Dressed head-to-toe in a white plastic bodysuit, thick gloves and goggles, LSA junior Anna Snoeyink sorted through heaping piles of pungent trash on the Diag.

Snoeyink volunteered to sift through recyclables and trash emptied from the Diag’s recycling bins yesterday. Though it’s dirty work, Snoeyink said, she enjoyed the experience during yesterday’s EarthFest, an annual event aimed at promoting campus sustainability.

Other highlights of EarthFest included bike repairs by Common Cycle, free snacks, a musical performance by Michigan-based musician Joe Reilly. A number of student organizations focused on environmental issues also set up tables on the Diag for the event.

Snoeyink — a Program in the Environment concentrator — said she thinks EarthFest has a different feel than Festifall — the annual fall event when tables for student groups line the Diag to recruit new members. The difference between the events is that the student groups at EarthFest were asked to refrain from making paper handouts or pressuring students to join their organizations, she said.

LSA sophomore Gabby Trupp, a member of the Taking Responsibility for the Earth and Environment Subcommittee, or TREES — a subcommittee of the LSA Student Government — said the success of EarthFest lies in its ability to get students to focus on environmental issues. She added that she was pleased the pleasant fall weather and free food helped increase attendance at the event.

“Students seem genuinely interested in what’s going on,” Trupp said. “Our main goal is to show conservation is actually doable.”

LSA junior Megan Pfeiffer, another member of TREES, discussed some of the group’s upcoming goals for the year. These include a zero-waste tailgate, installing more water refill stations around campus and expanding the tray-less dining initiative.

New and updated campus dining halls will go tray-less as part of the University’s new sustainability initiatives, which University President Mary Sue Coleman announced yesterday.

Pfeiffer emphasized the importance of collaborations on campus and throughout Ann Arbor on environmental issues. She encouraged all students with an interest in the environment to consider joining the LSA-SG subcommittee.

Also at yesterday’s event were University-sponsored booths where campus officials
discussed recent green initiatives. Grant Winston, associate director of customer service for University Parking and Transportation Services, was at EarthFest to encourage carpooling and to administer surveys to gauge student interest in a bike-sharing program similar to Zipcar. If student response is substantial enough, the University may look into starting its own bike-sharing program, Winston said.

“So far (we’ve had) very strong support from students,” he said.