Palm Trees made of green water bottles and cardboard, giant paper-mache hamburgers and a beer bottle sculpture decorated the Speaker’s Platform yesterday as Associated Students Inc. kicked off its annual ECO Week.
ASI is hosting ECO Week with other organizations, such as the Environmental Science and Policy club, Smart Deco Furniture and 49er Shops to promote changes to students’ daily behavior and help the environment.
ECO Week’s theme this year is “Your Oasis, Our Oasis.” Alben Phung, the conservation commissioner at ASI who put together ECO Week, said he hopes the event can give students a taste of being a steward of their own environment.
“[An] oasis is a place where you take refuge … and students can have [an] oasis wherever they go, where they enjoy [the environment] if they take care of the environment,” Phung said.
The event focused on water conservation, energy conservation, water reduction and meat consumption reduction. Each section included fact posters and tip cards with challenges for students to try.
One of the challenges asked students to turn off the water when they lather up in the shower.
“When you do that, you save enough water for an extra shower,” Phung said.
Fatima Chavez, a freshman communications major, said she liked the event.
“I like how it has random facts about daily consumptions … and all these things you can make from recyclable [materials],” Chavez said.
Nicholas Thibeault, president of the Environmental Science and Policy club, and his club members made a beer bottle sculpture. He said that it could be used as a chandelier decoration.
“We are demonstrating recycling waste,” Thibeault said.
For some students, ECO Week shed light on new ways to help improve the environment.
“I think [this event] is really informative [and] interactive,” Joann Row, a junior journalism major, said. “It let me be more aware of my activities now.”
ECO Week events will continue through Thursday.