The University of Detroit Mercy’s Chemistry Club organizes an annual Fall Retreat for its members. The yearly Fall Retreat consists of team building activities to foster a sense of community for the club. Another aim of the retreat is to remember the purpose of the club and to set goals for the upcoming academic year. The reason behind hosting the retreat earlier in the fall semester is to invite first-years and new members of the club and form connections with them, helping member retention. This year, the club travelled to a wood working facility at a professor’s family home. Together, the club used the principles of green chemistry to design benches for Detroit Mercy’s McNichols campus. The benches were made of recycled wood pallets to encourage members to think creatively and work cohesively to build them. Power tools such as drills and sanders, as well as screws, and nails were used to complete the project. Once the benches are returned to campus, each bench will be painted with the green chemistry principles. After the construction, the retreat members engaged in outdoor sports and broke off into groups to simply talk and get to know each other. The students and professors discussed upcoming events and gained input from each other. The retreat concluded with an outdoor barbeque dinner. The retreat was held entirely outside to minimize contact due to the active COVID-19 pandemic. The result of the retreat was a deeper connection between the students and with the professors while encouraging new members to remain a part of an active and inclusive campus community.

Detroit Mercy green chemistry fall retreat

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