The University of Indianapolis Green Team is hosting a sustainability event from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. on April 3 in UIndy Hall A of the Schwitzer Student Center. The event, entitled “Green House: Transforming Trash,” is open to all students and faculty and is intended to encourage eco-friendly thinking on and off campus.
Sustainability Team Intern, Green Team Vice President and sophomore professional and creative writing major Jessi Tillman believes that students do have a big impact on raising green awareness throughout the community as a whole.
Senior graphic design major Jenn Wolf and senior nursing major Courtney Lane prepare for “Green House.” (Photo by Annisa Nunn)
“You, as a person, do have an impact,” Tillman said. “You might not see it now, but it will make a difference.”
The sustainability event is “a complicated bunch of collaborations,” said Director of Experience Design and Associate Professor of History Samantha Meigs. “It’s actually a multi-level collaboration. The student Green Team and the Sustainability Committee here on campus are actually the ones who launched this.”
Meigs’ experience design students are creating their sixth project of the year for the event by building a house made entirely out of PVC pipe and other materials that are recycled and upcycled. The university showed its support for the event by allocating funds and donating wood pallets to be used as furniture inside the house.
“It’ll be big,” Meigs said. “There’s going to be four 10×10 rooms, and it will be in UIndy Halls with a garden.”
Meigs said that a great deal of research was done in the process of preparing to build the eco-friendly house. She also explained how the house will look and be set up.
“It’ll be an invisible set. It’s made of PVC pipe, so it has all of the walls, but you see through them,” Meigs said.
Along with the house display, there will be servings of eco-themed food at the event such as dirt pudding, green juice and other finger foods to help emphasize the message of “green awareness.”
Meigs said that she hopes the university will consider making the sustainability event an annual occurrence.
