Sustainable Spring Cleaning Tips
Happy Spring season, Panthers! With Spring Break quickly approaching, now is the perfect time for some Spring cleaning. Going home for break? We encourage you to look around your room and take clothes and other items back home with you to start lightening your load. Don't wait until move-out, act now and reduce the amount of clutter you have to remove from your dorm in May! You can also choose to sell, recycle, or donate your clothing or household items to local clothing drives or donation centers. Here a few tips to get started:
- Get in the spring-cleaning mindset
Consider your seasonal clothes
Go through every piece and ask when the last time you wore it was
Decide what you will keep, bring home, sell, or donate
Assess the quality of each piece and if it’s appropriate to donate
Donate to the donation bins found in your complex
Get rid of any other miscellaneous items
Additional steps and tips can be found here: Closet Cleanout Tips
Check Out the NEW Donation Bins!
Chapman Grand, Panther Village, and The K just got some sweet new donation bins for clothes and shoes. Now you can easily donate your unwanted clothes and shoes - look out for the bins next time you're walking around the complexes. These bins can be found near the pool at Chapman Grand, around the corner from the basketball courts of PV, and in the main courtyard of The K. And don't forget about the existing clothing and shoe donation bin outside the Davis Community Center. Help divert excess waste from landfills and give your unused clothing and shoes new homes!
Left to right: Chapman Grand, Panther Village, The K
Environmental Impact of Recent Abundance of Rain
Did you catch the recent “hail” Chapman received a couple weeks ago? Climate change is impacting weather patterns across the country, and California has seen record rain, intense floods, and weather warnings within the last few months. Researchers have been investigating the impacts of increased fossil fuels on environmental conditions, specifically increases in temperature. The warmer air in the atmosphere can hold more moisture, thus creating atmospheric rivers. An atmospheric river is a long, narrow band of tropical moisture that gets carried along the atmosphere and transports vast amounts of water vapor from regions near the equator to mid-latitude locations like California.
Climate scientists are saying that while this weather may seem “remarkable”, these weather patterns might have been considered “unremarkable” just a few decades ago if it were not for the extreme drought occurring throughout California the past several years as a result of the climate crisis. Although California has received large amounts of rain and snow, drought restrictions remain in effect, and water conservation efforts must remain in place.
We encourage you to leave out rainwater collection containers during the rain if you have the space to do so. Recycled rainwater can be used to water plants as well as clean outdoor furniture and other hard surfaces such as paths, windows, walls, driveways, and sidewalks.
Student Opportunities
Climate Leadership Conference
From May 10-12, The Climate Registry is hosting its annual Climate Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. They are in need of student volunteers studying environmental sciences to assist with the operations of the conference. Volunteers help with registration, room setup, and other miscellaneous tasks. In return, volunteers gain access to all of the conference sessions, meal events, and reception. Applications are due by April 15!
Learn more here!
Become a Move-Out Sustainability Representative
Want to contribute to Chapman's sustainability goals and make a quick buck? We’re looking for students to help during move-out week. As a Move-Out Sustainability Representative, you’ll have the responsibility of managing donation stations at the residence halls to ensure that good quality clothing, furniture, and household item donations are collected. In this position, you’ll help the Office of Sustainability achieve their goals to divert as much waste as possible from landfills and help make move-out more eco-friendly! More information will be shared soon on details for this role.
Send any questions about the position to sustainability@chapman.edu
Article Picks
Current research has discovered a large starfish with a big appetite for sea urchins that could help restore the kelp forests off the West Coast. The growing sea urchin population off the West Coast continues to feed on the kelp. These kelp forests are vital to protect the marine ecosystems off the coast as they provide food, nursery areas, and shelter for aquatic life. The restoration of sea stars is one of the most efficient and viable strategies to combat kelp forest depletion.
Seaweed is starting to attract new money and new purposes throughout the world. With constant environmental changes, more research is being done on new strategies to combat these climate disasters. Startups have highlighted the use of seaweed to feed livestock and invent new production methods for plastic alternatives. Read this article to learn more about the benefits that seaweed can have and the challenges that it may face with climate change.
As California has experienced heavy rain and snow, everyone is having to make adjustments including Yosemite National Park. The frequent storms looming over California along with the unusually cold weather led to snow fall rather than rain in Yosemite Valley. Earlier this month, Yosemite beat the record of 36 inches of snow depth in 1969 with more than 40 inches in the last couple of weeks. As a result, the park has been closed with projections to open up March 16 with possibilities of extension for safety reasons.
