Greenfest is a series of events held on the campus of UNC Asheville that celebrates the sustainability initiatives produced and promoted by students, faculty, staff and the community. All events are free and open to the public, and the entire campus community is encouraged to participate.
Angie Herbert, a second-year environmental studies major graduating fall of 2024 and one of the co-directors of the Student Environmental Center (SEC), said this semester’s theme is “Get into the Green Scene,” because the student organization wants “to highlight the importance of a strong, united community in pushing sustainable, environmental change.”
Herbert added, “This involves not just environmentalists and environmental science majors on campus but everyone! We want to find common ground in all of our goals and encourage all walks of life to participate in the ‘Green Scene.’”
The sustainability fair, which will occur March 26 at Reed Plaza, will be the culmination of campus collaboration to get students “into the green scene.” It will feature fun environmental activities, a mushroom inoculation activity, eco-printing, an acoustic jam session, a demonstration of stop-motion animation, and local government and businesses.
“We are very excited to host such a diverse array of clubs, faculty members, students, and organizations for this event, and I personally think it’s an event that really brings us together,” said Herbert.
Other Greenfest events include bird and plant walks, e-bike rides, a free-store pop-up, a garden craft day, music discussions and more.
The event helps support the University’s ongoing mission of environmental stewardship. UNC Asheville recently ranked sixth in the nation by The Princeton Review for “Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation,” earning a perfect Green Rating score and a place on the 2024 Green Honor Roll.
The SEC further supports sustainability initiatives by awarding funds through the University’s Green Grant program. In the Fall of 2023, two projects were awarded funds. The first was awarded to Professor Ashley Case’s Applied Ecology class and aided the purchase of native plants to improve ecological services in a section of the Reed Creek Greenway. The second was awarded to UNC Asheville’s Audubon chapter to purchase window decals that will reduce the number of bird fatalities from window collisions on our campus.
Further sustainability efforts at UNC Asheville include the Food Equity Initiative’s food distribution events on campus, Campus Operations’ participation in the Campus Race to Zero Waste competition, the Office of Sustainability’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting, and the Sustainability Council’s Climate Action Plan in support of UNC Asheville’s Carbon Commitment.
For students who want to take courses that address sustainability issues across multiple disciplines, UNC Asheville offers a Sustainability Certificate. Undergraduate research on sustainability is robust. This past fall, five students collaborated with community organizations and faculty mentors to complete applied research projects on urban heat vulnerability, hemlock conservation, hiking and outdoor recreation stewardship, and energy efficiency in microbreweries.
Greenfest is just one of the many ways students are encouraged to engage with UNC Asheville’s unique sustainability spirit and dedication to promoting a clean and equitable world for future generations.
Greenfest List of Events:
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Kudzu Culture Invasives Removal
Reed Creek Greenway, 1-4 p.m.
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Film Screening – Time to Choose: Climate Change for Good
Highsmith Grotto at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Sustainability Fair
Reed Plaza, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
FEI Food Distribution
Main Quad, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Professor Laughlin’s Bird Walk
Mullen Park Fire Pit at 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Professor Rossell’s Plant Walk
Zeis steps, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Stream Clean-Up with the Key Center
Botanical Gardens, 4-6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Recycling Facilities Tour, 11:30 a.m.
First six sign-ups: Meet at Sam Millar for a van ride at 11 a.m.
All others: meet at the Recycling Facility in Woodfin at 11:15 a.m.
Sign up here.
Wednesday, March 27
Campus Operations Work Day
Meet at Reed Plaza at the beginning of each hour (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Register here.
Wednesday, March 27
Lunchtime Discovery Series Talk: Germinating a Thriving Workforce
Sustainability Office in Karpen Hall 006, 12-1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 27
Talk: How Electric Vehicles Combined with Driverless Features are Drastically Transforming Communities
Rhoades Robinson 125, 2-3 p.m.
Thursday, March 28
Professor Kerpal’s Birds & Magnetic Fields Talk
Rhoades Robinson 125 at 12 p.m.
Email adaum@unca.edu for registration link
Thursday, March 28
Music as place: Remembering our Connections through Music (supported my Mills Lecture Fund)
The Quad in front of Whitesides (Backup: Whitesides 016), 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 28
Becoming Beholden: Floods, Fires, and Acts of Witness
Alumni Hall at 7 p.m.
Friday, March 29
Campus E-Bike Ride with Asheville Flying Bikes
Reed Plaza at 12 p.m.
Register here.
Friday, March 29
Free Store Pop-Up
Reed Plaza (Rain location: Student Life Porch), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 30
Garden Workday/Craft Day
Castanea Garden,10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
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