Sustainable and Accessible!
The University of the Pacific has been working hard over the last ten years to bring a sustainable lifestyle to its students. We can acknowledge the improvements that we still need to make while celebrating our current accomplishments.
Last year, our campus was ranked among the top 10 universities world wide in food and dining sustainability efforts. A large percentage of the produce served to students comes from farms within 150 miles of the Stockton campus. Also, leftover food is donated to a Stockton non-profit called St. Mary’s Dining Room.
But what is available to students on campus? The Ted and Chris Robb garden was completed in the 2010s and it provides fresh produce to students throughout the school year. Students are involved in every step of the creation and consumption of these fruits and vegetables. Student gardeners are employed in the garden to take care of and harvest the plants.
They also help run the Robb Garden Farmer’s Market that is held every Tuesday from 9:30am to 11:30am. Any Pacific student can show their ID card at the Farmer’s Market to get free produce to enjoy! Community members can also enjoy the affordable fruits and vegetables. If you miss out on the Farmer’s Market, you can also often find produce from the Robb garden at the food pantry in the Wendell Phillips Center room 98 at the south entrance of the building. It is open Monday and Wednesday from 9:00am to 4:30 pm.
University has other sustainability based events coming up in the near future! The annual Green Fashion and Art Show will occur on April 15th in the De Rosa University Center Ballroom from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The fashion show will feature thrifted and upcycled outfits designed and modeled by students from Pacific! Sustainable art pieces will also be featured. Don’t forget to check out the Instagram page @sustainingpacific16 for more information and updates!
If you have unique ideas for sustainable features on campus, consider applying for the Sustainability Project Investment Fund in the future. The fund has paid for the solar charging tables near the DUC and the zero electricity exercise machines in the Baun Fitness Center in the past. Who knows what awesome ideas they will support in the future.
Consider supporting sustainability at Pacific by getting involved! Try the produce from the Robb garden, attend the Green Fashion and Art Show in April and submit your ideas for sustainability projects to the Sustainability Project Investment Fund in the future. The first step to living a “greener” life is to engage in the systems that are already provided. Then you take your first steps into making the world around you a better place.
