Sustainability

CSUMB Sustainability Retreat

CSUMB Student Group

Six students involved in sustainability efforts across CSUMB attended UC Santa Cruz’s Inter-Organizational Sustainability Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains over the winter break. Each student who attended represented a different club or organization on campus.“The retreat was an escape from day to day life to remember why this planet is so precious,” said Summer Wilson, an Environmental Science (ENVS) senior.

The retreat served as a platform for communication and a way to build support between various sustainability oriented clubs and groups around campus. At the retreat, many different aspects of sustainability were presented and discussed, from social justice concerns to tips for going vegetarian or vegan. One focus of the retreat was how to take what we know about conservation and sustainability and apply that knowledge within our community.

The keynote speaker, Pandora Thomas, gave an inspiring talk about the intersectionality between sustainability, culture and social justice. She spoke to her own experience of integrating sustainability into culture, highlighting all of the benefits it could bring into a community. By recruiting and involving released prison inmates in public gardens and other eco-friendly initiatives, the formerly incarcerated seemed delighted to find ways to contribute and give back to their communities. These projects can be critical to help transition these people, our neighbors, back into the community and reduce recidivism.

Sustainability is a constantly changing and evolving topic with increasing significant across many fields. “It was inspiring to hear about what my fellow peers are doing in the realm of sustainability,” said Stephanie Yee, an ENVS senior who attended the retreat. “ I left the retreat feeling we are the beginning an amazing chapter in student leadership and sustainability at CSUMB.”

Written by Jacob Barnett

Published Jan. 29, 2016