EcoFest is a sustainability-focused Earth Day event that is led by Lindenwood University students and Assistant Professor of Political Science Dr. Sharmini Nair. This year, Nair’s EcoFest proposal received support from the President’s Research, Innovation, and Development toward Excellence (PRIDE) Fund. Nair said the event will connect students across disciplines with one another and with community organizations.
Through EcoFest, students research environmental topics and present projects that help promote sustainability across campus. Last year’s EcoFest included student projects focused on wildlife conservation, organic food, sustainable fashion, art, and environmental law. Nair said the event takes its direction from students. “It is very student driven, student led,” Nair said. “They decide what they want to present.” Nair said the event created opportunities for students from different academic areas to connect through a shared interest in environmental protection.
The PRIDE Fund will help EcoFest continue to build a foundation for future growth. Nair said the support is especially important as EcoFest develops from a new campus event into an ongoing opportunity for student engagement and community partnerships. “Without the PRIDE Fund, we wouldn’t have been able to take off the way that we did,” Nair said. “It was really good to know that we had the support we needed.”
As EcoFest continues, Nair said the event’s central themes will remain community building, environmental awareness, and giving students a space to present their passion projects. Through the PRIDE Fund, Nair hopes to build strong partnerships with community organizations and University departments to serve a wider range of students while making an impact beyond Lindenwood’s gates.