G.E.C.O. is the Gettysburg Environmental Concerns Organization, a student organization to promote sustainability on the campus of Gettysburg College. Founded in 1994, the group has been active since, currently with about 15 active members.
Co-president Samantha Pfeffer says that “students participate because they are interested in what GECO does. We do a lot of different activities throughout the year, including volunteering trips with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, hiking trips, kayaking trips, waste reduction events, and more. People are interested in participating in those trips and events, but more importantly they care about being part of a community where they can share ideas and be with people who care about similar ideas.” She continues, “I personally joined because I wanted to know about the sustainability and ‘green’ efforts being made on campus and I wanted to be an active member in changing and increasing those efforts. I wanted to be part of a club that not only did fun things, but that makes a difference in the campus and overall community.”
This past February, GECO hosted the 5th annual GreenAllies Conference. Pfeffer explained, “The GreenAllies Conference is an annual networking conference held where schools from around the region can send students and campus leaders to share ideas and brainstorm ways that they can either improve their campus sustainability or the quality of their club or organization. Gettysburg College and GECO were the hosts for this year’s 5th annual conference. GECO leaders were the primary organizers for the entire event, along with GreenAllies staff members, and GECO members were there the day of the conference to help more everything along.”
To learn more about GECO, visit their website.