Five students gathered around the music building to start their lake cleanup in honor of Native American Heritage Month. The event took place on Nov. 17 from 12 p.m to 2:30 p.m , but was cut short around 1:16 pm. due to weather conditions. The students had trash bags, tools, and garden gloves to use to clean up the lake. Heidriani Nanon, a Diversity Inclusion Equity and Belonging student worker, wanted to coordinate a lake cleanup for his Native American event.

“I want students to have a better relationship with nature. You go to college, it’s a big concrete building sometimes, or it’s glass, right? Not every student has a connection to that, but right out in your backyard is a beautiful landscape,” said Nanon.

The students walked around the lake, picking up trash and piling up driftwood and fallen branches for the groundskeepers to pick up and dispose of. They came up on a large plain and found a pile of shoes under the tree, infested with mites. They quickly placed the boots in the trash bag and went on their way.

Some students came a little later, right after their classes. They expressed interest in the lake and offered to clean up. 

When they came back from their lake cleanup, some trash bags were full of trash and driftwood. Emalee Aymar was one of the students who went to the lake cleanup. 

“Well, considering I want to do environmental science, I’m big on keeping the earth clean,” said Aymar. She teamed up with another student to pick up as much litter as possible.

Letta Green, the senior coordinator for the DEIB department, came to support her student worker and to show her appreciation for the land.

“I think it’s very important because this is the land that will sustain us. This is the land that will sustain our children. And our heritage is cut into the land. So I think it’s very important to commit to the fact that you’re not only making changes for yourself, but changes for your future,” Green said. 

By the end of the cleanup, light refreshments were provided, and the trash bags were handed off to one of the groundskeepers. Even if it was a small group, the lake cleanup was a quaint event that paid tribute to the people who came before us. The students there were passionate about the environment and recognized the importance of creating a connection with the environment around them.