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The University of Wisconsin’s student government held its first annual Sustainability Fair Saturday to give students the opportunity to get involved in on-campus environmental initiatives and lay the groundwork for future campaigns.

In an effort to be more approachable and relevant to students, the Associated Students of Madison’s Sustainability Committee used the event to reach out to students interested in “green” campaigns on campus.

“We as a committee really wanted to bring people who may not have the availability to attend our committee meetings into the democratic process of choosing what we work on,” Sustainability Committee Chair Colin Higgins said in an email to The Badger Herald. “The Sustainability Fair is an opportunity for groups and students from around campus to get involved in brainstorming what they want to see us work on for the upcoming semester and year.”

Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Director Paul Robbins was the event’s keynote speaker. 

Emphasizing the importance of forward, future-oriented thinking about the environment, Robbins chided “apocalyptic environmentalism” and encouraged students to think of new ways to foster sustainability in a constantly changing world.

“Conservation is a conservative principle,” Robbins said. “The world is changing so fast, the conditions are changing so tremendously, that along with that urge to go back, you need to have an urge to go forward. It’s not just about saving something from the past but actually creating something entirely new.”

Crafting whole new environments is the way of the future, Robbins said, adding the next generation will have to foster conducive environmental conditions to compensate for change. This “post-natural environmentalism,” Robbins said, is much harder to conceive than merely saving and preserving what is lost.

“You’re going to live in a different world,” was Robbins’ mantra throughout his talk. Rather than lamenting this point, however, Robbins encouraged students to think about what they can do to move forward and make the best of environmental conditions in a proactive way.

In addressing an increasing trend toward urbanization, Robbins praised the movement, saying urban areas have the potential to be very efficient and environmentally-friendly if built in a strategic way. 

He challenged attendees to consider ethical challenges when constructing a future and determining priorities for what issues are most important. 

Following Robbins’ lecture, attendees were able to walk around and see tables set up by various sustainability-related student organizations from across campus. Higgins said representatives from 17 organizations presented at the event. 

With Robbins’ words in mind, attendees then broke up into four groups and brainstormed ideas for improving campus sustainability. When the groups reconvened, they discussed ideas and began planning campaigns around them, Higgins said.

Higgins said the event was a success and plans to continue holding an annual Sustainability Fair. The Sustainability Committee’s position within UW student government endows it with the potential for influence and support, he said. He also applauded his committee members for their hard work planning the event this entire semester.

“The fair was a great success,” Higgins concluded. “We got many ideas and the people there were really excited to be part of the process!”