EnAct Continues Work to Clean Up Monument Creek

This past Sunday, Colorado College’s EnAct (Environmental Action) club held its biannual cleanup of Monument Creek. The event took place during Earth Week in order to celebrate and encourage environmental conservation. The first cleanup of Monument Creek took place in late September through collaboration with the President’s Fellow.

“We are dedicated to environmental justice from the personal to global scale through collaboration, education, and activism,” reads the mission statement for EnAct, also known as CC Students for Environmental Action. The event also included the participation of Colorado Springs community members and sports groups at CC. EnAct hopes to continue collaborating with the college and the Colorado Springs community in the future, as well as the State of the Rockies Project, which has similar goals as CC to reintegrate Monument Creek.

The Monument Creek Cleanup took place in the cross section of Uintah and Monument Creek near the CC farm. The EnAct club provided breakfast as well as trash bags and gloves. The clean-up was hosted by juniors Sierra Melton and Sabrina Heitmann, who are the co-chairs of EnAct.

“[Monument Creek] is beautiful, it just has a reputation for being filled with trash,” said Melton. EnAct views Monument Creek as an environmental resource with many possibilities. It borders the CC campus and is a geographical connection between the school and the Colorado Springs community as well as the surrounding environment. The group says the creek has the potential to serve as a gathering place for students, as well as an academic resource for environmental science students and professors. “Even though it may take a while to clean up Monument creek and its reputation, EnAct and the Colorado Springs State of the Rockies are committed to cleaning up Monument Creek and reintegrating it into the Colorado Springs Community,” continued Melton.

The broader goals of EnAct are to “Promote environmental action among students,” said Heitmann. It is one of the only environmental groups at CC. EnAct hosts events in collaboration with other groups such as GlobeMed for Global Water Day, Colorado Springs Utilities for sustainability events, a fundraising campaign with Palmer Land Trust, and houses around CC for a composting program. “We already have over 30 houses involved,” said Melton of the composting program. “It helps bring people together.”

EnAct was the first official club at CC. “It started after Earth day during the seventies,” said Heitmann. “I love working with students, hosting fun events, and getting people interested in the environment.”

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