This year ECo introduced Earth Week with the theme, “We are the Solution”. Each of our Earth Week events was centered around this theme, and each day had a specific focus. Wednesday's focus was teamwork. “Teamwork Wednesday” activities consisted of carpooling to and from school for spirit points, along with different workshops lead by ECo representatives, students, and faculty. These workshops aimed to inform the Bryn Mawr community about ways they can make a real environmental change at school and in their daily lives. The workshops ranged from “Household How-to’s” to “National Environmental Policy”, giving students the ability to sign up for the workshop that pique their interests. Two workshops in particular educated students about the benefits of a vegan and vegetarian diet.
In the “ECo Eats” workshop students learned about the three main reason why eating a vegan diet is sustainable: reducing water use, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Mawrtian Anne Noon explained that the workshop, ““was a super fun and interactive workshop about veganism [...]” and that she “came out of [the “ECo Eats” workshop] so much more informed, but not feeling pressured to become vegan.”
The second workshop was “Friends Against Food Miles”, where students talked about the benefits of eating locally grown food and growing your own garden. Some of the main points made were the reduced amount of greenhouse gases emitted by reducing how far the food has been transported, benefits for local farmers and businesses, and a healthier diet. Student Emma Avotins said of her experience at the workshop, “I was shocked to learn how many foods I eat everyday come from so far away. I am excited to explore my local farmers market!” The students and teachers also planted their own basil plants to inspire them to start their own garden while enjoying some snacks from the farmers market.
These workshops were a fun and engaging way for the Bryn Mawr community to learn how to be active participants in sustainability. The next day, termed "Real Food Thursday", students were able to apply their newly gained knowledge to the vegan and vegetarian potluck. The potluck consisted of delicious salads, with ingredients bought from a local farmers market, rice dishes, jackfruit, fruit salads, chili, vegan cakes, cookies, and much more. The potluck was a great after school activity that brought people together to try tasty new foods and recipes, and ultimately expose our community to sustainable vegan and vegetarian cooking.