This story was originally published in Vol. 34, Issue 2 (October 2023)
With concerns about climate change and finite resources on the rise, there are discussions among students about the sustainability of our campus. The recently established Environmental Science Club is seeking to make our campus greener by addressing issues of sustainability.
One hot topic for the environmental science club is a lack of plant-based foods on campus. Club Secretary Hugo Vasconcelos, a senior majoring in environmental science, revealed plans to set up a cafe booth in early October to showcase appealing and affordable plant-based food options. This initiative aims to educate students by providing environmentally friendly alternatives to snacks that contribute to carbon emissions. Several club members including Vasconcelos expressed their concerns regarding the low amount of plant-based foods in the cafe, citing it as a key area for a change in their quest for a greener campus.
“I’d like to go [with] plant-based options, then we can try and promote a cafeteria that is more popular while still having a reduced [environmental] impact,” said Vasconcelos.
Vice-Chancellor of Finance and Operations Jenny Chambers-Taube acknowledged the club’s concerns about the cafe’s food options, but stated that changing the menu is not something the campus can directly control, as the Canteen Micro Market located in the Dengerink building is under a lease agreement. Chambers-Taube said that the cafe is more likely, though not guaranteed, to make changes to their menu if students give their feedback to them directly.
“It is a contractual relationship, and they want to keep us happy because we’re their clients… one of the things that they’re required to do is have signs down there with a QR code, a phone number and email a way for customers to provide them with information about what it is you want to eat,” said Chambers-Taube. “So if a lot of people on campus are providing that feedback, they’re going to be more responsive to that than just me as one person telling them that.”
Chambers-Taube said that directly providing alternate food options to students is still a challenge for WSU Vancouver. While the Canteen Micro Market’s lease will end in the summer of 2024, Chambers-Taube believes that alternatives to the cafe are still limited, citing low enrollment as the main reason.
“There is some unhappiness with it on campus, the problem is that if we try to deliver food service ourselves, it never covers its costs,” said Chambers-Taube. “I’ve projected that it would need to be subsidized to about $200,000 a year.”
Chambers-Taube also shared future plans to incorporate native plants into campus construction projects, particularly around the new Sciences Building under construction. Additionally, the campus is exploring ways to increase electric vehicle charging resources on campus in the future, including government funding for installing charging stations.
WSU Vancouver Chancellor Mel Netzhammer echoed Chambers-Taube’s sentiment, pointing to low enrollment as a primary obstacle for the implementation of alternative food options. Additionally, Netzhammer encourages students to provide feedback on food choices to the cafe. A top priority for him this semester is to form an Environmental Advisory Board composed of faculty and students. Netzhammer stated that the Environmental Advisory Board, informally known as the “green team,” is on track to be established before the end of the fall semester.
“We are in the process of bringing a group of faculty staff and students together to [form a] ‘green team,’” said Netzhammer. “Broadly, it will be an advisory group that will make recommendations to us about how we can be better as a campus community in meeting our sustainability goals.”
The Environmental Science Club also places high value on student voices in the efforts towards greater environmental sustainability. However, the club’s influence on campus is currently limited, as the student group is not a recognized committee according to club officer and environmental science senior Leonard Swatosh. Despite this, Swatosh noted having promising discussions with members of the Environmental Sustainability Alliance, WSU Pullman’s environmentally focused committee.
Swatosh said this could potentially lead to the club’s formal recognition as a permanent committee on the Vancouver campus, which could grant the club greater influence over campus matters and expand funding opportunities for sustainability initiatives.
“In the meeting with Pullman’s Environmental Sustainability Alliance, we learned about how they work as a committee on campus, as well as some details as to how they became one,” said Swatosh. “Becoming a committee on this campus is one of the big goals that we would like to achieve.”
Club President and environmental science senior Trinity Reeves outlined the club’s agenda for the fall, including a movie night in November, a mycology (the study of fungi) show in October and a clothing swap event. These activities aim to engage students in environmental stewardship. Reeves underscored the club’s commitment to its cause, stating that the club intends to host many future events for environmentally inclined students.
“I’ve been wanting to collab with other clubs on working to make their events and their projects more sustainable, or environmentally friendly, when it comes to choosing what they’re purchasing,” said Reeves.