SPEAK stands for Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville and is a student-run organization on our campus. SPEAK promotes veganism as a healthy lifestyle, environmental activism, and campus engagement. This summer, SPEAK members are having fun maintaining their on-campus garden.

This summer members are growing vegetables like zucchini, squash, radishes, and tomatoes as well as herbs and flowers. They maintain the garden internally, and spend their time weeding and harvesting. Once all the veggies are ready, the club will enjoy the fruits of their labor and donate the excess to Smokey’s Pantry. Moving forward, the club will be covering the plot in a cover crop. This will help maintain nutrients in the soil for the next round of herbs and flowers.

In the future, SPEAK hopes to partake in more community activism. This will include tabling for issues like fast fashion, promoting recycling, informing students about the 2020 election, and expanding new recycling programs to the dorms!

Anyone interested in joining SPEAK can come to a meeting in the fall. They are always interested in new members and will have officer positions available in the fall and the spring!