The Student Sustainability Club (SSC) is a club at CNU whose main goal is to “make CNU a more sustainable campus…This includes promoting sustainable behavior,  educating the CNU community about sustainability, pursuing beneficial sustainable initiatives,” Anna Mignardi said.

The SSC is their own organization and is student run. The club has goals of promoting a healthier CNU. Audrey White said that some of the things that they are working on are a “pollinator garden…We’re also working on community events. So we’ve had a leader shop, where we talk about how to lead a sustainable life. We have students working on a competition between Greek life, focus on sustainability behaviors, and increasing things like lowering your waste, being aware of the green to go boxes”

Some other things that they are doing include engaging with the wildlife on campus, bringing zero waste products to CNU and they are preparing a PLP event where they speak on sustainability.

One thing the club is trying to emphasize more is the green boxes. They were gone over covid but are now back, but to get one, it has to be asked for. 

Audrey White said “what happens is you have a Green Fund on your card with your meal plan. And you asked for a to-go box and they’ll take $10 out of your Green Fund that you’ve already paid for with your meal plan. And you’re given a green to-go box. And then every time you go back to the dining hall, you bring it with you. And there’s a place in Regs and in Commons where you can deposit the box and ask the person at the desk for a new one.”

Another project that they are focused on promoting is the hard to recycle bins. These recycle bins are for “items that are not going to be traditionally recyclable in your res hall recycling containers. So they have three different items that can be recycled. It’s plastic bags, like from your grocery store, batteries, and printer cartridges.” said Audrey White

Students, faculty and staff can all bring items to the hard to recycle and there are locations in the DSU, the library and the Freedmen Center.

The students in the club all have their own reasons for joining the club and working to be actively involved. For Rachel Freeman she said “I wanted to be a part of this club because I had always been interested in sustainability and learning more about individual impacts on the environment, but never really had the chance in high school.”

As for Audrey White, she said, “ I definitely want to work in sustainability. That’s something that I want to spend my time doing. And I want to have a job that I feel like I’m making a difference. Sustainability is one of those things and doing this kind of work. I’ve had a really good opportunity to work with a lot of other students who are passionate and make a difference in their trajectory and sustainability, which has really been really cool.”

For some of the projects and events coming up in the future Anna Mignardi said they are planning on putting bird houses around the school as well as “collaborating with the Greek community to host a philanthropic competition and collect clothes, shoes, plastic bags, etc. to then be donated or reused.”

They are also hosting a panel discussion on Climate Changes Lives: The Intersection of Racial & Environmental Justice on March 30.