Students picking up more than grades with environmental efforts

Students are coming together and pitching in to beautify their community and preserve the planet. 

After walking out of classes to support the Global Climate Strike on Sept. 27, students from St. Clair College and the University of Windsor are continuing to raise awareness of environmental issues.

For the fourth year, the University of Windsor partnered with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) to host The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup on Oct. 5.  The event is designed to enhance student relationships with sustainability and raise awareness about the trash that is produced. 

This year marks the first year that St. Clair College has been involved with the program, which is held once in the fall and once in the spring.

 

 

 

Uyen Vo, environmental coordinator at St. Clair College. said she feels it is great to have students involved in the community and raising awareness of important issues.

“St. Clair students are more based in south Windsor so it is nice to have brought them here and help clean up the riverfront,” said Vo. “We are looking at partnering with the WWF for their ‘Living Planet at Campus’ campaign.”

Since the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup campaign was launched, nearly 800,000 volunteers have cleaned up over 30,000 kilometres of shoreline. They have also prevented over 1.2 million kilograms of garbage from entering waterways. 

The Living Planet @ Campus campaign is the latest project that Vo and St. Clair’s Sustainability Committee are undertaking. The program is designed to provide strategic guidance, green business ideas, and engage students to drive sustainable practices in their lives.

Jeremy Dean, a director for the Student Representative Council at St. Clair College, said that he feels students are trying to change their environmental impact.

“We collect all the trash and dispose of it and then it is not polluting our shoreline,” said Dean. “We had over 50 people sign up and that is the turnout we are looking for. We are trying to raise awareness of climate change and related issues.”  

Vo said the sustainability committee hopes to continue to be involved in events like the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, to continue to raise awareness.