Despite the growing number of all campus events in April, GECO still managed to make time for camping at Micheaux State Park. Students hiked and camped along the Appalachian trail. After a night of good food and friendship, the students returned intact to the college.
Strawberry Hill Service Trip
In April 2012, GECO teamed up with APO, Gettysburg's service fraternity to work at Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve. Students cleared trails and helped weed out non-native plants that can be detrimental to the environment. Strawberry Hill provides hiking trails and educational activities for the greater Gettysburg community, including the college. GECO is proud to support Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve.
Keystone Pipeline Protest
GECO members have participated in several of the 350.org sponsored protests against the Keystone Pipeline. The Spring 2013 protest recorded >50,000 protesters, making it the largest environmental demonstration in our nation's history.
Servo Tour
Recently students took a tour of the Gettysburg Dining facility. affectionately known as "Servo." Students got to see where food production takes place, learn about how the dining center operates and sustainability measures practiced by the dining center. Special thanks to Gary and Deb for their help!
In February GECO members attended a sustainability conference at Bucknell university. Along with other colleges the discussed what made their college sustainable. The purpose of the conference was to be able to share and brainstorm ideas to reach the goal of sustainable campuses. GECO members created goals for themselves at the conference, including a plastic water bottle free campus and improving student participation in green practices. To learn more about how Gettysburg measures up- check out: /new-page.html
Gettysburg Green Week
In the fall, GECO students hosted Gettysburg Green Work, formerly coined Sustainability week. The purpose of the week is to raise awareness on campus about sustainability issues. This year students hosted a local politician who talked about Gettysburg water issues, films, free re-usable water bottle decorating and trick-or-treating for plastic water bottles to raise awareness about how much waste water bottles create.
Road Rally 2010
On Saturday, 10/16, GECO members participated in the Adams County 12th Annual Road Rally! Hosted by the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC), the Road Rally took participants on an afternoon adventure throughout the farms and historical sites of the Gettysburg area. Special Thanks to Mary Margaret Stewart, our sponsor for the event. For more information about the LCAC, take a look at our partners page. And be sure to check out our photos pages to see more Road Rally stops!
Sustainability Week 2010
Sustainability Week 2010 was a great success! Each year, GECO teams up with Farmhouse and other groups to spread the word for a week of sustainable activities, presentations and food! Servo hosts a local food night, where meals are made from produce and food from farms in Adams County. Professors held lectures sustainability, films about the environment today and living sustainably were shown, as well as a fabulous "Potluck Dessert" and movie screening hosted by Farmhouse.
Volunteer Labor
Sunday, Nov 7th 2010 a group of us went to the home of two ES professors to do yard work. We had auctioned of 10 'man' hours and proceeds of the auction went to Strawberry Hill Nature Reserve.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Nov 14, 2009, we participated in one of CBF's volunteer watershed restoration activities. The Chesapeake Bay is still extremely degraded.
Gettysburg 350 Festival
GECO, Farmhouse, and the Gettysburg community took part in the Gettysburg 350 Festival on Oct 24, the International Day of Climate Change Action,at the Lutheran Seminary. We sent the message to global leaders that we will no longer tolerate inaction on climate change we our collective passion! Go to www.350.org/gettysburg for registration and directions.
Sustainability Week 2009
Oct 18-24, we showed an environmental film on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. Thank you to everyone who came, and we hope you enjoyed the films! We also co-hosted "100 Mile Meal" at Servo with Farmhouse the night of Oct 22.
Earth Day
GECO organizes an annual Earth Day celebration every spring. It is a fantastic festival that raises environmental awareness while still being an all-around great time. And of course, the tie-dye T-shirts are always a huge hit. Look forward to next spring's Earth Day!
PowerShift
Every year, GECO sends representatives to PowerShift, a national forum on climate change organized by the Energy Action Coalition. For more information and to see regional forums, visit http://www.powershift09.org/.
Focus the Nation
In January 2008, GECO hosted a campus "teach-in" for climate change action, one of hundreds across the nation. Check out http://www.focusthenation.org/ for an update about what this cool organization is doing.