Shaozhuo Cui / SPPS
Presented by Sustainable Blacksburg, Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg with the help of the Environmental Coalition, the week-long series of events will include films, fairs, keynote speakers and more, aiming to maximize the community's "sustainability."
Most of the events will focus on educating the Tech community about what they can do to help improve the environment.
"Individually, (we hope) to increase sustainability in Blacksburg and beyond," said Jim Flowers, chairman of the Steering Committee for Sustainable Blacksburg.
According to the Sustainable Blacksburg Web site, the group is a "non-profit community organization which facilitates effective environmental stewardship in the Blacksburg area to enhance the region's livability and economic vitality by reducing its impact on the local and global environment."
Sustainable Blacksburg is made up of over 30 groups from the Blacksburg community, representing various organizations, businesses and the local government.
Sustainability Week is the biggest event of its kind to hit the Tech campus and surrounding Blacksburg area.
Scott Geller, alumni distinguished professor in the psychology department, said it is important to know what we need to sacrifice now in order to have a better future.
"We need to change human behavior to protect the environment," Geller said.
Geller will give a presentation on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Graduate Life Center Auditorium on his community-based research on the human dynamics of environmental protection and environmental sustainability. In his presentation, he will also discuss common issues and topics, such as how you can use worms to aid in composition, oil recycling, recycling and water conservation.
Citizens need to start "actively caring for our environment," Geller said.
Flowers said that the main goal of Sustainability Week is to raise public awareness, to give people the means to walk away with a useful list of things to do, and to give people information that will lead them to opportunities to be active in this conservational endeavor.
Both Geller and Flowers have proposed a pledge that they hope those on the Virginia Tech campus and in the surrounding Blacksburg area will sign and agree to. They suggest that when going to a grocery store, instead of using the paper or plastic offered by the grocery store, you use reusable bags instead.
"You have to remember to do it," Geller said.
They hope that this will be just one step of many to make Blacksburg more sustainable.
One popular event during the week will be the Campus Sustainability Day Fair, held in the Squires Student Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Here, representatives from on and off campus will give students information on "green-living."
Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam, who will be in attendance at Wednesday's events in Squires, said, "It's important that we create and maintain a lifestyle that we can hand down from generation to generation."
For a complete calendar of Sustainability Week events, visit www.vt.edu/sustainability.
Sustainability week at a glance:
Tuesday: 7:00pm Sustainability Week: L. Preston Bryant, Jr., Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia, Keynote Speakers
Wednesday: 7:00pm Sustainability Week: E. Scott Geller, "Leading Environmental Sustainability: From Behavioral Research to Community Intervention" Keynote Speakers
Thursday: 7:30pm Sustainability Week: Recycling at Football Game Tours & Activities
Friday: 1:00pm Sustainability Week: Film - "What a Way to Go: Life at the End of the Empire" Films
Satuday: 3:30pm Sustainability Week: Greenstar Organic Farm Tours & Activities
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