The Ames Eco Fair brought vendors and organizations from all over Ames to talk to event-goers about how they can practice sustainability on March 29.

More than 1,000 Iowa State students and Ames community members came to the Ames Eco Fair at the Ames Community Center gymnasium.

Demonstrations and organization booths filled the venue and offered information to attendees about services that can help them save money and protect the environment.

Lisa Garrett, senior in mechanical engineering, said that she came to the event because she was interested in learning more about the environment and preserving it.

Christine Schmitz, senior in Spanish, said she enjoyed visiting the Goats on the Go booth and the demonstration of using a bicycle to power up a laptop at the Bikes at Work booth.

Team PrISUm, Iowa State’s solar car team, brought their solar car to the Eco Fair and talked to attendees about how the car works and what the team has accomplished with their car.

“I always like [coming to] this event,” said Joel Eakins, fundraising chairman for Team PrISUm. “There are people here who know a little something about engineering and a lot of excited kids.”

ISU fraternity Alpha Phi Omega helped serve the pizza and cookie lunch and set up eating areas at the event.

Trenton Brown, a member of Alpha Phi Omega, said that the fraternity was involved with volunteering at last year’s Eco Fair and kept in touch with the event’s organizers to come back again.

The Ames High School Reducing Plastic Waste Movement had a booth at the Eco Fair and promoted their cause with a “plastic bag monster” mascot that roamed the venue. 

Cameron McCaw, a member of the Reducing Plastic Waste Movement and the “plastic bag monster” at the event, said that the organization wants to convince people to use less plastic bags for their groceries because of their potential to block waterways and harm wildlife.

Steve Wilson, Ames Energy Services and Ames Eco Fair coordinator, manned the Ames Energy Services booth at the event and informed attendees about the different types of light bulbs that can be used in homes and answered questions about anything else related to energy.

The Ames Fire and Police Departments, Ames Resource Recovery Plant, Ames Electric Services, Wheatsfield Cooperative, U-Haul and several vendors for home isolation and air conditioning also had representatives at the Ames Eco Fair.