The Sustainability Club at Idaho State University aims to establish and strengthen campus environmental consciousness and community among faculty, staff and students. The club is also passionate about seeking sustainable solutions to issues locally and beyond. Sustainable Idaho co-hosts, Rachel McGovern and Scott Greeves, speak to current members and those in leadership positions, to find out more about the club, its driving motivations and goals.
This week on Sustainable Idaho, we are exploring the Sustainability Club at Idaho State University. The Sustainability Club aims to establish and strengthen campus environmental consciousness and community among faculty, staff and students. To find out more about the club, its driving motivations and goals, we speak to current members and those in leadership positions. We spoke to Eizaak Jordan, an ISU political science student, and vice president of the sustainability club.
“So here at the ISU Sustainability club we are working to engage the community and shift practices to more sustainable manners. We know this can be an uphill battle, but we know with community outreach and engagement, we can make this happen. We want to be an inclusive club and look for strategies to engage our members and the community.”
Eizaak told us that he was motivated to join the Sustainability Club after working with the Wild Science Explorers (WSE). He found that the WSE was great at teaching children about nature and the different types of habitats that exist. Eizaak told us he found it great to disconnect from normal life and engage with nature – it taught him about the intrinsic value that nature holds. This experience laid the emotional foundation for Eizaak’s involvement with the Sustainability Club.”
We asked Eizaak about what motivated him to be involved with the club and why others might want to join.
“People have a level of concern for what is going on right now, like the de-regulation of environmental controls, and that has made people worry. The Sustainability Club offers a way to get out there and voice their concerns, find solutions and talk about these issues.”
The Sustainability Club is connected to this radio series through Linda Engle, who is an Instructor of Mathematics here at ISU, and was part of the starting energy for both Sustainable Idaho and the Sustainability Club. We asked Linda why she believes sustainability is a crucial topic here at ISU and beyond.
“As the world turns away from using fossil fuels, it’s important that ISU not only keeps up, but moves to the forefront. I find it very exciting that our members are creating a world that they will live in – their voices matter. There is so much our club members can do, they might be able to find solutions to energy issues on campus and manage plastic waste or food waste. In general, the club is about making ISU more environmentally friendly, in whatever way our members would like to see – it’s a student run organization.”
Another ISU faculty member, who is involved with the Sustainability Club is Professor Katrina Running, who studies Environmental sociology and how human populations interact, shape, and perceive their environments.
“One of the reasons I am interested in participating in the ISU Sustainability Club, is to give my students a tangible suggestion of something they can do in our community. When my students learn about these problems, they ask me what they can do; I can suggest joining the club.”
Heather Philips is an engineering student and ex-club president who was instrumental in transitioning the Sustainability Club to an officially recognized ISU club.
“It means a lot to me, having moved the club from unofficial to official status, it’s great to have somewhere on campus to stand up for the future of our planet and environment.”
We spoke to another member of the Sustainability Club, Felix Lovelace, and asked him why he is motivated to be a member, and about the clubs current focus.
“I am driven by a sense of moral responsibility. The most important thing we are trying to do now is build our membership, if you have a passion for sustainability, we want you to consider joining the club.”
And we spoke again to Eziaak Jordan, the Clubs Vice President, about what leadership opportunities are available within the Sustainability Club.
“We have two leadership opportunities available, the President and Social Media Officer. It looks good on a CV and translates to other work and other aspects of your life.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the Sustainability club, visit KISU.org and find the write-up for this episode under the Sustainable Idaho program link. Thanks very much to our guests this week. Next week, we will be exploring the topics of Salmon in Idaho’s River, from both an ecological and Native American perspective.