The new Syracuse University Sustainability Club started by Emma Edwards last semester focuses on making the SU campus as sustainable and environmentally efficient as it can. Edwards, a policy studies sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, decided to start the group after she heard that there wasn’t already one on campus. The group has roughly eight committed members, and attendance for biweekly meetings varies from 10 to 20 members.
Edwards said that the club is interested in all kinds of sustainable practices, but the main project for this semester is the abundant use of water bottles and the type of water fountains around campus.
Getting students and professors to use reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles will help limit the number of water bottles that end up in the trash and on their way to the landfill, Edwards said.
The Schine Student Center and Bird Library have taken strides to make their buildings more sustainable. Just recently, both buildings have added water fountains that provide a place to fill up a reusable water bottle. This is something that the club hopes to see more of on campus.
The group wants to increase the quality and type of all the water fountains around campus in order to encourage students to use them, instead of buying plastic water bottles. By making the pushing for more quality water fountains, the water will be cleaner, which will encourage more people to use the water fountains around campus, Edwards said.
If you would like to get involved with the group, you can contact Emma Edwards at eledwa01@syr.edu [4] or come to their group meetings. The group meets on the second Tuesday of every month and the fourth Thursday of every month from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
