To celebrate UH Earth Week, several organizations are bringing forward a multitude of activities through a series of educational, social and service projects where students can participate.
The Office of Sustainability, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Volunteer Program, will host the events. MVP will offer prizes to those who attend or volunteer, including a bike for those participating in the scavenger hunt on Tuesday. Other organizations will be offering prizes as well.
The week will begin with a kick-off event hosting on-and-off-campus organizations participating in sustainability around Houston. Monday night, MVP will offer students the opportunity to make sandwiches for the homeless and hospitalized.
Students who walk past the community garden near Cougar Woods will now have the chance to participate in its upkeep on Tuesday.
Volunteers are needed to help maintain the garden by weeding, planting, watering and harvesting produce, according to MVP’s newsletter. The community garden donates its produce to local food pantries.
The “ScavengEarth Hunt” will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and first, second and third place winners will receive prizes.
The Wednesday activities will begin in the afternoon at the Fresh Food Co. Private Dining Room, where attendees will be able to create vegan parfaits, among other options.
MVP will end the day at Lynn Eusan Park with a screening of “Flow,” a 2008 documentary about water and sustainability.
On Thursday night, part of another documentary will be shown. “Cooked” will offer students a look into the evolution of food through the history of food preparation.
The week and its activities lead up to Earth Day, which is on Friday, when MVP will lead a city-wide volunteer effort at the McGovern Centennial Gardens. To take part, prospective volunteers need to sign up by 3 p.m on Thursday.
Student Housing and Residential Life will also be hosting the “Earth Day Residence Hall sustainability rotation event.” According to MVP, students will start in any residence hall, obtain a punch card and visit two other residence halls’ events in order to receive a prize.
UH Earth Week will end on Saturday, according to the Office of Sustainability. Volunteers will come together near the Science and Engineering Classroom building to establish an on-campus “pocket prairie” named Shasta’s Prairie, which will provide a living laboratory, restore Houston’s rich environmental history and create a sustainable habitat for pollinators.
