Sac State’s VS PINK Team leads Earth Day campus clean-up
A group of students walks near the American River bike trail. They later broke off into groups of two or three to better search for trash.
May 3, 2023
With graduation on the horizon, Sac State is glittering with the plastic confetti of photo shoots and celebration, sprinkling itself across the fields, bike trails and into the neighboring waterfront where it will sink into the landscape.
Gearing up for Earth Day
In celebration of Earth Day and in an effort to combat on-campus trash, the women of the VS PINK Campus Team decided to organize a riverfront campus clean-up. The VS PINK Campus Team is composed of five members, led by two representatives, Katy Shumard and Kiki Falcon, who aim to create a brand presence on campus through a variety of events open to the student body.
“We are directed by VS PINK to host specific events per the holiday schedule,” Shumard said. “This one’s been Earth Month. They wanted us to host a clean-up at all of our different campuses. There are 125 campuses in the program, So there are 125 campuses doing their own clean-up. That’s cool.”
VS PINK provided compostable gloves and garbage bags for attendees, and the team led volunteers down to the riverfront to begin picking up garbage along the trail.
A variety of people find a variety of items
“We actually hosted this event last year. And this year, I would say it’s 10 times more successful. … There are around 20 people here, which is a fantastic turnout,” Shumard said.
During the clean-up, a variety of interesting items were found along the trails, particularly nearing the waterfront, such as food packages and both plastic and steel cutlery.
“I found a bowl of clam chowder and a spoon – it was a plastic bowl … with Safeway clam chowder in it,” Campus Team member Hannah Rowlett said.
Random items aside, the significant offenders were certainly the hundreds of green and gold confetti pieces sprinkled across the campus and surrounding areas, likely because of Sac State’s impending spring graduation.
“There was a lot of confetti around which was very disappointing, but we had a lot of people and a lot of hands which helped us out,” Rowlett said.
Goodie bags for everyone
As the sun set, the group was led back to the front of campus, where the Campus Reps passed out goodie bags with sustainable items from companies that had sponsored the event.
“Of course, Victoria’s Secret PINK has sponsored, and we have Love Handle, which is a phone grip company that is based in Texas,” Shumard said. “We also have Box Water and Klean Kanteen, which is based in Chico.”
It is the job of the PINK Representatives to locate and secure sponsors for the event that are relevant to the project and initiatives of the VS PINK team.
“Everybody’s going home with a goodie bag that has something a little different in it,” Shumard said. “But everybody’s going home with a Klean Kanteen water bottle today.”
Falcon explained that the goodie bags are often a great way to get people to come and help out.
“I really think the goodie bags were a really big incentive for people to come out,” she said. “It’s only an hour of your day, just to do something cool, you know?”
Students can continue to make a difference
Looking back, the Campus Team was relieved to see less trash than expected.
“There’s been more trash cans popping up around the school, also more specified trash cans like compost, recycling and landfill,” Rowlett said. “I think that’s really helpful and it serves as a good guide for people so they’re not just throwing away everything.”
Of course, less garbage doesn’t mean zero garbage. The VS PINK Team still pushes for students to get involved in keeping the planet clean, and Campus Team member Wasson had some great suggestions.
“Find a spot in the local community or somewhere close to where you live,” Wasson said. “Somewhere that looks a little bit, you know … trash everywhere, nothing recycled. Just go pick it up, go out. Go with your friends and make a fun day out of it.”
