Austin College Kangaroos went green this spring. For the College’s annual GreenServe event in April, alumni and students joined in community service with an environmental focus. From work on the prairie restoration project at Sneed Environmental Research Area near campus to cleanup of a wetlands habitat near Portland, Oregon, to a preservation effort at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., students, faculty, staff, and alumni turned out to “Think Green” in a variety of projects.
In addition to the Sneed Prairie volunteers, the campus contingent also created a native plant garden on campus, worked at the Buckner Biology Lab property, took part in a letterwriting campaign, posted campus Think signs, and volunteered at Texoma Earth Day and Earth Day Dallas. The main student project involved 65 students who traveled to Eisenhower State Park in Denison to work with area bicyclists and Texas Parks and Wildlife staff to repair damaged portions of the park’s five miles of trails.
Across the country, alumni joined in the effort with events in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; and in Saint Joe, Galveston, Dallas, and Kerrville, Texas. Some alumni created their own events; others joined community projects held in conjunction with Earth Day. Amity Overall-Laib ’01, a member of the Alumni Board, encouraged all alumni to take part in efforts in their own areas in support of the campus projects.
GreenServe is a joint project of Austin College’s Service Station and Thinking Green Initiative. The Thinking Green Initiative is showing successful results. Austin College was named to the Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges in April.