Students in a conference room mixed coconut oil, baking soda and peppermint. This wasn’t an elementary school science experiment –– college students were making toothpaste.
The inaugural meeting of the newly established club, Warrington Goes Green, hosted about 35 students Tuesday evening in UF’s William R. Hough Hall.
Co-founders Chloe Beaver, Julia Francis and Caroline Brousse recognized the need for better sustainability practices and environmental efforts within the business school in the Spring. They created the idea for a new club focused on the intersection of business and sustainability.
By April, they had an executive board established and an application to create the club underway.
Beaver said UF Student Government provided about $300 for funding the new club, mostly for start-up costs like polos and banners, but the 10-person executive board pitches in out-of-pocket for other expenses like the toothpaste ingredients. Warrington Goes Green will host their meetings Tuesday nights on a biweekly basis throughout the Fall.
The Business College Council has also provided its support for the new club, she said, including plans to schedule notable guest speakers at future meetings.
Beaver said she’s inspired by the number of students interested in the club’s mission.
“It’s really cool to see the amount of students who come into the business school who are a double major with sustainability or environmental science,” Beaver said. “It’s hopefully going to have a ripple effect.”
Toward the end of the meeting, the room discussed how UF can improve its sustainability efforts including the lack of paper recycling bins in libraries and the use of disposable materials at club meetings, suggesting that each student organization consider appointing a sustainability chair.
Morgan Hult, an 18-year-old UF exploratory freshman, said Warrington Goes Green might help her choose a major that reflects her career goals of working to solve environmental problems.
She said she tries to be as environmentally conscious as possible in her daily routine, such as by using cloth bags, turning off the lights, taking shorter showers, recycling and thrifting clothes.
“It’d be cool to see the difference and know that you’re not creating waste,” she said. “It’s always good to use natural ingredients and not all the chemicals.”
Warrington Goes Green participants at the first meeting last Tuesday evening.
