BYU’s Sustainability Office hosted their first-ever “Mulch & Mingle” event as part of Green Week 2022. Students and Provo residents came together Monday night to spread mulch and beautify the nature trail by the LaVell Edwards Stadium and share treats.
The activity attracted students interested in service and sustainability who were eager to volunteer their time to help with the project.
The event started with a spiritual thought from President Russell M. Nelson’s address “The Creation,” shared by sustainability director Bremen Leak. Leak said this talk has helped him become a better steward to the earth.
More than 50 people gathered to help with the project, which lasted two hours. Participants transferred mulch to buckets, then passed the buckets closer to the hill, where they poured and raked the mulch.
The BYU Recycling Program’s supervisor Bill Rudy supplied mulch created from leaves, tree branches and grass clippings from campus. After the landscaping team cuts the grass on the BYU campus and collects other debris, it is recycled at a facility in Mapleton, where it takes about six months to turn into mulch.
Mulch helps retain water in soil and provides nutrients in addition to preventing erosion, Rudy said.
BYU creates 2,000 cubic yards of mulch annually. For the Mulch & Mingle project, it took 30 cubic yards of mulch to cover the hill between the stadium and the path.
“I’ve always thought that service is really important, it’s a good way to destress after studying for a while,” BYU mathematics freshman Nick Metzger said.
Metzger and his friends saw a flyer advertising the event and decided to attend. A whole ward planned to come as their family home evening activity, so many students present were from the Provo 113th Ward.
“I like to be involved with sustainability and the environment when I have the chance,” said Melina Hansen, a freshman from the 113th Ward. “It’s not something you do every day, so I thought it would be a good opportunity.”
Green Week 2022 will continue on campus this week with different activities to raise awareness about the Sustainability Office and efforts to be environmentally friendly at BYU.
