Green Unity Club Brings Sustainability to VCU
Once a year in April, we take a day to show the planet some love.
Rebecca Frankel
Contributing Writer
UPDATE: Earth Day Bazaar has been moved to Wednesday due to Monday’s weather.
Once a year in April, we take a day to show the planet some love.
Earth Day is right around the corner and VCU’s Green Unity Club is not playing around this year. VCU Earth Week is from Monday, April 20 to Thursday, April 23 and will be packed full of events geared to teach attendees how to make the world a greener place.
“We want to celebrate Earth Day and promote green initiative,” said Katie McAndrew, a member of the Green Unity Leadership Team. “It’s a whole week where people can get excited, we want people to get motivated for the long term and create a cultural shift.”
The week kicks off with the Earth Day Bazaar, which will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Commons Plaza. It will feature eco-friendly local businesses and students can come and learn about environmental movements at VCU, plant herbs or browse the various vendors.
On Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. there will be a cooking demonstration and tasting using seasonal, local ingredients with the Well and Byrd House Renegade Market in the Forum Room of the Commons. From 2-3 p.m. there will be a Town Hall Meeting in the Commons Underground hosted by the VCU Office of Sustainability. Tuesday also promises a composting with worms workshop and a snake workshop that will attempt to debunk common myths about snakes using live snakes.
On Wednesday, the VCU Students for Social Action and the VA Chapter Sierra Club are teaming up for the ClimACTic Gallery and Open Mic. The event is meant to bring attention to climate disruption in Richmond through the arts. It is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Compass. From 7-10 p.m. in the Globe Building, they will be screening the documentary “Growing Cities,” which takes a look at the role of urban farming in America and how much power it has to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat.
Thursday promises a screening of the film “FLOW,” a documentary on the harsh reality of water shortage in America. This screening will be from 7-10 p.m. in the Globe Building. There will also be a lecture presented by the James River Association about the “Our River At Risk” project from 4-5 p.m. in the Aspire Building.
“VCU is very sustainable,” Jessica Shim, the event’s coordinator, said. “But we have a lot of work to do to be a greener school, Earth Week is important in encouraging students to tread their feet into sustainability.”
The full list of events is available on Green Unity VCU’s Facebook page, or you can contact Jessica Shim at shimj2@vcu.edu. Green Unity meets every other Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Aspire Building.
