Let’s Taco-bout Sustainability Recap!
By: Reese Lile, Sustainability Staff Writer
On Thursday, September 4, new students gathered at the Let’s Taco-bout Sustainability event where they learned how to get involved from Office of Sustainability student interns and representatives from campus partners, including Wakerspace, Campus Recreation, and the Office of Civic & Community Engagement. Despite the sudden torrential downpour right as the event began, engagement was high, and over 50 students came out to enjoy good food and conversation.
Interns and campus partners facilitated “breakout sessions,” where small groups of students moved between leaders to learn about what kind of work is being done on campus in different spheres of sustainability. Students had the opportunity to learn about eight areas:
- Campus Garden & sustainable agriculture
- Career prep
- Civic & community engagement
- Food & dining
- Independent student organizations
- Outdoor recreation & land stewardship
- Peer leadership
- Wakerspace & waste reduction
Not only were students given the opportunity to speak to leaders in these areas, they also learned how they can get involved on campus.
As has become tradition each year, attendees enjoyed a make-your-own taco and burrito bar provided by Harvest Table Culinary Group. The plant-forward fare was an opportunity to showcase how what you put on your plate matters on a global scale.
Plant-forward diets — sometimes called plant-rich diets — provide an alternative to making animal proteins the star of the plate and are a top global solution to climate change. Industrial animal agriculture contributes significantly to land degradation, fertilizer use, and higher greenhouse gas emissions. Plant-forward meals can reduce demand for animal agriculture, and the spread provided by Harvest Table showed that these diets can be easily adopted while still maintaining balanced protein intake and culinary excellence.
Campus sustainability thrives from partnership and collaboration, exemplified by the multiple campus leaders who led breakout sessions at the event. Temi Ogunyomade, the president of the student-run sustainability club, dEaCOfriendly, joined students and explained the club’s goal:
“With dEaCOfriendly, we’re here to prove that being involved with sustainability does not have to be rigid or overwhelming,” she said. “Through our events and initiatives, we emphasize that sustainability can be fun, practical, and woven into the daily lives of Wake students.”
Temi explained how students can get involved in sustainability at a personal level but also at a larger scale. She also addressed the idea that sustainability can be daunting for a lot of people, but it doesn’t have to be.
“Sustainability is broad and can feel overwhelming in terms of knowing where to start. I’d say start small and make it personal,” she said. “The best way to start getting involved is finding the sustainable niche(s) that resonates best with you. Hopefully, dEaCOfriendly can serve as that avenue in helping build sustainable habits, increase eco-consciousness, and create personal connections to sustainability through community.”
The Office of Sustainability offers many educational events like Let’s Taco-bout Sustainability throughout the school year, as well as more long-term programs for students to get involved. Interested individuals can find these on our website under the “Get Involved” page for more information.