and environmental justice.
"The great thing about this year's SustainIU theme, "Supply Change," is that it relates to every aspect of sustainability and will foster greater collaboration between SSC member organizations to work toward a shared vision," said Lauren Kastner, vice president of Coal Free IU.
About the Student Sustainability Council
The Student Sustainability Council serves to promote communication and collaboration among member organizations, advise the Indiana University Office of Sustainability from the perspectives of the students, reduce the negative effects of the university on the natural environment, promote social and economic justice and engage the IU student body in these issues.
Council member organizations include Alpha Phi Omega, American Cetacean Society Student Coalition, Building Tomorrow, Coal Free IU, E-Force, Environmental Law Society, Environmental Management Association, Global Village LLC, Graduate and Professional Student Organization, Greeks Go Green, Indiana Public Interest Research Group, IU Student Association, Residence Halls Association, Revitalizing Animal Well-Being, IU Slow Food, SPEA Undergraduate Student Association, Students Producing Organics Under the Sun, Sustainable Development Association, Veg IU and Volunteers in Sustainability.
For more information, visit the Student Sustainability Council website.
