To celebrate the beginning of the new academic year and welcome students back to campus, Elizabethtown College’s clubs and organizations held their first meetings. The SEEDS Ecology club decided on a movie night for its first meeting.
“We really wanted to open the year with a light-hearted, relaxed community event,” said club president and Environmental Science major, Ceinwyn Erb.
SEEDS welcomed students to the High Auditorium in the Steinman Center for a showing of “The Lorax.” The movie seemed to be an obvious choice for the club as it handles themes of environmental impact, ecology education and community.
“A big goal that we have for the club this year is diversifying our member base across backgrounds and majors,” Erd said. “With The Lorax being such an iconic part of gen-z media, we hoped it would draw a varied crowd, which we could then introduce to the club.”
The movie night brought around 25 new faces of all different majors to see and hear what SEEDS is all about.
“We saw people from all different majors,” Erb said, “which is a huge win!”
SEEDS is a nationally recognised program that provides community and education about sustainability and ecology to students and club chapters. The acronym stands for “strategies for ecology education, diversity, and sustainability” and the purpose is to bring everyone together, regardless of majors or backgrounds, for a shared love of nature.
However, that’s not the only purpose for SEEDS. The national program also serves as a resource for young professional ecologists such as research grants, field trips and funding for ecological conferences.
For those that missed the movie night, there is plenty more to come from Etown’s SEEDS club.
“We’re planning a variety of events moving forward, including nature walks, sustainability-focused craft nights, and outdoor service events,” Erb said. “While we don’t have regular meeting times, our meetings are usually afternoons or evenings during the week.”
While not yet booked, Erb’s next event plan is to take a group trip to the foraging forest and Miyawaki tree planting on campus to learn about the ecology of campus areas and continue to maintain them.
“We’ll be announcing the date soon!” Erb said. “Along with that, we’ve got a few events in the works–including a birding walk–and some fun things being planned for Homecoming Weekend.”
Additionally, SEEDS will be celebrating ten years as a chapter on Etown’s campus. Erb hopes to highlight the achievement throughout the year with fun ways for the community to celebrate.
If you missed the movie night, or are interested in joining SEEDS, email seedsecology@etown.edu. Students of all majors and backgrounds are welcome to come learn more about the environment as a community.
