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New environmental group steps up, advises students to ‘go green’ |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
by KELLY BURCHFIELD
Intern News Reporter
GREEN, a new environmental group on campus, erected an 8-foot-tall tree made of recyclable items on Sanford Mall Wednesday.
GREEN stands for Growing a Responsible Environmental Education Network.
Junior public relations major J.L. “Ren” Toner said she was thinking of a way to get students to notice the new group and came up with the idea to build a tree made of recyclable items called the “sustainabiliTREE.”
Toner is a founding member, as well as public relations representative for the group.
She said GREEN’s constitution was established last semester but this was their first big event.
Students were encouraged to bring recyclable items to the event Wednesday, Toner said.
“We wanted to give people a chance to recycle things they wouldn’t
normally be able to recycle on campus, like appliances and bottles that
won’t fit in some of the overflowing bins on campus,” she said.
 Caitlin E. Lamb stands beside the
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Freshman undecided major Caitlin E. Lamb is the vice chairperson for GREEN.
Webb said the event was a success because of the number of interested
students who came out to ask questions about the group and the tree.
“There are a lot of environmental groups on campus but not a lot of
students are involved,” Toner said. “We want to bridge the gap by
educating students about ways they can green their lives.”
She said GREEN plans to speak to classes, clubs and campus ministries, and eventually expand into the Boone community.
“We have planned to speak to a few freshman seminar classes already,” Lamb said. “We hope to speak to all the [freshman seminar] classes by
the end of the semester.”
She said it is important for students to know how to create a sustainable environment on campus.
“It’s not that there aren’t enough recycling bins on campus,” she said.
“Students just need to realize that it’s not harder to throw something
in a recycle bin than it is to throw it in the trash.”
Freshman business management major David C. Barton said he would like
GREEN to visit his freshman seminar class to break up the routine.
“I don’t think that they could captivate our attention for an hour and
15 minutes but I would listen for like 30 minutes,” he said. “I would
be interested in what they had to say if they told me things I didn’t
know.”
Toner said GREEN meets every Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Roan Mountain Room of Plemmons Student Union.
She said professors, clubs and organizations can invite GREEN to speak via e-mail at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Debbie G. Poulos, a freshman seminar professor, said GREEN’s efforts have the potential to create a long-term impact.
“The more students, faculty and staff are aware of ways to be green,
the more our campus and community will benefit,” she said. “I also
think that students can pass their new knowledge of being green along
to their families and home communities.”
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