Penn State Brandywine’s Sustainovation Club recently partnered with Tyler Arboretum in Media for an innovative lesson in sustainability, writes Haleigh Swansen for Penn State News.

The partnership gave an educational twist to the arboretum’s annual Pumpkin Days festival with a “sustainability research station” run by 26 volunteers from Penn State Brandywine. During the two-day event, volunteers at the station interacted with more than 800 visitors to the arboretum.

The station used plastic straws as conversation starters on simple habits that promote sustainability and can easily be implemented by families.

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“Plastic straws are not biodegradable,” said James Tyson, president of the student-run Sustainovation Club. “Americans use literally billions of plastic straws every year. We wanted to get people thinking about other options.”

These include straws made out of alternative materials such as glass, paper, and even titanium.

“Our club’s mission is to educate, to give people an idea of what sustainability is and how they can practice it in their community,” said Tyson.

The event was such a success that Tyler Arboretum has already made the switch from using plastic to paper straws at its facility.

Read more about the Sustainovation Club event at Penn State News by clicking here.

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