LOS ANGELES — The celebration was a combination of efforts from the LAVC Art Club and the LAVC Eco-Advocates. It was the final step towards earning a “Tree Campus” certification through the Arbor Day Foundation. Several students proudly informed me that Los Angeles Valley College is the first community college in California to earn this prestigious distinction. (Photo by Courtney Hayden)
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By Courtney Hayden May 9, 2012
LOS ANGELES — Friday morning I took a drive through the canyons to visit Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) in Van Nuys for an Arbor Day celebration. Walking through the campus, I was struck by the number of recycling containers and large bulletins announcing campus environmental projects.
Once I got to the event itself, I discovered the heart of the campus wide movement towards sustainability: a strong core of student leaders.
The celebration was a combination of efforts from the LAVC Art Club and the LAVC Eco-Advocates. It was the final step towards earning a “Tree Campus” certification through the Arbor Day Foundation. Several students proudly informed me that Los Angeles Valley College is the first community college in California to earn this prestigious distinction.
“The event was designed to make Valley College a ‘tree campus,'” says Emelie Traub, LAVC Eco-Advocates Club President. “We have been recognized for our sustainability and our own recognition of trees.”
When asked what visitors would gain from the event, Traub explained that students are “seeing without seeing.” She hopes students and community members will begin to appreciate the many tree species present on the LAVC campus. In order to help students discover this hidden world of diversity, the Eco-Advocates designed a tree scavenger hunt for the Arbor Day celebration.In addition to the scavenger hunt, the LAVC Arbor Day celebration featured a vibrant recycled artwork contest. From recycled milk cartons sculpted into the shape of a man riding a bicycle to a colorful blossom of used crayons, the contest showed that our throw-aways can be beautiful. One of the most impressive designs was wearable: Mimi Ro’s dress made of duct tape, plastic bags, wire framing, bottle caps, a used girdle, and more odds and ends.
“Every spring the Art Club has a recycled art fair. This year, it made perfect sense to combine it with the Arbor Day celebration,” explains Anne Tufenkjian, student organizer of the art contest.
She went on to inform me that the “Recycled Nature” exhibition featured more than 30 pieces, making it LAVC’s largest recycled art contest to date. Tufenkjian was excited and smiling as she discussed the annual growth of the recycled art contest. She says she is looking forward to growing the Art Club’s commitment to sustainability.Local community advocates for environmental sustainability also attended the Arbor Day Celebration. Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign and Audubon Society were a few of the attendees. These groups provided information packets on topics such as hawk identification, how to help stranded baby birds, and identifying native plants. In addition to written information, the local groups offered students advice on where to volunteer in Los Angeles.
LAVC’s Arbor Day Celebration was an enjoyable and successful event. The student leadership was impressive; groups worked together seamlessly to create both a scientifically and artistically engaging event. On behalf of Sierra Club Green Home, I was happy to witness students’ commitment to tree diversity and recycling. I will be watching for the next LAVC sustainability soiree!
For related articles, see: Women of the Green Generation Coming to Los Angeles Stumbling Upon Big Sur’s Sustainable Marathon
© 2012 SCGH, LLC. All rights reserved.
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