USM Plans Series of Events in October as Part of National Campus Sustainability Month

The University of Southern Mississippi's Office of Sustainability has a packed lineup of events on tap in October on its Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses as part of National Campus Sustainability Month.

Held every October, Campus Sustainability Month is an international celebration of sustainability in higher education. Throughout the month, colleges and universities organize events on campus and elsewhere to engage and inspire incoming students and other campus stakeholders to become sustainability change agents.

Melissa Covington-Olsen, sustainability coordinator at USM, notes that sustainability month provides an opportunity to engage with the campus community on more than just environmental aspects, while also educating them on the different facets of economic and social sustainability.

“This is important for our campus community because sustainability is intertwined and can be applied throughout all the different disciplines,” said Covington-Olsen. “Once aware of this, the hope is that our community will find ways to apply this knowledge into what they are currently doing now or what they may be doing in the future.”

The October sustainability events at USM's Hattiesburg campus include:

Oct. 2 – Paint the Rock, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Oct. 3 – Swap Table, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Shoemaker Square
Oct. 4 – Swap Table, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Shoemaker Square
Oct. 9 – Waste Audit, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Weathersby Lawn
Oct. 16 – CCE Sweet Potato Drop, 3 p.m., between Cook Library and Centennial Green
Oct. 22 – Science Café: Decoding the Weather, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., Cook Library, Room 123
Oct. 24 – Social Justice Fair, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Shoemaker Square
Oct. 29 – Lecture by Fan Zhang: Sustainability in Building Design and Construction, Noon-1 p.m., Thad Cochran Center, Room 216.

October sustainability events at USM's Gulf Park campus in Long Beach include:

Oct. 1 – Acceptable Plastics Tabling Event, Noon-3 p.m., Fleming Education Center rotunda (Gulf Park sustainability officer Allie Clemons will be on hand to discuss changes to the campus' recycling program).
Oct. 2 – Acceptable Plastics Tabling Event, Noon-3 p.m., Science Building lobby
Oct. 3 – Acceptable Plastics Tabling Event, Noon-3 p.m., Library Brick Plaza
Oct. 4 – Acceptable Plastics Tabling Event, Noon-3 p.m., Lloyd Hall lobby
Oct. 9 – Microplastics Presentation and Sample Viewing with EcoEagles, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Fleming Education Center, 104
Oct. 10 – Plarn Class, Noon-3 p.m., Lloyd Hall lobby (learn how to convert plastic bags into yarn)
Oct. 16 – Halloween Swap Table, Noon-3 p.m., Fleming Education Center rotunda
Oct. 17 – Halloween Swap Table, Noon-3 p.m., Science Building lobby
Oct. 20 – Mississippi Coastal Cleanup, 8 a.m.-11 a.m., Long Beach Harbor
Oct. 22 – Plarn Class, 9 a.m.-Noon, Lloyd Hall lobby
Oct. 31 – Spooky Vegan Bake Sale, 2:30-6:30 p.m., Fleming Education rotunda

To learn more about sustainability at USM, contact Melissa Covington-Olsen, Hattiesburg, at Melissa.covingtonFREEMississippi or Allie Clemons, Gulf Park, at alexandra.clemonsFREEMississippi