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Spring is officially here, and if that makes you want to celebrate, Ashley Mercer and the Earthstock team have you covered.
As one of the co-directors of Earthstock, Mercer is working with the rest of the Environmental Leadership Program to put together a month’s worth of events throughout April that encourage Huskers to cherish and reflect on the Earth's beauty.
“Earthstock is a series of events that help us recognize and advocate for everything the earth has to offer us,” Mercer, a junior political science major, said. “We want to create moments where we can appreciate and remind ourselves of everything we have on this planet while getting excited about the work that still needs to be done.”
Her role with the Environmental Leadership Program, a group contained within the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska student government, falls squarely in the center of her two biggest interests.
“I started college in Washington, D.C., and have always had a passion for government and policy. When I transferred back here, I knew that student government was something I loved and wanted to pursue,” Mercer said. “Environmentalism is another lingering passion I've never really been able to explore, so getting to put these two things together is really exciting and definitely shaping my future goals.”
Much of what Mercer loves about student government is its ability to bring people together to solve problems. Earthstock, she said, has the same idea at its core.
“Earthstock is all about helping students come together as a movement, build community and recognize the work we can all do together to take care of something we each share," Mercer said.
And sure, tackling big issues is one crucial piece of Earthstock. But it’s also about having a lot of fun. A block party, the central event of the month, promises to make good on the “festival” vibes Earthstock takes its name from.
“We’ll have tons of student groups represented, clothing swaps, a market with student businesses from all our campuses and a bunch of student bands performing,” Mercer said. “Giving visibility to all the different projects our peers have going on shows how we, as students, can create change and make an impact.”
