Hello and welcome to 2018! Whether you’re a person who makes new year resolutions or not, there is always time for growth through new habits and experiences. Are one of your goals to be more sustainable? Great! We’ve got you covered. Here are a few ways you can be more sustainable on campus!

Join a team

Missouri State has plenty of teams you can join if you want to be around more sustainable students. I’ll provide a couple examples below.

You could join Students for a Sustainable Future! The purpose of SSF is to educate and motivate students, staff, and the community on different sustainable habits, as well as the impact these habits could have on the community. This group is well informed and ready to make campus a more sustainable place

You could also look into joining Eco-Reps! The Missouri State Eco-Reps are trained to provide education, motivation, and help to students who want to look into being more sustainable. You can find more information and even apply for Eco-Reps using the link here.

When the weather gets warmer, look into helping out at the Campus Garden! It’s a student-managed project made possible by the Sustainability Commission (more on that later). Food that is grown in the Campus Garden is given to students and members of campus, as well as people in the Springfield community! You can sign up to help at the Campus Garden using the link here.

Make little adjustments to daily habits

There are some daily habits that people partake in that could be a lo more sustainable if they just put in the effort.

For example, rather than getting the plastic cups at coffee shops, I started taking in my own thermos and having them put my coffee in that instead. On other days, I’ll make coffee from the comfort of my own dorm room. I’ll unplug the coffee pot when I know I’m done with it!

Another example is taking the Bear Line downtown instead of driving. Not only am I saving gas, but it also forces me to spend more time outside of my room. It’s as easy as that!

 

Start small

Being green on campus doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to go out and buy new products all at once. Being more sustainable could be doing something as small and easy as using the recycling bin! You can also take shorter showers and unplug things you’re not using!

 

Speak up

There are a few things you can do to make sure your voice is heard on campus and in the Springfield community.

You could join the SGA Sustainability Commission, which is a group of students and members of the Springfield community who administer the Sustainability Fund. Their purpose is to make sure voices are heard, and that student-initiated projects are implemented on campus so that negative environmental impacts are lessened. They can reject projects that are environmentally harmful as well. This is a valuable learning experience for all involved, and more information can be found here.

Do you have an idea that will make campus more sustainable? We’d love to hear it! You can submit your Green Idea using the link here.