The Rolla High School Eco-Club and the Missouri University of Science & Technology combined forces to host the first ever Sustainability Day on Monday, November 29. Lasting an entire day, the purpose of the event was to teach students more about their environment and how they could more effectively care for the earth. Each of the science classes spent their usual class time at Sustainability Day, learning about sustainability through interactive and informative activities.

“This day really is about learning how to sustain and help the environment and making people aware of what they are doing to our earth,” Eco-Club vice president Danielle Insall said.

Each class was separated into ten different teams. Set up in the small gym were seven different stations which the team had to make it through within a 20-minute time limit. Similar to “The Amazing Race” the groups had to work together to earn fake cash, which represented the overall points. The seven stations that were set up for the students were Recycle Relay, Speed Read, Soda Can Shootout, Clinko, Compost Pile, Quiz Show, and Wheel of Fortune. The team with the most cash at the end of each hour won prizes likes a Panera Bread gift card or a free cone at South Central Creamery.

“I know a lot of people at the quiz show were saying, ‘I didn’t realize we recycled that much or that we can be so harmful to the environment.’  I think it really made an impact,” Eco-Club treasurer Erica Westenberg said.

As the concern for environmental sustainability has risen in the past ten years, so has to desire to do something about it. Both Eco-Club members and MS&T students, like Melissa Ruth, an MBA student at the University, considered the day a success.

“Our main goal was to bring in awareness, maybe that didn’t exist before, basically making the concepts related to sustainability, recycling and that sort of thing fun for another generation of students,” Ruth said. “I thought the reaction was great, maybe even better than we expected.”

Some might have been afraid that a day all about science, recycling and conservation would be tedious, but the fast pace of the activities and the added benefit of competition and prizes made it a lucrative and enjoyable endeavor.

“I think the students are learning things without realizing they’re learning. I don’t think many students came to Sustainability Day to learn things or gain knowledge from it, but I think just by being here they are picking up things they wouldn’t have otherwise understood. I think it’s a good opportunity for them to get excited about sustainability, and not just because it gets them out of class,” Lydia Johnston, Eco-Club member said.

It was so successful, in fact, the Eco-Club, as well as the students from MS&T, look forward to a successful future for Sustainability Day.

“I saw a few things we could maybe change in the future to make it more interactive, but overall it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves, which was really the main idea,” Ruth said.