7ft. tall fleur de lis currently on display at Spring Hill College, Mobile!
APRIL 2017. The 7ft. tall Fleur de Lis Litter Letter is currently displayed at the center of Spring Hill College’s campus. Built by Karl Broussard and Stephen Laurendine and wrapped by students of IDS394, this piece is the newest addition to The Litter Letter Project and the first in the state of Alabama. By filling the 7ft. tall fleur de lis—a symbol drawn from the Spring Hill College crest—with recyclables, the piece makes a statement about the solidarity of the Spring Hill College community not only with the project of recycling but with the larger cause of protecting our environment. Recycling our waste is one way to fulfill Pope Francis’ call, in his environmental encyclical Laudato Si, for us to be stewards of our common home.
As with all the projects in the Litter Letter series nationwide, the fleur de lis is designed to promote community involvement as members of our campus community affirm their commitment to addressing waste issues by adding their recyclables to the installation. Students, faculty, and staff were invited to add aluminum cans and plastics (#1 and #2 plastics) to the structure over a three-week period in March. A formal dedication took place on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
This is the first full academic year with the newly revamped recycling program at Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama. With its implementation, they have been able to increase recycling efforts on campus. During the recylemania competition, their weekly estimates have been about 750 lbs in bottles and cans, 150 lbs in cardboard, and 450 lbs in paper. The fleur de lis will be exhibited until the summer, when all recyclables will be removed and recycled. The structure itself portable and reusable and will be “recycled” for future events on campus.