Creighton University has many organizations that strive toward the betterment of its students as well as the campus. Green Jays, which has only been around for about five years, has been working hard to begin to make our campus green. The organization is currently working on getting a long-term project up and running.
“The project is called Ban the Bottle,” Eric Queck, Arts & Sciences junior and president of Green Jays, said. “We would purchase about 500 reusable bottles and then give them out for free to students to help curb the use of non-reusable plastic water bottles.”
The project has been unable to get fully started because of lack of funding, although the hope this year is to get corporate funding. However, the club has been successful in implementing a bike program.
“We plan a few bike rides a semester open to students, offer winter and summer long-term bike storage and help in promoting safe and accessible biking around Omaha at Earth Day and other campus events,” Anna Green, Arts & Sciences senior and active member of Green Jays, said. “Whether biking is for personal enjoyment, exercise or transportation, it helps students see the Omaha community and their own neighborhoods from a different perspective.”
Green said many students do not know where to bike in Omaha or how to bike in an urban environment. Creating these educational opportunities is a step toward helping students learn how to do just that.
“Going green and [creating] sustainability is a multi-faceted issue simultaneously working on issues of poverty, community, basic human dignity and justice,” Green said. “We must begin to understand that the actions of humanity are interconnected.”
The organization has also participated in community gardening for about three years and has made it possible to have a garden put on campus.
“Green Jays is important to Creighton because we work very closely with the college’s Sustainability Council,” Queck said. “This means that we are the student voice of how Creighton should be maintaining facilities with sustainability in mind. The council is also responsible for the solar panels and wind turbines on campus.”
Although Green Jays has been working hard on their own, Queck said they do appreciate student involvement.
“At meetings we also ask for student input,” Queck said. “We want to know what the students are concerned about and how we can address those issues through activities and events. The core idea of the club is that we want every student to have a voice in what our club does.”