Students put ‘green’ ideas into practice

• By CHRISTINE MORGAN ARCENEAUX
• Advocate Livingston-Tangipahoa editor
• Published: May 21, 2009

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HAMMOND — Students at Southeastern Louisiana University are going green.

Well, sort of. About two dozen students who recently formed a new environmental group called Reconnect have made it their mission to educate both students and faculty about environmental and sustainability issues. They hope to connect with other student groups — both internal and external — that share the common goals of — “greening” the SLU campus, and the entire community.

“I realized there wasn’t a student organization addressing these issues,” said Reconnect President Cari Cooper, who was instrumental in starting the group.

Since their first meeting in November, interest and membership have grown. The group has clear goals on what it wants to do from lobbying administrators to purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles, to create compost using leftovers and waste food from the cafeteria and student union.

Members are also looking to other schools — LSU in particular — with whom they can share their “green” ideas.

To get a broader picture of how the SLU group could make the campus and community green, Cooper attended Power Shift 2009, a conference that brought 12,000 young people to Washington, D.C., to hold elected officials accountable for rebuilding the economy and reclaiming the future through aggressive climate and clean energy policy.

Reconnect sponsor David Burley said the biggest misconception people have about going “green” is that it will hurt the economy.

Burley said the group is teaching people that they don’t have to trade their well-being for the environment, and people can be trained to take on green endeavors such as installing solar panels, constructing wind farms and weatherizing buildings — all tactics that can save electricity, he said.

While those things take time, Cooper said, the conference helped her build a network of more than 100 students from universities in Louisiana and throughout the U.S. who want to share their green ideas.

At SLU’s and Hammond’s Earth Days last month, Reconnect members were out in full force helping people understand what they can do to help the environment. It can be as simple as planting shade trees, Burley said.

Strategically placed trees, he said, can reduce cooling costs, help control chemical runoff, add value to property, clean the air of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, beautify the world, relieve stress, slow erosion, screate community focal points and create habitats for wildlife.

Members are putting their words into action by practicing one of the simplest green techniques — keeping their city clean. Members have helped at Keep Hammond Beautiful clean up days held from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the third Saturday of each month.

The group is working with university Recycling Coordinator Ben Taylor to institute a campus-wide recycling program, and hopes to partner with food services provider Aramark to rid the campus of Styrofoam containers and replace them with a more-biodegradable substance.