Are you looking to make a positive impact on campus and the environment? If so, the Lake Land College Environmental Club may be an ideal opportunity for you. The Environmental Club is dedicated to fostering a cleaner and healthier environment and seeks to engage students in supporting various environmental causes throughout the year.
One of Lake Land’s biological science instructors and the advisor for the club, Jeffrey White, mentions that the club is very much student-driven and focuses on making a difference on campus and in the local community. He says, “The idea was to have an opportunity for students who care about the natural world and to get involved in something on campus.” In terms of the club’s activities, White shares that the club partakes in a variety of different projects during the year, all of which are thought up by the club members. He wants the club members to take the initiative and focus on ideas and issues that are important to them.
The club has previously undertaken a variety of projects, such as creating bird-safe banners for the campus library windows, distributing tree seedlings, conducting trash pickups around Lake Charleston and Lake Shelbyville, and establishing bluebird boxes across campus. In addition, they will often partner with and participate in projects at Mattoon’s Douglas-Hart Nature Center.
Recently elected as the president of the Environmental Club, Kyra Hazelton, a student studying Environmental Science, expressed her enthusiasm for the club, stating, “It’s a fantastic way to make a difference. I mean, you walk on this campus every single day, and the things you see are the things people have put there before you, and you can be a part of that. You can have your hand in how campus looks.” She also goes on to say, “The club really fosters a sense of, like, almost family connection. It’s just a good time.”
White also encourages all students to get involved in an extracurricular at Lake Land, whether it be the Environmental Club or not. “I would encourage every single student on campus to get involved in some kind of club or activity because that is how you get the real college experience. If all you do is come to campus, take your classes and leave, you will not really get the real college experience,” White concludes. Therefore, if the Environmental Club does not seem to suit you, there are plenty of other clubs and activity options to check out at Lake Land as well.
If you are interested in checking out Lake Land’s Environmental Club, please reach out to Jeffrey White at [email protected] or stop by his office in Northeast 008. He also invites those who are interested to check out the club during one of their weekly meetings. You can find them each Wednesday at noon in Neal Hall 105.
