#BUandBoston: Charles River Cleanup
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On Sunday, September 18th, the Students for the United Nations (SUN), a student-run community service organization, collaborated with Boston University (BU) Student Government to host their fifth annual Charles River Cleanup Day.
President Nicole Hill, a junior at BU double majoring in Philosophy and International Relations, describes SUN as a “two-headed organization,” with one head being the philanthropic branch of the BU International Affairs Association, and the other being a campus chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America Founded in 2018, SUN seeks to connect students to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through service, advocacy, fundraising, and education. According to their mission, students participating in SUN gain a deeper understanding of how international affairs impact everyday lives, the UN’s vital role in progressing towards a more equitable society, and tools needed to enact social change at both the global and local levels.
Since its founding, SUN has taken on the task of hosting a Charles River Cleanup day in service for the city of Boston. The Charles River Esplanade is a state-owned park located in the greater Back Bay area on the south bank of the Charles River Basin. The Esplanade, which is not only a staple of BU’s campus, is an integral feature of the greater city’s natural beauty. When asked why SUN has continued its service for the Esplanade, Nicole discussed SUN’s mission of community-building and giving back. “It’s a way to introduce people to the immediate BU area and Boston,” said Hill, “And it’s also a way for people to be able to meet each other and bond at the beginning of the year with projects they’re passionate about.” Hill also discussed the event’s relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13, saying “it really related to one of the most important SDGs that a lot of Gen Z focus on, which is climate action.”
Over the course of the afternoon, volunteers collected and removed seven 13-gallon bags of trash, litter, and non-degradable debris from the Esplanade. Most of the trash, according to Hill, was found along the banks of the river and in the shallow regions of the water, and largely comprised of improperly disposed food, empty bottles, and non-degradable plastics. Volunteers wore latex gloves and used grabber tools to pick up trash. They were spread out over a stretch of two miles of the Esplanade.
This year, more than 40 volunteers, both members and non-members of SUN, spent their Sunday afternoon picking up trash along the Esplanade, turnout that was more than double compared to previous years. “I think it was with the help of Student Government…promoting this event,” said Hill, “we also made sure to…emphasize the community aspect of it.” For the first time in SUN’s five years of hosting the initiative, Hill worked in conjunction with Student Government, whose Executive Board ran on a platform centered around sustainability and environmental justice, to spread the word and publicize the event.
On a broader scale, SUN hopes to push BU, which is one of Boston’s biggest employers, to take more responsibility in addressing sustainability past the bounds of campus. “[BU] is home to well over 30,000 students who are transient residents,” explained Hill, “[we’re] going to be here for four years, but the people around us are not, so there should be at least some level of respect…and understanding to give back to a community that is graciously hosting us.”
Hill spotlighted a number of philanthropic and community service events planned for the coming months. In October, SUN will be hosting a BU Climate Change Relief fundraiser, an initiative that was taken on in response to the floods in Pakistan and Hurricane Fiona’s devastation of the Caribbean. Following this event, SUN will be collaborating with students from Northeastern University during the week of UN Day, which takes place on October 24th, to host events about SDG #2, which seeks to eliminate world hunger. SUN plans to collaborate with Northeastern University amongst other colleges, universities, and institutions in the greater Boston area.
“My goal this year really is to promote student mobilization,” said Hill, “And I think this time coming out of COVID and continuing to see the [effects] of climate change and what is happening around the world should be motivating students to become more involved, not just on their campus, but in the whole community.”