Bluejay Soccer Goes Green

Omaha, Neb. -- Creighton University's institutional commitment to sustainability and planetary health will take center stage during two soccer matches to be held at Morrison Stadium Sept. 30 and Oct. 2.

Emma Yackley, a junior at Creighton University who is both studying medical anthropology and playing for Creighton's women's soccer team, decided to add to her heavy load by spreading a message of environmental responsibility.

The result is two soccer matches — one for the women's team and one for the men's team — that will be dubbed Green Games. The women's Green Game will take place at 7 p.m., Sept. 30, when Marquette University comes to Morrison Stadium, with the men's Green Game taking place two days later at 7 p.m., Oct. 2, when the University of Illinois Chicago comes to town.

She has always been an outdoorsy person, Yackley says, but last year she noticed the enormous amount of casual waste generated by simple human activity.

"I started volunteering with Creighton's composting program and while sorting through trash it really started to stick with me how much waste we create," she says. "I started seeing it everywhere, and the more I saw it the more I thought, 'I have to do something about this.' So, I got some other people on board and we're doing something with the soccer team."

It was a natural starting point, Yackley says, given the willingness of the two soccer programs to promote a green message and given her observation that the women's team went through approximately 40 paper cups in a single practice session.

"I didn't like that," Yackley says, "so I spoke to Nick McCreary, Creighton's director of sustainability, about maybe starting a compost bin at the stadium where we could compost all those cups. But he brought up a lot of other ideas and soon it evolved into using this huge platform we have as student athletes and so we created the Green Games."

Those attending the two Green Games will find tables from Creighton student clubs and community organizations offering information about best environmental practices. The concessions stand will use more sustainable products with the goal of diverting 95% of waste produced through compost or recycling. McCreary's Office of Sustainability Programs plans to pay for carbon credits to neutralize the use of electricity during the two games. And there will be an equipment donation drive, where fans can bring old sports equipment for donation instead of just discarding such items in the trash.

Trash cans at the stadium will be staffed by people who will explain what can and cannot be recycled.

And plans are afoot to create a halftime presentation, along with video presentations from players on the importance of recycling and best sustainability practices.

"A large part of our world right now is that people don't really know what can be composted or recycled, and what needs to go to the landfill," Yackley says. "So, there will be people there who will interact directly to help everybody know the difference."

McCreary, who took the reins of Creighton's sustainability program in March 2020, says the goal of the Green Games is not just to promote a sustainability culture at Creighton but to help spread that message into the wider Omaha community.

"The idea is to promote sustainability for what we are doing on campus but also to make it an informational event for attendees," he says. "We want to this event to reach beyond Creighton so we're planning to make it zero waste, which means that nothing from the event goes to the landfill, everything is either composted or recycled."

Players Mentioned

Emma Yackley

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