On April 19, volunteers gathered in the Sustainable Edible Education (SEEd) Project Garden at California Lutheran University to add to the compost bin and remove weeds from the garden for the Community Service Center’s (CSC) Earth Day Celebration. 

Coordinator for Community Service Madeline Liberti said that the CSC and Facilities decided it would be a great opportunity to help out at the SEEd Garden since students haven’t been able to work in the garden very much in the past year.

Asia Kison, sophomore and volunteer at the April 19 SEEd Garden event, said she came to the event to not only learn more about gardening and composting, but also to try to save the Earth little by little.

“I just recently got into learning about global warming,” Kison said. “It’s actually really sad, just knowing that we could have prevented it years ago and no one paid attention to it.”

In an email interview, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Megan Fung said Earth Day is important because people are inspired to protect the environment and it can be used as a platform to take action at a local and global level.

“Earth Day is great for bringing people together and raising awareness, but we should be engaged in these important and pressing discussions throughout the year, not just during one day/week in April,” Fung said.

Liberti said climate change is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed. The SEEd Garden is just one of the many opportunities available to students to get out there, learn and do the work themselves.

Amanda Lewin, junior and volunteer at the event, said that during the pandemic she has had the time to educate herself through online resources about how to be sustainable and more environmentally friendly. She said this event was the first opportunity she had to show what she has learned, which is different from the sustainable choices she makes in her daily life.

Fung said there is no one-size-fits-all model for practicing sustainability, but she recommends starting small. She said this can look like eliminating single-use plastic, taking public transportation, air-drying clothes and finding ways to stay informed. 

“I actively compost at home. I buy products from companies that commit to strong ethical practices, are environmentally responsible and I often purchase second-hand clothes,” Fung said.

The event also allowed others to enjoy the outdoors. Kison said she enjoyed being outside and around people who care as much as she does for the environment. Lewin said she enjoyed taking out the weeds because she was giving back to the Earth while getting a workout at the same time.

“I just thought Earth Day was a good day to, you know, show your respect for the Earth as you should everyday,” Lewin said.