On April 19, various organizations dedicated to building a greener community from Scripps College, the 5Cs and the wider Claremont area set up booths across Scripps’ Bowling Green Lawn, showcasing sustainability initiatives as part of the 12th Annual Scripps Sustainability Fair.
Hosting organizations like the Motley Coffeehouse, Claremont Sustainability Consulting, Scripps Scrapps and Bon Appétit, each booth offered activities and insight into their work aiming to create a more sustainable community in Claremont and beyond. The fair also included a booth set up by Black Crow Juice Co., which offered cold pressed juice to attendees.
Pomona College EcoReps was one group that participated at the fair. At their station, the EcoReps shared information about their programs, such as the Walker Flea Market, a monthly market where students can sell handmade or pre-owned products, and the Book Room, a used bookstore located in Walker Lounge.
In addition, students who stopped by the EcoReps booth were offered free sustainability swag and invited to participate in an interactive activity called “Compost a Secret,” in which they wrote on nasturtium leaves picked from Sontag Rooftop Garden and placed them in a compost bucket.
According to Sydney Tai PO ’26, a co-head EcoRep, Pomona EcoReps has hosted 20 events this semester, including a Sustainable Fashion Show at the Benton Museum of Art. She also shared some of EcoReps’ plans outside of organizing events, including the introduction of reusable utensils.
“Beyond events, a key goal this semester was to expand on institutional initiatives,” Tai said via email. “This was the first year that we applied for the President Sustainability Fund (PSF), which allowed us to bring 2,000 pairs of reusable chopsticks to all three of Pomona’s dining halls. We have also begun collecting plastic and paper bags and donating them to a local nonprofit, and are continuing to research solutions for soft plastic waste like Amazon packages.”
Scripps’ Denison Library also set up a booth at the fair. Ainsley Harris SC ’26 and Tamar Ladd SC ’27, both library student assistants, highlighted some of Denison’s environmental practices.
“A lot of what Denison does is it preserves old books,” Harris said. “I do a lot of archiving and so a lot of what I do is moving pieces of paper into acid-free folders … [so that they] last for a long time.”
Ladd emphasized the significance of preserving these old books. According to Ladd, this work is important in enabling access to resources for both current and future students.
“We are preserving culture and history and so these resources are available for future students,” Ladd said. “[We are] just creating digital copies of our books as well, to make sure that they can be used for a long time.”
Another display of preservation at the fair was utilized in its planning. Abby Barahona SC ’25, an intern at Scripps’ Office of Sustainability, said that they pulled it together by reaching out to both old and new organizations focused on sustainability efforts.
“I basically just reached out to a bunch of 5C organizations and clubs and also a few in the surrounding area in Claremont who are dedicated to sustainability and have various efforts,” Barahona said. “Then we ended up being able to have 20 different booths here in the sustainability fair and a lot of them were here last year. A lot of them are new as well, since there are a lot of new clubs happening every year.”
Barahona noted the importance of showcasing student initiatives advocating for sustainability.
“A lot of the time and the purpose of this event is to really showcase those students who are working so hard,” Barahona said. “Like we have the Scripps Free Closet that happens every single Tuesday, [there are] students in there working, making sure that students are able to access free clothes … There are just various efforts happening on campus that are super important and we just want to be able to showcase this is what everybody’s doing at Scripps.”
Barahona also emphasized the importance of recognizing student leadership in sustainability initiatives.
“I think there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work here at Scripps that’s going into sustainability that is really spearheaded by the students,” Barahona said. “I think that goes largely unnoticed.”
Tai shared her positive sentiments about the fair, emphasizing its power to bridge the various organizations advocating for environmental action and sustainability.
“While I often find myself focusing on what our community is still lacking, this fair was a great reminder that there are already many wonderful forms of environmental action,” Tai said. “Being with others that share a common goal was also very energizing — it was a great environment to connect.”
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