A look into the Student Environmental Association

Members of SEA take part in several annual events put on to raise awareness about the environment, such as Greenstock, where attendees can take part in activities to learn more about green practices. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

The Student Environmental Association (SEA) at USF, the largest environmental club on campus, prides itself on pursuing local, state, national and international environmental campaigns.

While SEA uses its resources to advise members on volunteer and job options in the environmental science field, any student is allowed to be a member of SEA, even if he or she aren’t environmental science or policy majors. The association also provides students with community service project opportunities centered on environmental causes.

“Our overall goals are just to inspire a respect for the environment and to provide a place for like-minded individuals to come and have fun, while also learning about current events,” said Amy Polen, vice president of SEA. 

She expressed that the association was passionate about promoting environmental awareness and activism within the USF student body. The club engages in several social engagements every year, including Bulls Go Green and Greenstock, which are club fairs that seek to promote other green clubs on campus by offering music, food, activities, trivia and crafts to students who stop by.

Some member from the club even took part in an anti-pipeline demonstration in front of Cooper Hall last month.

SEA also organizes its own events both on campus and off to spread the word on environmental issues and to work in and around the community in cleanups and service projects. They participated in this year’s post-Gasparilla clean up put on by Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, and in March, they will work in both Recyclefest and Recycle Mania.

Recycle Mania takes place throughout the entire month and includes clothing drives and a lecture series twice a week, while Recyclefest allows students to go to the MSC amphitheater and participate in green activities and learn more about environmental issues at several different booths.

Polen describes Recyclefest as “a great chance for the USF community to come out and have a good time while getting to do fun activities and learn information from booths.”

“The events tend to stick out since many amazing and passionate people come and share their stories and experiences that they have had in regards to environmental knowledge and activism,” Polen said.  

The club meetings allow members to discuss important current events and according to Polen, they can lead to many impactful conversations.

The club meets in MSC 3705 on the first and third Wednesday of every month from 7-8 p.m.