On April 19th, it was Earth Day at St. Edward’s University in Andre Lawn. Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable afternoon which ran for three hours from 11 AM to 2 PM. Students from our ENSP-1304-01 class were encouraged by our professor Dr. Concilio to come along and participate in the action by showcasing our final project and our proposal to the staff and faculty of the University. Not only were we able to show off our progress so far, but we learned a great deal from the other participants also. There were trivia games, info about worm composting, upcycling food, and also Doug from the Cherokee Nation was present. Additionally, students from a middle school showcased their homemade salsa and nachos, sustainable clothing, skincare, and much more.

Our group consisting of Oisín, Adam, Jashar and I attended the event and we showcased our final project which focuses on sustainable transportation methods across campus. We were stationed at a desk where we presented and we also composed a survey for members of the university. Primarily, it was done to collect data and stats about how people move around the campus, get to campus, and whether they bike, walk, drive, or take public transportation to the campus. We used this data which we will present at the end of the semester to our professor and class.

Our project aims to improve and potentially spark a conversation about more sustainable ways of travelling around the campus and to St. Edwards. There was a lot to learn from the data that we collected from our survey. Our group was quite surprised with the data that we collected. The findings suggested that some students even use their cars for example to get from Maryhill to the lecture halls which is a very short distance. This leads to unnecessary emissions in the locality which could be eliminated by the pedestrianisation of Moody Drive.

Not only do we think there are excessive cars on Moody Drive, but we believe it can be quite unsafe at times because motorists do not always stop at the pedestrian crossings south of Hunt Hall and beside Starbucks. Another issue we gathered from our survey is that students find there are lack of sidewalks around campus. In turn, it can feel unsafe to walk on the road when motorists may not always be watching ahead of them due to being distracted by their mobile phones. A specific area that was highlighted was the road leading out of the university by the baseball field.

We gathered more primary data from attendees of the Earth Day fair by asking them questions as they completed the survey. Students expressed that they would be less likely to have their car on campus if the price of the parking permits was increased. Furthermore, they stated if there were sheltered and secure locations where bikes could be kept, this may incentivize students to bike more around campus. Not only would fewer cars on campus be more environmentally friendly and sustainable, but it will also improve the student’s well-being through exercise and social interaction.

Earth Day fair was a huge success, and it was a very positive experience to see so many students and faculty members engaging and showing interest in this cause. My group was able to learn a lot from other participants and also acquire knowledge useful for our final project. Wouldn’t it be great if some of our initiatives could be implemented at St. Edwards University?

Blog post by: Oisín Crombie

Photo Credits: Adam Bate