The Sierra Student Coalition at Elon University works to forge a better relationship between people and the environment. The Sierra Student Coalition is part of the larger non-profit environmental organization, Sierra Club, which has operated in the U.S. since 1892.
The Sierra Student Coalition is involved in the initiative “Ready for 100”, which represents people across the U.S. who are committed to transitioning to 100% clean, renewable energy.
One member of Elon’s Sierra Student Coalition, freshman Samantha Schwamberger, personally obtained over 30 signatures last week for the initiative.
Schwamberger spoke about the topic at an Elon Town Hall meeting on Oct. 7, where she said the initiative would benefit Elon economically and environmentally.
“We need change for the sake of our futures,” Schwamberger said.
According to Schwamberger, the most important goal of the Sierra Student Coalition is “creating and implementing policies to protect the environment.”
Schwamberger said the organization usually gets involved through service projects and environmental clean-up but also fosters community involvement with recreational activities such as camping and hiking.
“It’s a lot of working with the government,” Schwamberger said, “to come up with ways to make our energy more sustainable.”
The Sierra Student Coalition also attempts to create awareness and community involvement at Elon by partnering with other on-campus organizations.
Most recently, it teamed up with Environmental Professional Society, Kappa Alpha Omicron, for Elon sustainability week’s energy reduction competition. Their aim is to record energy use across campus and challenge Elon students to reduce power consumption.
To ensure fairness in the energy reduction competition, campus buildings are measured individually. Each measurement of energy usage will be remeasured after a week has passed to reveal which building reduced power consumption the most.
President of the Sierra Student Coalition Hannah Naehring and Danieley Eco-Rep Katie Robinson set out on Oct. 4, to take the first round of energy usage measurements for the competition. Robinson walked to each Danieley building, clipboard in hand, to record its energy use measured in kilowatt-hours.
The building that clocked in the highest energy use was Danieley N with 26,996 kWh.
The following day, each building had its energy usage remeasured to determine the amount of power used in a 24-hour period. Other Elon neighborhood buildings underwent the same process.
Additionally, the Sierra Student Coalition promotes sustainability through other events such as the pop-up clothing shop on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
The event will focus on reusing materials to foster a “circular way of thinking” about the way in which we consume products and goods.