Movin On’ Towards a More Sustainable World

Every year, Movin’ On welcomes thousands of Penn State students to the IM fields to celebrate music and the end of another year. With such a large-scale event comes the potential of creating a lot of waste. Bridie Lawall, Director of Operations for Movin' On, along with her newly implemented sustainability team, are determined to make sure that Movin’ On is a sustainable event.

Lawall is a second year Geography major with a plan to minor in Sustainability Leadership. To her, there are many reasons why sustainability is important and needs to be given a platform at Movin’ On.

“[Sustainability] brings consciousness to caring for the environment," Lawall said. "Sustainability is much more than proper waste sortation, rather it includes DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging). It is centered around creating positive experiences and positive impacts for all."

So far this year, Lawall and the sustainability team have held two sustainability events.

The first was a tote bag painting event that was open to all Penn State students. It was held in Findlay Commons in East Halls. The event was an opportunity for students to learn about how Movin’ On plans to become a greener event.

Additionally, members of Movin’ On had the opportunity to attend a meeting with REVERB, a nonprofit organization determined to promote sustainable action within the music community.

At the festival, the sustainability team will be working hard to ensure that Movin’ On is a green event. The team, led by Sustainability Coordinator Hannah Kadrie, will sort through every bag of waste and make sure every recyclable is properly disposed of so that Movin’ On is a 100% recyclable event. Trash sweeps will also be performed before, during and after the show in an effort to keep trash and recyclable bins open.

Movin’ On will also feature a sustainability booth. The booth will include a tote bag paint pressing station, where students can stamp the Movin’ On logo on a free tote bag which they can fill with recyclables throughout the day. If they bring the recyclable-filled tote bag back to the booth, they will be able to spin a wheel of prizes and have the chance of winning a Hydroflask, reusable ziplock bags, reusable Movin’ On water bottles, and stickers.

Another sustainability initiative that will be featured at this year’s festival is a water buggy. Students may bring reusable water bottles to use at the water refill station. This initiative will help to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles at the festival.

Lawall believes that all these steps towards a greener Movin’ On are extremely important, as the festival provides a such large platform for sustainability.

“It is our duty to use our platform with grace and help teach the audience about sustainable efforts when we can,” said Lawall.

Movin’ On invites all Penn State students to come out to the festival on April 28 and experience all of the effort put forward by Bridie Lawall and her sustainability team this year!