Various shades of green lined a semi-circle of tables, all staffed by people brought together for a common cause. The green color scheme was probably enough to clue in the casual passer-by of just what the cause was: the environment. Nearly 20 student organizations and local businesses gathered Wednesday to educate their peers and raise awareness in honor of National Campus Sustainability Day outside of Parks Library.

The day is observed all over the country in different ways. At Iowa State, student organizations and local businesses were invited to set up a booth to inform visitors of their green practices and projects.

“Sustainability is easy to forget about,” said Kelsey Pieper, public relations director for the student organization Green Umbrella. “So this event is a good way to remind students why sustainability is beneficial for everyone.”

Students who decided to explore the event were given a slip of paper and a mission — to visit five booths and ask them a question about their sustainable practices. Once their question was answered, they were given a sticker to put on their slip. After acquiring five stickers, they could exchange paper for a free reusable coffee mug.

Chandra Peterson, co-president of Green Umbrella, said the National Campus Sustainability Day Fair was significant for student clubs because many are so small they rarely get the opportunity to advertise what they do. Students representing International Week, for example, are hosting a campus cleanup on Nov. 6, but all students are invited to participate, regardless of their background. Also, the WeCar program, a new ride-share program for Iowa State, allows students to rent a car rather than bring one to campus, decreasing the amount of emissions put into the air.

By visiting the sustainability fair, students also were able to see what their peers were doing to better the environment. The student club ActivUs is currently petitioning two movements. The first is “Beyond Coal,” a movement to use other forms of energy to power campus, and the second is “Beyond Plastic,” an effort to encourage Iowa State to stop selling plastic bottles.

When asked why students should be interested in these movements, ActivUs president Emily Kathrein said, “[You are] not only affecting the quality of the environment you are living in, but [the environment] for generations to come.”

EnTech, an environmental technology club, is working on a solar-powered water heater.

Sustaining the environment is not the only way students are staying green. Many student-run organizations, such as Closets Collide, practice sustainability by allowing clothing to be recycled instead of thrown out. This club handed out scarves, headbands and bracelets made from T-shirts, showing how clothing can be reused.

The National Campus Sustainability Day Fair also allowed local businesses to show how they contribute to a sustainable community.

“Some of [the businesses] you wouldn’t think about when you think of sustainability, but they are doing some really neat things,” Peterson said.

Battle’s Bar-B-Q, on Welch Avenue, is very passionate about keeping the environment healthy. “We care about our community first and foremost,” said shift manager Ayisha Al-Hassan.

Battle’s Bar-B-Q uses local wood in its stove, recycles its grease, composts waste and cleans up litter in the areas surrounding the restaurant, among other practices.

Local cafes, such as Arcadia, also are being sustainable. Arcadia practices sustainability is by using trees that had fallen in Ames 35 years ago to make its countertop. This cafe also used refurbished tables and chairs when furnishing the establishment.

Wheatsfield, a local grocery store, uses a rain barrel and LED lighting in its coolers in addition to selling local and organic foods.

“You don’t have to move the world to be sustainable,” Peterson said. “It’s the little things.”

The student organizations and local businesses that participated in National Campus Sustainability Day showed that, even by just coming together to clean up campus or recycling business materials, sustainability can be practiced every day.