Link for joining the St. Thomas EcoChallenge. The office of sustainability initiatives created the challenge, which runs until May 3. (Photo courtesy of St. Thomas EcoChallenge)
St. Thomas’ Office of Sustainability Initiatives is holding an online EcoChallenge that started April 20 and runs until May 3.
The EcoChallenge encourages its St. Thomas participants to make more sustainable choices to earn points for their team. These choices range from daily actions, such as not using a plastic straw or powering down a computer when it’s not in use to larger, one-time actions such as launching a recycling program. Participants can join the team corresponding to their graduation year online at any point throughout the challenge.
Minnesota Greencorps member and UST alumni Alboury Ndiaye helped set up the challenge. Ndiaye believes this challenge will help participants build more sustainable habits.
“By logging these actions every day, I expect that many people will find that these actions are easier than they thought and, through repetition, make a habit out of it,” Ndiaye wrote in an email.
Adali Flores-Mendoza, first year student and challenge participant, has found ways to push herself to do something new through these challenges.
“Especially looking at the food categories, I thought more about food,” Flores-Mendoza said, “[I thought] maybe I should invest in organic foods.”
At the end of the challenge, the St. Thomas Sustainability Club will give away sustainability themed prizes. The grand prize includes a hammock set, a YETI water bottle, and a Radlands hip pack.
This challenge was created in response to students being sent home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ndiaye and the rest of the sustainability team had considered launching this online challenge in previous years, but had opted for more in-person engagement in the past.
“We thought that the EcoChallenge would be an excellent way for our team to engage with our community and encourage people to take action,” Ndiaye wrote in an email.
Flores-Mendoza was able to use the contents of this challenge to educate her family about sustainable practices.
“I’m teaching [my little brother] about recycling,” Flores-Mendoza said.
Ndiaye hopes this challenge can provide a sense of community, even when the participants aren’t together on campus.
“By dividing the teams up by year, we can reignite the class pride and competitiveness our students relish,” Ndiaye wrote in an email. “Just because we are apart physically, doesn’t mean we can’t come together and show that we have what it takes!”
Annie Terry can be reached at terr2351@stthomas.edu.