Photo Story By: Franchette O'Neal
Georgia Southern University’s Center for Sustainability hosted their seventh annual GreenFest to educate and promote green living in Downtown Statesboro on Oct. 9.
​
Local vendors and organizations worked with GSU to organize the event in front of the Bulloch County Courthouse Lawn and down East Main Street. Live music from Statesboro’s School of Rock entertained guests.
​
Various booths set up for educational purposes. Festival-goers learned about the importance of eating healthy and green at the GSU Nutrition and Food Science Association’s booth. GSU’s Eco-Reps agent Megan Hampton, a senior public health major, said their booth raises awareness of where everyday materials “like tires, t-shirts and raincoats” come from, where they go after and what people can do to recycle them.
​
Other booths set up mainly for kid-friendly activities. GSU’s Henderson Library gave away free books and East Georgia State College’s Honeybee Exhibit displayed honeycombs and offered children’s activity booklets.
​
Some booths set up for interactional purposes, aiding guests. GSU’s Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design Program held a repair workshop where they taught sewing skills and helped repair small tears in clothing.
​
A few recycling organizations visited and stayed throughout the festival for the locals. Goodwill and Dell took in electronics dropped off for recycling. The organization Clean Up the Boro also stayed throughout the event to keep the area clean.
​
The event had 2,000 attendees from different age ranges and demographics. Biology and geology senior Dylan Stanley, a GreenFest agent, said their preparations paid off because the turnout was impressive.
Oct. 5 - Georgia Southern hosts Seventh Annual GreenFest in Downtown Statesboro. Locals came together to promote and educate others about how to live a sustainable life. (Photo by: David Johnson)
Live music that could be enjoyed by different ages from the School of Rock greets visitors. Like most of the members of the School of Rock, children made up almost half of the people who came to the event. (Franchette O'Neal / MMJ3631)
Despite the dark clouds over Statesboro, many people still attended GreenFest. Families spent a day learning about green living. (Franchette O'Neal / MMJ 3631)
Oct. 5 - Georgia Southern hosts Seventh Annual GreenFest in Downtown Statesboro. Locals came together to promote and educate others about how to live a sustainable life. (Photo by: David Johnson)
Georgia Southern University's GreenFest is a popular event with Statesboro locals and GSU students. Many children come to the event to get free goody bags and learn new things about the environment.
“It takes months to plan this event. We have to talk to all the vendors and do so much stuff. Honestly, we have done a little bit every day to set this up,” Stanley said.
​
All attendants worked towards their goal of educating the public about sustainable practices that help the environment. First-time attendees David and Betsy Klein of Statesboro, Georgia said they learned new recycling techniques, bonded with their children and gained new furniture from repurposed materials, which were all goals of GreenFest.