To celebrate the progress made towards a more sustainable future and learn more about what more can be done, students came together at the University of New Mexico-Valencia campus during its Research and Earth Day.
The Tuesday, April 21 event hosted various presentations, including the art club demonstrating how to recycle paper, a biology class on how to make bird feeders with recycled materials, another class raising awareness of the effects of fast fashion and the event’s tradition of showcasing baked cookies with a solar oven.
Professor of English and member of the community garden’s table, Anicca Cox said she loved the event.
“I think Earth Day is great. It seems like it had a great turnout. There’s a lot of interactive stuff to do. I love it,” Cox said.
Tammi Duncan-Teller, professor of biology and one of the event’s organizers, said becoming aware of environmental issues can motivate people to start practicing solutions.
“I think environmental efforts have to start with bringing awareness to whatever challenges there are,” Duncan-Teller said. “If we can find that one thing that bugs us and it’s related to the environment, I think collectively we could do something about it.”
A common theme shared between some of the tables was a focus on the negative ways social media impacts the environment by spreading misinformation and promoting overconsumption.
One table featured research on how to minimize food waste, and another one displayed their own research on how social media promotes fast fashion consumption, which eventually ends up in the landfills. The table demonstrated a way to recycle clothes by turning them into tote bags.
Ariel Valadez, a biology student, said there’s been a trend in social media that shows the beauty of luminescent algae, but fails to to highlight the dangers of it.
This marine plant is toxic to fish as well as to humans, making social media a harmful promoter for this toxic plant.
“It’s a rare phenomenon that only happens on coastal areas and it’s beautiful, but social media may trick you into thinking it’s safe,” Valadez said.
Paulina Acosta-Marta is a freelance photographer for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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