Brittany Ballantyne
Equinox Staff
Green is the essential color of life. Green represents the mountains surrounding Keene State, the trees in which we get our oxygen from, and the money that everyone can save by preserving these resources. Just how much of a difference can we as Keene students and faculty make in saving these resources? This question was explored in an IQL course taught by Adjunct Professor Elena Caldwell.
No Impact Week was a week long program Caldwell had her students partake in. No Impact Man was an experimental writer Colvin Beaven and his family indulged themselves in. Beaven and his family “unplugged from the electrical grid, produced no trash, traveled exclusively by foot or bike, and bought nothing (except locally grown foods). By the end, they discovered something surprising: Living wasn’t just good for the environment. It made them “happier, healthier, and richer in ways they never expected” as told on his site noimpact.org.
This type of conserving had the same effect on students taking Caldwell’s course. Caldwell organized No Impact Week for her students, having each of them participate in various days dedicated to impacting the environment as little as possible. After having such a success with the class itself, the week long project was brought to none other than the Keene State College campus the week of April 17-24.
Caldwell explained that her students tracked their experiences in multiple ways. Some tweeted about it, many took pictures of their process, and others even wrote songs about their personal No Impact Week.
“The class studies environmental problems all year and they were able to bring it into their lives,” Caldwell translated.
Once No Impact Week was a campus-wide event, her students distributed signs, surveyed in the L.P. Young Student Center, wrote on chalk boards/white boards, and even started a Facebook campaign trying to get the word out to the population that makes up KSC.
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The first day of Keene State’s No Impact Week, April 17, revolved around not buying anything new. The following days were as follows: create no trash (April 18), use green transportation (April 19), eat locally (April 20), conserve energy (April 21), conserve water (April 22), “giving back” to the environment (April 23), and eco-sabbath day (or a recap day to unplug from the electrical grid on April 24).
Aside from these tasks, events were also offered to further No Impact Week’s message. On Wednesday, April 20, students were invited to play flashlight tag outside of Fiske Hall on the quad. An Earth Week Fair which took place on Thursday, April 21, offered tables filled information and goodies. There was a No Impact Man table, a Fair Trade table, Eco-reps who informed others of their jobs, and giveaways such as a free green bike. Chocolate and bananas were also featured in the fair. Later in the day a film screening of “No Impact Man” was offered in Rhodes Hall at 5 p.m.
Professor Mary Jensen explained that this week was “about education and fun, encouraging students” to participate in helping preserve the environment. She also stated that the Campus Ecology club looked for more members and a limited amount of Eco-reps. Jensen spoke of how she hoped this event would “encourage students to keep Keene a green campus” explaining that “small things can make a difference” then quickly added that “big things can make a difference too, of course. I don’t want to limit it to just small differences!”
The film “Tapped” was also shown during this week, a film about the bottled water industry. Jensen revealed that many people, upon taste-testing various waters (bottled and tap water) could not tell the difference between the two.
“A lot of people are surprised with just how good tap water tastes,” she explained.
Organic versus conventional foods were also offered for tastings.
Caldwell’s student, freshman Steph Beach, spoke of her goals during KSC’s No Impact Week. Beach pointed out during the week itself that “We’re trying to get the whole campus to do this ‘no impact’ for a week during Earth week. If everyone participates it will definitely make a difference for a week and some people may continue with it and continue making no impact,” Beach said.
When asked about how well Keene performs at caring for and about the environment, Caldwell felt that “Keene does a good job of recycling daily in every building and distributing local foods.” She hoped that this project and event would raise awareness on the KSC campus about the environment and how KSC as a whole treats the Earth.
Caldwell also expressed that “being in communication with people who run this place and going to administration” about environmental tasks could make a difference in helping
to conserve and preserve the Earth
and its resources.
“Your [student body] are all so creative and energetic,” she said.
This was her first try at the No Impact Week experiment and she plans on continuing it in the fall of next year due to its success.
The aim for this year’s Earth Week was “two fold,” Caldwell explained, saying that “one is awareness-the way we live is not sustainable.” The second part of the fold, she insisted, was that “we can make a difference to make changes and change the world by trying to model for the world around us-the challenge is up to us.”
Brittany Ballantyne can be contacted at bballantyne@keeneequinox.com
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