To the Editor:
This letter is written to comment on the sustainable adjustments and habits of NMU’s athletic teams.
Due to being located in the Upper Peninsula, NMU’s sports teams are forced to travel long distances to attend their games, meets, or competitions. Along with these extensive travel routines, most of our teams lack sustainable practices, resulting in a significant amount of waste produced on the road.
Green Athletics, an NMU student-athlete organization, has been working to promote sustainable practices by meeting with and educating each sports team. Unfortunately, not all teams have adopted these practices.
However, NMU’s Volleyball and Women’s Lacrosse teams have not only talked the talk, but also, have walked the walk. The Volleyball team brings their own plates and utensils on the road to minimize plastic waste. Additionally, they bring a huge water jug on the bus to refill their water bottles and to reduce single-use plastic. This past 2024-2025 season, the Women’s Lacrosse team adopted these same sustainable changes, bringing reusable items on the road.
As an athlete on the Women’s Lacrosse team, I have personally appreciated these adjustments. You don’t realize how much waste teams create due to the high number of players and the frequent need to refuel during long trips. Moving forward, I plan to continue bringing my utensils to reduce plastic waste in my own life outside of sports travel.
Although these changes are positive, many NMU teams have yet to adopt similar practices and do not view sustainability as an important issue in athletics. I am aware sustainability is a much bigger problem than these small changes can fix, but we have to start with education and small adjustments to get the ball rolling.
The athletic department (and other important aspects of institutions) should take intentional steps to encourage teams to adopt small changes that will help reduce our environmental footprint—especially in a region like the Upper Peninsula—where we value the natural environment so deeply.
Sincerely,
Taylor Priestley
NMU Women’s Lacrosse
