ANDREW NOSTVICK OP/ED EDITOR
The environment is on full display this year as Wartburg College will put on the first ever Go Green Fair at the Hall of Champions in “The W” on Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Commission on Mission service task force is responsible for putting on the event as part of a look at environmental issues. According to its Web site, the task force is responsible for launching an initiative on four key concepts: leadership, service, faith and learning.
Waverly Light and Power (WLP) is co-sponsoring the event and will demonstrate energy efficiency topics and ways to help people lower their monthly bill and lower their carbon footprint.
“We jumped in and said yes. That is something that is definitely our mission and we’re very happy that Wartburg is taking the lead in that,” Sheila Boeckman of Waverly Light and Power said.
Roy Ventullo, professor of biology, said there will be about 20 vendors including student groups, local businesses and other groups talking about sustainability.
“It’s a smaller group than some of the larger events,” Ventullo, who is a co-chair of the Commission on Mission task force on Service said. “But it’s a good cross section of the kinds of things that might be helpful for people. There will be things there for students; there will be things there for the surrounding area.”
Genuine Faux Farms in Tripoli, owned by Rob and Tammy Faux, professors at Wartburg, will have an exhibit.
Rob Faux said they are honored to be in a position to be able to share what they do with others and to help people find connections to the land and their food sources.
“It is a part of our mission to educate others about local, sustainable and organic food and food production. We believe the Go Green Fair will be a venue where we can reach out to interested persons and provide some ‘food for thought’ about what we eat,” Faux said.
Also, Great American Outdoor in Des Moines is bringing two electric cars to the fair.
“I think there’s going to be an opportunity to drive the cars to see what an electric car is like, but depending on how the weather is, that could go either way,” Ventullo said.
Faux said people need opportunities to hear about these ideas in part because not everyone gets to each event and it takes repeated exposures to get from recognition of an issue to action on that issue.
“It’s also important to recognize that events such as the Go Green Fair are only as successful as the people who attend it,” he said. “We need people to come and to have the desire to explore and learn.”
Ventullo said it’s important to get the information out to people, whether it be students or in the local community.
“We’re also highlighting the service groups on campus that are doing green events like Earth and Peace and Justice and some of the folks who have applied for grant money off-campus to help green the campus up,” he said.
Faux wants everybody that comes to be ready to ask questions.
“The booth holders at the fair will certainly do their best to answer questions and even if you leave without all of your questions answered, you will likely leave with a better idea of where you can get started,” he said.