Lafayette Offers Full Week of Earth-Friendly Activities

Fellow Claire Kelloway joined the Bon Appétit team at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, for their ambitious series of sustainability events as a part of the college’s annual Earth Week celebration.

Lafayette Marketing Coordinator Alexa Rossi hands out eco to-go containers at an Earth Week kickoff picnic

Claire and Marketing Manager Alexa Rossi hosted a big pop-up at the Earth Week kickoff carnival to advertise Lafayette’s eco to-go system by distributing eco clamshells. In all, Claire and Marketing Manager Alexa Rossi handed out a whopping 250 new eco to-go containers to delighted students. Free cookies and a coupon to exchange their dirty container for a clean one after the event kept spirits high. Recycling games, local foods, a low-carbon race, and live music all contributed to the festive atmosphere.

At the “LaFarm to Table Dinner,” everything was locally sourced — like a spring Eat Local Challenge. (Even the soda machines were turned off in favor of agua fresca flavored with local pears.) In addition to the delicious meal, volunteers from LaFarm, the college’s community garden and working farm, hosted action stations throughout the café, inviting guests to peel garlic, cut potatoes for planting, and sign up to volunteer at LaFarm. Alexa and Claire also hosted a Weigh the Waste station, while the sustainability office presented a display of student compost research and a soil sample guessing game.

First-year Lafayette students help plant herbs to create LaFarm’s “herb island”

A fantastic volunteer day at LaFarm capped off the busy week, with roughly 30 students, staff, and professors helping to ready the farm for the upcoming growing season. Campus farmer Sarah Edmonds put everyone to work picking up highway trash, spreading compost, and planting potatoes and herbs.

Executive Chef Scott Sypniewski offered a burrito picnic from the Lafayette Food Truck to feed the hardworking volunteer farmhands. They feasted on chicken and vegetable burritos, pasta salad, chips and salsa, and fudge brownies — a splendid way to wrap up the campuswide celebration of environmental awareness.

Submitted by Claire Kelloway, Fellow, and Alexa Rossi, Marketing Coordinator