The Wichita State University Green Group held their Earth Day Event on Wednesday at the WSU Community Garden. Those who attended helped plant at the garden and could make a t-shirt outside of the Rhatigan Student Center. 

Alice Fitzgerald, the group’s new president, said that it was important to still have an event take place on Earth Day even with some COVID-19 restrictions in place. 

“Green Group is all about sustainability, so of course we have to do something for Earth Day,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s the perfect time to start our garden and get everything planted. We had wanted to do something bigger and we do have online events as well but especially with all the restrictions lifted up, we wanted to be as safe as we could and do the most that we could at the same time.”

Fitzgerald said that Earth Day is like Christmas for the group, so it was important to put on an event. 

“It’s kind of our biggest event,” Fitzgerald said. “We wanted to do a big celebration and plant your own succulents, watch a documentary outside. We’re definitely going to keep celebrating it every year. Especially because it’s Earth Day, people are more likely to listen to us about all the things we want to change on campus and all the things we want to change in general.”

Jaden Wood, a freshman member of the Green Group, took part in the event held on Wednesday. 

Wood said that it was important for her to be involved with nature on Earth Day. 

“I wouldn’t say Earth Day holds any special, special meaning but I care about the planet,” Wood said. “I think we need to do some things to disconnect from technology every now and again.”

The event, which took place at the Community Garden is located on the northeast corner of Ahlberg Hall. The garden was built in 2020 which gives the opportunity for the campus to grow and harvest crops. 

Fitzgerald said that the garden is an important part of the Green Group’s initiative. 

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for students,” Fitzgerald said. “I know I moved three hours to go to school and not having a garden or not having anywhere to put my outside energy has been a culture shock for me when I first came to school. I think this gives people not only the opportunity to garden but also people that need food.”

The Green Group is free to join for anyone interested. Fitzgerald said that they are preparing some events for the summer for those looking to get involved. 

“We are definitely going to have stuff ready for summer,” Fitzgerald said. “One of our members is a yoga instructor on campus so we’re definitely going to do that. We have our meetings, which we have every other Monday at 5 p.m. Anyone’s welcome, you don’t have to come to every meeting or even every other meeting.”