First I would like to give thanks to Her Campus UW for giving Green Greeks this new platform to educate on and explore environmentalism. As an overview, Green Greeks is a University of Washington RSO that aims to bring positive change to the Greek Community in regards to sustainability. We have 50 Greek Chapters represented, 19 Sororities and 31 Fraternities.
Every quarter we break up into small groups to try and tackle different aspects of our community’s sustainable practices. The groups range from looking at our water usage to modifying how we dispose of trash from our various philanthropy feeds. All of these groups have successfully implemented some kind of change in the Greek Community as a whole. While some chapter houses are slower to implement physical changes (for various reasons such as pushback from their national headquarters), all houses are working towards a culture shift in our community. We’re fostering a culture where environmentalism isn’t something you glaze over in classes, but it is a process you put into action.
This quarter we’ve had a Greek Community-wide Clean-Up. We held this event on Earth Day when people are already interested in involving themselves with nature or helping better the land we live on. Our members spent a couple hours of their day picking up the various trash, which typically consisted of aluminum cans and glass bottles which could be recycled, around 17th Avenue. Our houses stretch from 16th through 21st Ave, and bettering our personal environments allows us to grow a deeper connection with the urban environment we live in.
At the end of Spring Quarter, we will be holding another Clean-Up, this time focusing on 17th and 19th Ave. These are the streets that we have found need the most extra support when it comes to cleaning. This event will be May 20th, from 10am-2pm and it’s open to the public!
If you’d like more information about Green Greeks or want to get involved, we suggest emailing: uwgreengreekdirector@gmail.com
We look forward to communicating with the Her Campus community more in the future! Expect some fun updates coming from Green Greeks (and maybe some fun environmental facts too!).