Student Action for Sustainability keeps environment healthy at URI

To some students, environmental sustainability means simply engaging in environmentally friendly practices. To Theresa Murphy, president of Student Action for Sustainability (SAS), sustainability means much more than that.

"My personal favorite definition [of sustainability] is a kind of harmony between social, economic, and environmental sustainability," said Murphy, a senior Environmental Science and Management major. "Socially, people have to be healthy, the environment has to be healthy and the economy has to be healthy."

Murphy is one of about 10 students in SAS at the University of Rhode Island working to incorporate this kind of sustainability into campus practice.

Murphy said one of the group's current projects involves working to reduce food waste in dining halls.

"We're trying to encourage people not to just pile food on their plates, and later throw it away," she said.

Recycling continues to be an ongoing focus for the group as well.

"I think recycling is an effective way that we can reach people on campus," sophomore member Bianca Peixoto said. "A lot of people have it in the back of their mind, but sometimes they don't have the adequate means to do so."

Senior member Adam Blacker is also working independently on a project to hold an e-waste drive at URI, which allows students to sustainably dispose of electronics.

Blacker says he believes it's important for people to embrace the importance of sustainability in the modern age.

"I believe this [sustainability] is not only where the world should be headed, but where it is headed," he said. "More and more companies are incorporating sustainability into their business practices."

In terms of events, the group is working to plan the annual University Earth Day, which will be held on April 19 this year. Murphy said the group is hoping to increase turnout from last year, in which more than 100 students visited more than 30 booths of student organizations and activities celebrating sustainability.

Other major events include campus clean-ups, which last year drew up to 20 volunteers, according to Murphy.

Peixoto said she believes the club is a great extension of what she learns in the classroom as an Environmental Science and Management major.

"I wanted to carry my passion for the environment outside the classroom," Peixoto said. "In this club, instead of just talking about ideas, we actually get out there and use outreach to spread our message."