PHOTO CREDIT: Skylar Connot | Staff Photographer
A student pets a goat from Peckham Farm.
A student from a Musicians Guild band performs on the quad during earth day celebration.
Student vendors sell different pieces of art on the quad.
Ready to sustainably shop, peruse potted plants and weave in between educational posters, students spent a sunny Earth Day on the University of Rhode Island Quad.
URI Student Action for Sustainability brought together various campus clubs and community organizations to promote environmental awareness and action for Earth Day on the Quad. Many attendees expressed that Earth Day holds special significance this year due to current political circumstances and environmental challenges.
Joshua Weiss, a second-year mechanical engineering student, spoke to his personal feelings on Earth Day, urging citizens to be aware of their impact on the environment.
“Earth day is about looking to the future and taking care of the Earth,” Weiss said. “In today’s world we’re seeing more concessions being made for convenience rather than caring for the planet.”
Additionally, QR codes throughout Quad tables led to certain environmental petitions against the federal government’s efforts to weaken the environment.
Lili O’Toole, community prevention program manager for South County Prevention Coalition, connected substance prevention with environmental concerns and highlighted displays about vape waste and the chemicals contained in vaping products.
O’Toole mentioned that not only will those products be going into your body, causing harm, the disposal of vaping products could lead to environmental damage as well.
“Earth Day, to me, is bringing awareness to why we should keep the earth healthy and that we should realize that we’re just a small part of the huge planet,” said Cole Kisly, a third-year kinesiology major.
Jenna Mansour, a first-year communicative sciences and disorders major, was a proponent of social media awareness around environmentalism.
“To me, Earth Day is a call to action to all of us, to remind us that there are things that we can be doing to protect the Earth,” Mansour said. “And I think it’s really important that on Earth Day, instead of just spreading pictures of the environment on social media, we should really be taking action.”
Christian Gemma, a third-year industrial systems engineering major and vendor at the event, described the day as initially challenging due to weather conditions early in the celebration, noting that there weren’t many people at first. He shared his elation when the sun came out later on in the day.
“The first couple of hours were a bit cloudy,” Gemma said. “It was not feeling like Earth Day for a little bit. But then the sun came out and the people came out, and now it’s been great.”
The Earth Day celebration featured tables from various student organizations and community groups, like the Horticulture Club, Campus Recreation, Young Democratic Socialist Action and a thrift pop-up shop.
The Horticulture Club sold potted plants to participants and other vendors from the surrounding area sold their products and promoted themselves.
Activities continued throughout the afternoon, including live music from URI grown bands and a rock climbing wall set up by the United States Army National Guard.
McKenna Cox, a first-year sociology major representing Student Action for Sustainability, emphasized the extensive planning that went into creating the event.
“I hope everyone is recognizing it as much as they should,” Cox said. “I hope everyone’s acting sustainably on this day, not only on this day, but every day.”
The event highlighted both individual and collective responsibility toward environmental protection, bringing together diverse perspectives on sustainability and community health, according to Cox.
To stay updated on SAS and what they plan on doing for next semester follow their Instagram @uri_sas.
