The Sustainability Council's Student Committee views halting and reversing anthropogenic climate change as a major challenge facing Penn State, the commonwealth, nation, and global society, for which we believe the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is most suited to provide leadership.
Goals
The student committee is aligned with actions that support the mission of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). We believe that students in the college can play by their strengths and contribute in numerous areas to address these goals. Broadly speaking, our committee works on:
- Creating awareness among the students about sustainability initiatives in the College and the EMS Sustainability Council’s work.
- Collecting requests and action items related to sustainability from the EMS student body to present to the council.
- Assisting and collaborating with any other sustainability related activity taking place in the college.
- Assisting and collaborating with any departments in the college (i.e. museum, library) to host sustainability themed events.
Recent Activities
- Conscious Couture Fashion Show
A capstone presentation by Irena Potochny. Highlighting the UN SDG #12 (Responsible production and consumption) by displaying upcycled and innovative solutions to face the challenges of fast fashion.
See: https://sustainability.psu.edu/event/conscious-couture-a-sustainable-fas... - Dodge the Dumpster (and donations to EMSL Food Pantry)
The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) collectively gathered 487 items during the second annual “dodge the dumpster” event sponsored by the Fletcher L. Byrom EMS Library Food Pantry and the EMS Sustainability Council.
See: https://www.psu.edu/news/earth-and-mineral-sciences/story/earth-and-mine... - EarthFest 2024
See: https://sustainability.la.psu.edu/highlights/earthfest-2024/
Tabling for EarthFest on the HUB lawn to talk to students about sustainability, bringing organizations together that are dedicated to environmental conservation and engagement. (April 19th) - Tree planting
Planting over 2000 trees as a part of an ongoing restoration project on previously mined land in Sandy Ridge, PA.
See: https://www.psu.edu/news/impact/story/college-ems-offsets-carbon-emissio... - “We Are the Hope for a Sustainable Future”
The EMS Sustainability Council created an exhibit series for the EMS Museum with the goal of educating students about sustainability and the efforts taking place in the college. The Student Sustainability Council hosted an opening reception on February 7.
See: https://www.psu.edu/news/earth-and-mineral-sciences/story/new-exhibit-wi...
See:https://www.psu.edu/news/earth-and-mineral-sciences/story/ems-museum-and...
- Dodge the Dumpster (and donations to EMSL Food Pantry)
A recent collaborative event that netted roughly 5,700 donated items for incoming students while saving 471 pounds of food and supplies from the landfill.
Read the press release >> - Poster Presentations
Presented posters and the EMS Celebration of Undergraduate Engagement including a Sustainability Council poster in addition to members presenting posters. Also presented at the Millennium Café lecture series to discuss student-driven sustainability initiatives
Read CUE website >>
Visit Millennium Café - "Be the Change"
The student committee of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Sustainability Council hosted its first alumni panel discussion in February 2023 to discuss sustainable actions and careers from EMS alumni.
Read press release >>
Watch panel discussion >> - HUB-Robeson Galleries Presentation
Presentation alongside Philadelphia based ceramicist and activist Marguerita Hagan. Her showcase Magnificare was displayed in the HUB in 2023, and members Westin and Irena represented the council and presented about community involvement events and our plans to make sustainability focused art installations.
Read press release >> - Tree Planting
During the spring 2023 semester, the EMS Sustainability Council organized a tree planting activity to restore formerly mined land in Sandy Ridge, PA. This was a joint effort consisting of students from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Green Forests Work (non-profit tree planting organization), Moshannon Creek Watershed Association (non-profit corporation), and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The mine landowner was interested in being part of the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative to restore forest cover using the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA).
3500 native trees were donated by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as part of their Keystone 10 million Trees Partnership to restore the formerly mined land that was inadequately reclaimed in 2007. Since the site was located on the Allegheny Front, the dominant natural land cover was hardwood forest. The goal was to help restore the site to its original pre-mining land cover type. Hence, native trees such as sugar maple and black cherry were a few of the chosen variety of trees that were planted. The 5 steps taken in this approach are:- Creating suitable reforestation growth medium
- Minimizing compaction of the growth medium
- Planting tree compatible ground plants
- Planting native trees
- Using proper tree planting techniques
Chair: Harman Singh (Graduate student in Geography and Climate Science) - email: hxs5376@psu.edu
Undergraduate student members
- Westin Boyd (Meteorology and Atmospheric Science)
- Rasha Elwakil (Geography)
- Irena Potochny (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Kendyl Ramsay (Earth Science and Policy)
Graduate student members
- Rosemary Akamagwuna (Energy and Mineral Engineering)
- Lauren MacDonald (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Tsunami Sharmba (Energy and Mineral Engineering)
- Lucy Thompson (Geography)
Collaborate with the Student Committee
The Student Committee is always open to new ideas and events so feel free to email them.
If you would like to collaborate with us on future events email Harman Singh at hxs5376@psu.edu. It would be helpful if the email also contained information such as an event name and a short bio, timeline, and generally what resources would be required.
Follow us on Instagram
To learn more about our activities each semester follow us on Instagram.