OU Green Week is hosting a week full of events promoting environmental, economic and social sustainability, leading up to the Earth Day Fair on Friday.
Green Week kicked off Monday, April 18, and the organization encouraged participants to follow their social media pages for more information throughout the week. According to Green Week Executive Chair Luke Kerr, the week-long program aims to normalize environmental mindfulness and sustainability while emphasizing accessibility across the entire campus.
“Green Week is OU's most prominent recognition and celebration of sustainability on campus,” Kerr said. “Green Week illustrates that there is a strong dedication to the environment amongst many OU students across numerous disciplines. Green Week is all about showing the infinite ways that one can practice sustainability and advocate for the planet, and our ultimate goal is to promote accessibility to sustainability.”
Kerr highlighted the importance of recognizing one’s place and privilege “within the multitude of social systems that impact the living world” and emphasized that not everyone contributes to or experiences climate change equally.
“Practicing environmental mindfulness means acknowledging one's own place within the multitude of social systems that impact the living world and finding a way to make change within those systems,” Kerr said. “Environmental harm is inequitable, which means some populations, like Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities, bear the brunt of harm and face the most resistance when advocating for clean air and water.”
According to a 2021 press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the most severe consequences of climate change will disproportionately affect “underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts.”
According to Green Week’s Engage page, each day of the week is themed around a different pillar of sustainability, all “promoting intersectional environmentalism” and encouraging the OU community to “practice thoughtful environmental habits when they are able to.”
Kerr said the planning process is a “little scattered, and that’s how we like it.” In the fall, they focused on community service opportunities and nailing down sponsorships. In January, the “Greenies” began deciding what the makeup of Green Week would look like.
“We usually have a committee structure, but it didn't work this year, and we are working on it for next year,” Kerr said. “When Green Week happens, it's really the product of chaos, but that makes it real.”
All week, people will receive a free Green Week t-shirt with a donation of five items for the OU Food Pantry — shirts are $5 otherwise. According to the Green Week schedule, the pantry needs dessert mixes, cooking oil, canned fruit, menstrual products, ramen and boxed pasta.
Some events are hosted in collaboration with other organizations and local businesses, including Kerr’s Green Week programming project — the Drive Electric Earth Day Event.
“The electric vehicle event has been my project,” Kerr said. “I've programmed the entire event, and with an expected 15 vehicles in attendance, I'm excited to see it all come together.”
Students can check out one of the vehicles, including Tesla cars and Bison Superbikes, Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the southwest side of the Lloyd Noble Center.
Kerr said the whole week leads up to Earth Day on Friday, which he referred to as “a celebration of the continued efforts to protect people and the planet.”
“Environmentalists have persevered through decades of hardships, and while the fight is far from over, we have reason to celebrate,” Kerr said “Celebrating Earth Day at OU illustrates that the fight for our earth continues across the world, and students, even those at OU, are the planet's future fighters. College students are inheriting a planet that's doomed without intervention. If college students don't create change, who will?”
Friday’s Earth Day Fair will bring over 15 student and community organizations to the South Oval from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free tacos from Velvet Taco and desserts from 1 More Bite OK will be served from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., or while supplies last.
After hosting Green Week almost entirely online in 2021, Kerr said this year’s events have had strong attendance and support. He is excited and thankful to host this year’s program in person.
“Green Week is for everyone, and we are growing! Look out for executive team applications coming soon after Green Week,” Kerr said. “If people think Green Week is big this year, I'd tell them to just wait for the future.”
