Happy Tuesday! Thanks to everyone who joined us Saturday at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge – and a SPECIAL thanks to everyone who drove! Don’t forget to thank and tip them!
Photos from the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge
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RB HAPPENINGS…
1. This Saturday, April 2, we’ll be voting for new members of the executive board and working in the South Arboretum Woods. Candidates will be able to give speeches and answer questions at the beginning of the meeting. The ballot will open after this and remain open until 11:59 PM on Tuesday, April 5. To vote, you must have attended at least 3 Red Bison meetings since August. Afterwards, we’ll take care of some odds and ends in the SAW: removing honeysuckle, consolidating fallen branches, and cleaning and sharpening tools. We will meet at the RB shed (scroll down for the map) at 10 AM. If you need help getting there, a group will gather at the FAR (South Side) bus stop at 9:45 AM. COVID precautions: Be sure to get tested within 72 hours of the event! Bring a couple spare masks! Sign into MyMcKinley / take a screenshot to show your negative test, including the date.
2. Red Bison Reads Books (RBRB) will meet again on Sunday, April 3 at 3 PM (new time) at ACES Library Room 309! If you’d like to join OR if this time does not work for you, please reach out to me at <vijayms2@illinois.edu>! We are reading selections from Braiding Sweetgrass (purchase or check out through UIUC libraries) — take a look in the documents below for each week’s readings.
>> Meeting 2 <<
3. Dr. Joy O’Keefe, assistant professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist at UIUC, will be joining us on Sunday, April 10 at 1 PM at the RB shed to give a talk on her work on diversifying the Illinois Master Naturalist Program. This is a great opportunity to learn about and discuss issues of diversity in ecology, a field dominated by white men. In the event of poor weather, we will be meeting in Mumford 313. COVID precautions: A negative COVID test within 72 hours will be required to attend this event, and masks will be required if we meet indoors.
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EXTERNAL EVENTS and OPPORTUNITIES…
1. Following the previous student elections, the position of Student Trustee and various seats in the Urbana-Champaign (Academic) Senate are still open. To fill these positions, a special election will take place April 12 and 13. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 1 at 5 PM; you may find out more here. This is a great way to be involved in high-level campus meetings. If you are passionate about the environment (or other issues) and want to make some big changes, we strongly encourage you to apply.
2. The Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC) is looking for a new co-president (preferably a rising sophomore or junior) to replace outgoing co-president Maria Maring. The SSLC holds monthly meetings with the leaders of campus environmental organizations to coordinate events and bring these organizations up to speed on the activities of their peers. Estimated time commitment is about 2 hours a week. If you’re interested, please fill out this form. Again, this is a great way to get involved in high-level conversations on campus and coordinate big projects.
3. From March 24th to April 28th, the Metropolitan Food & Environment Systems Student Association is hosting “Reimagining our Food Systems.” This series of four talks features lectures from food innovators and entrepreneurs of color working to make our food system more socially and environmentally responsible. You can register here; check out the attached flyer for more information! Thanks to RB member Noah Bell for sharing this with us!
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Feel free to email us with any questions!
Vijay Shah
RB Secretary
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