by Christi Mathis
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The announcement of grant winners and thought-provoking speakers will be featured at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Green Fund Award Ceremony from noon to 4 p.m. on April 19.
The event, with the theme “We are All Connected – Celebrating Earth Month,” will take place in the Student Center’s Renaissance Room. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Environmental activist will speak
The keynote speaker is Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, an environmental justice warrior, Rhodes scholar and the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist. A first-generation American whose family hails from Kenya, she grew up gardening with her mother and grandmother and learned much about environmental stewardship. Her commitment became personal and solidified in a high school environmental science class where she learned how social justice and climate issues correlate.
She became an activist and climate justice storyteller, using social media to share about the environmental movement roots and ways communities of color and women have been hurt by climate change. She serves as the board chair for Environmental Media Association, an organization that brings climate issues to the entertainment industry, and she works with other creative people to mainstream climate justice. She is a narrative fellow at All We Can Save Project and was recently a Revolutionary Power Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked to integrate energy justice into the federal landscape.
Gatheru was named a Young Futurist by The Root, a Grist 50 FIXER, a “Glamour” College Woman of the Year and a Victoria’s Secret PINK Purpose Project winner. The youngest member of the Earthjustice Council and the first Black person to earn the Rhodes, Truman and Udall Scholarships, she has brought her messages about the environment to audiences across the country, including SIU.
Her presentation is set for 1 p.m.
Full afternoon agenda
There will be much happening during the ceremony, beginning with a welcome by Aimee Lemrise, sustainability director for SIU, at noon. Justin Harrell, senior engineer on campus, will then speak about ongoing and future sustainability initiatives.
At 2 p.m., the winners of the 2023 Green Fund Awards will be announced. The announcement comes just a few days before the national Earth Day on April 22.
More than $2.3 million has been awarded already for 225 diverse sustainability projects and that commitment will be proven again with the announcement of the newest grant recipients. The funding for the grants comes from a student Green Fee of about $10 per semester, adopted in 2009 as the result of a student-led initiative.
The afternoon wraps up with time for questions and answers and a social. Refreshments will be served.
SIU is also celebrating Earth Month throughout April in conjunction with the Carbondale community.