RAPID CITY, S.D. – In conjunction with Trash Lily Farm, the Environmental Change and Sustainability Club at South Dakota Mines held their first ever Pumpkin Smash. The club started back in January and is committed to promoting sustainability in the Rapid City area.
“This is a pretty new club, we’re getting it up and running,” said Aisling Hall, a member of the EC&S Club, “It’s pretty exciting! We do a lot of things about promoting sustainability in the Rapid City area, starting on campus, but we’re also growing to include the community as well.”
The club recently partnered with the Trinity Eco Prayer Parks operated by Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Rapid City. The EC&S Club also sold pumpkin goodies using leftovers from the school’s pumpkin carving event, making products both edible and non-edible. Pumpkins from the smash? Those went to Trash Lily Farm, a local organization that collects food waste from the community to turn into compost.
“We’re actually using some of it to make a ferment to go to local families to show them how they can make their own ferments at home,” sad Xee Parkison, Co-owner of Trash Lily Farm, “The rest of it’s going to go into compost, and we’re going to show on our Instagram how just to get everyday food waste down to usable soil.”
To get in touch with Trash Lily Farm, head to their Instagram @trashlilyfarm. The Environmental Change & Sustainability Club will be back around Christmastime for an event where they’ll make decorations out of recycled materials. They’ve also partnered with Pure Bean Coffee, so be sure to stop by for their activities or head to their Instagram @sdmines.environmentclub