The AU Office of Sustainability’s annual Sustainability Picnic celebrates the community’s actions towards sustainable living while calling attention to the work that still needs to be done towards goals for Nature, Economy, Society, and Wellbeing.
The zero-waste event featured campus and community organizations from the Natural History Museum and Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department to AU Bees and Citizens Climate Lobby. Free ice-cream and Italian Ice by O Town Ice-cream brought a refreshing reprieve from one of the hottest days of the year and food was served by Tiger Catering on frisbees lined with compostable paper. The Office of Sustainability provided reusable utensils for picnic guests to take home, and water bottle refill stations were scattered throughout the event.
The WRC’s displays featured only QR codes as paper hand-outs were discouraged. AWW offered a raffle entry for folks who signed up for the AWWareness Newsletter during the picnic and winnings included a t-shirt, bumper sticker, keychain and water bottle sticker.
It can be easy to lose hope these days, with news of climate change, habitat destruction, forever chemicals and environmental disaster headlining our news and social media feeds. Thankfully, Auburn University undergraduate, graduate, and OLLI students, faculty, staff, and passionate members of the community are committed to sustainability and have their sights set on progress!
Read more about the Office of Sustainability’s initiatives here.