Stewarding God’s Creation: Baylor Unites for Campus Sustainability Month

Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, 254-327-8012 
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Whether getting your hands dirty in a community garden, composting food waste or reducing your environmental impact, getting involved with sustainability efforts helps foster a deeper awareness of the world around us. Throughout October, Baylor University's Office of Sustainability in partnership with the College of Arts & Sciences and the interdisciplinary Environmental Humanities program, will host a series of events celebrating the sustainability efforts around campus in honor of Campus Sustainability Month.

Creating time and space for the Baylor family to participate in the many sustainability efforts around campus directly leads to building a stronger community as stewards of God’s creation. As part of an international initiative, the events encourage local actions that impact future generations. Many of the events are approved for Creative Arts Experience (CAE) credit for Baylor students and are noted below. 

“Sustainability Month shines a light on the diverse ecosystem of faculty, staff and students across disciplines who care deeply about sustainability and understand both its local and global impact,” said Andrea Valdez, M.A. ’23, Baylor Community Garden and urban agriculture outreach program manager. “It offers our campus a unique opportunity to ‘think globally while acting locally’ and it highlights the collaborative efforts that bring together people from different backgrounds and fields, all united in their commitment to creating a sustainable future.”

Over the past year, Baylor has put a greater emphasis on sustainability across campus, including creating two new roles to strengthen the efforts. Valdez began in June, with her work centering around the Baylor Community Garden as an educational tool for students to explore the relationship between society and the environment. Gary Cocke, M.S., senior director of sustainability, joined Baylor in April, bringing more than a decade of sustainability leadership experience in higher education, municipal government and non-profit sectors.  

“Student involvement in sustainability is a rising tide that lifts all boats and participating in Sustainability Month events can provide context to classroom instruction through co-curricular experiences that help students understand where their passions and talents lie,” Cocke said. “Furthermore, it’s a great opportunity for students to learn about the issues that this generation of young people will face, and in many cases, apply their education to address.”

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, Sept. 25

4 p.m. Green Teas with Environmental Humanities, Carroll Science, fourth-floor lounge. Join the first Green Teas event of the semester where students and faculty gather together to think green and grow community through tea and conversation. Learn what is happening in classes, on campus and in the community. This event is led by Joshua King, Ph.D., professor of English and director of Environmental Humanities Minor and will be held several times throughout the semester. 

Friday, Oct. 4

4 p.m. Celebrating Our Kinship with Creation, Baylor Community Garden, 1721 South 9th St. On Oct. 4, people around the world celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, known for his love of all creation’s members and recognized as the Patron Saint of Ecology since 1979. The event honors his call to kinship with all members of creation in his poem “Canticle of the Creatures.” The event will include a blessing of animals by Rev. Matthew Aughtry, assistant director for Baylor Chapel for Ministry in the Arts. Attendees can offer their creative tributes to creatures by painting and decorating the garden beds with CO2-absorbing paints generously donated by Pinnacle Paints using stencils created by students from Baylor’s Department of Art and Art History. Approved for CAE credit.

Wednesday, Oct. 16

5 p.m. Inaugural Green Film Fest: Harvesting Justice in Southern Communities of Color, Marrs McLean Science Building, Room 101. Three short films will be featured on World Food Day, celebrating how communities of color in Texas and the broader American South have charted paths to food resilience and sustainability. After the short films, Jacob Abell, Ph.D., assistant professor of French and Environmental Humanities affiliated faculty, will moderate a panel discussion and Q&A with guest speakers from the community. Approved for CAE credit.

Friday, Oct. 18

4 p.m. Local Learning Excursion: Getting to Know Your Feathered Neighbors at Lover’s Leap in Cameron Park. Elesha Coffman, Ph.D., professor of history and Environmental Humanities affiliated faculty, will lead students using the Merlin Birding App to identify birds in Cameron Park. Students are invited to bring bird-related poems, which can be found using Poetry Foundation or Poets.Org. Finally, reflection will include Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is a thing with feathers.” Approved for CAE credit.

Wednesday, Oct. 30

5 p.m. Wings of Migration: Monarchs and Cultures in Movement at Baylor Community Garden. Jesús Montaño, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, will lead a thought-provoking conversation on migration, a universal experience shared across species and human lives, symbolized by the monarch butterfly’s incredible journey of resilience. After the discussion, participants can view Latinx young adult literature on the topic of migration, stencil paint for garden beds with C02-absorbing paint generously donated by Pinnacle Paints and join in an environmentally themed game of Lotería. Approved for CAE credit. 

Wednesday, Nov. 20

4 p.m. Green Teas with Environmental Humanities Carroll Science, fourth-floor lounge. Join the second Green Teas event of the semester.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES  

Environmental Humanities (EHUM) is an interdisciplinary field that explores how nature and human cultures interact. Directed by Joshua King, Ph.D., professor of English, the program draws from a deep commitment of faculty across the campus, including philosophy, history, literature, language, sociology, arts, political science and environmental science, creating a comprehensive approach to environmental questions. Environmental Humanities is a major partner of the Baylor Community Garden (BCG) next to Baylor’s campus at the corner of 9th and James, which provides students with an opportunity for education, volunteering and student projects, as well as being vital to alleviating food insecurity on campus and in the local community.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website. 

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.