Santa Clara, Calif. - Santa Clara University Athletics and Recreation are gearing up for the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day, Sun., April 22 with a number of active participants, including the Malley Center on the SCU campus. Just in time, the Malley Center's weight room is becoming a lot greener. In addition to Bronco volleyball player Megan Anders working as the SCU Sustainability intern (see article here), Bronco cross country runner Ezana Tesfu is the president of the SCU GREEN Club. With the hard work of Tesfu, the GREEN Club (which stands for Grass Roots Environmental Efforts Now) is hosting an Earth Day Festival on Fri., April 20 from 11 am – 2 pm on the Santa Clara Mall (between Benson and Kenna lawns) on the SCU campus. It's free and everyone is invited!
"The Earth Day Festival is a great event to get students, staff and faculty involved and remind them about sustainable practices to keep the planet alive for future generations," said Tesfu. "Additionally, the Earth Day Festival is unquestionable evidence that people understand the environmental threat and want to take action to resolve it after attending the festival. Come join us at our annual SCU Earth Day Festival!"
The two new Woodway Curve treadmills arrived just in time for Earth Day and will be featured in the Malley Center lobby through Fri., April 27. The major difference with the Curve treadmill? The Curve machine will not be plugged in to a circuit like the other six treadmills in the weight room, it will be off the grid. It is a self-generating machine or as experts like to say "powered by sweat". The patron will move the belt thus burning 30% more calories as they walk or run. The Curve has been featured on the television show, The Biggest Loser.
"This ties in so nicely with the new University mission and its focus on sustainability. Thirty-three of the 39 exercise machines in Malley are now self-generating," said Bronco Athletic Director Dan Coonan. "We are happy to be doing our part in this effort, and we are finding that so many of today's students really appreciate that."
The 33 machines not plugged in at the Malley Center save enough electricity to power a personal computer for 10 years or enough gas to drive back and forth from New York City and Los Angeles four times.
"I am delighted to have these two machines and to have 82% of our cardiovascular machines powered by sweat," Janice DeMonsi, Director of Recreation. Click here for more information.
Tesfu, who has been a member of the GREEN Club since his freshman year, is looking forward to the Earth Day Festival featuring a variety of sustainability-oriented student organizations, local businesses and clubs such as Office of Sustainability, ASG, The Forge, OCEANS, Recover Your Thoughts, A Peace Chain and many more vendors and clubs.
"The vendors at the Earth Day Festival on campus on Friday will get a chance to get the word out about the sustainable practices on and off campus, and to inform students on the many important environmental issues facing society at this time," said Tesfu. "Some vendors will have free giveaways—reusable bags, healthy organic vegetables, etc. We will also have fun activities such as Henna tattoos, Tie Die, Face Painting and general GREEN fun!"
"I'm happy that Santa Clara has been working hard toward sustainable practices on campus and I have seen a lot change in the last three years," added Tesfu. "I was excited when I heard about Zero Waste by 2020 as the goal for Campus Recreation sports programs. I'm proud to be student-athlete and see Campus Recreation sports have been going greener every year. Great job to Janice DeMonsi and her staff!"
