Ballard's Emily Sturdivant is just finishing up her first year at Clark University in Massachusetts where she served in a brand new role — Ecological Representative. She and 18 other students were chosen last fall to help foster a culture of sustainability on campus and in the residence halls and help to promote recycling, composting and energy conservation on campus.

Last week, she helped organize a belated Earth Day celebration on campus, “Go Green on the Green,” at which she demonstrated how to cook pizza and bake cookies in solar ovens made from recycled pizza boxes. She encouraged Clark students to try their balance using a slack rope and took pictures of other students hugging trees in the center of campus.

“Behavior change is one of the trickiest areas to work on,” said Sturdivant, who posted signs and statistics around her residence hall to encourage people to change their habits. “Something different motivates everyone, and we have to try to find the path that speaks to the most people. I want students to leave Clark with lifelong eco-friendly habits and awareness of their personal impact on the environment.”

The Ecological Representatives, or Eco-Reps, held sustainability competitions last fall, and in October they conducted a waste audit to see how much recycling material had been discarded in regular trash barrels.

The most successful event they held was a Stargazing/Lights Out event in which more than 100 people got together, turned off their lights and met up to watch the stars together.

“I am very committed to Eco-Reps," Sturdivant said. "I got involved because I think everyone should be aware of their impact on the environment and how they can influence it. There are so many people that don't understand the devastation we are wreaking on the planet, but they shouldn't come from Clark."

Sturdivant serves on the Eco-Board, the executive student board for the Eco-Reps, bringing with her experience she gained from spearheading a similar group while at The Center School in Seattle.

Sturdivant majors in geography. Along with serving on the Eco-Rep Eco-Board, she is also a member of The Worcester Energy Barn-raisers, a local group that promotes environmental sustainability as well as social and economic justice though collaborative home energy efficiency projects. She volunteers at Woodland Academy, a public elementary school in the neighborhood, and is the captain of Clark’s intramural soccer team.

Emily Sturdivant is the daughter of Ballard News-Tribune columnist Peggy Sturdivant.