About 230 undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and staff signed up to join the January Reading Program’s (JRP) discussion groups, which were led by University faculty members from various departments, including biology, English and philosophy.

“It was a really interesting and odd mix of people in terms of background and age, but it worked well,” said Alicia Schnell, JRP manager and project coordinator for the Strategic Planning Initiative for the Undergraduate Experience.

Various leaders of campus religious organizations also led the discussion groups.

“One of our goals was to have a pretty diverse range of people leading discussion,” Schnell said.

Wilson, a Harvard biology professor and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote the book as a petition to American religious leaders to join with scientists in the environmental movement in order to help preserve Earth’s biodiversity.

“I think [the book] goes a long way toward doing what needs to be done politically in the sense of making common cause,” Professor of Philosophy Claude Evans, who led one of the program’s discussion groups, said.

The JRP was created this year in response to feedback received by the administration that students would be interested in a University-wide book discussion like the Freshman Reading Program.

Wilson’s book was chosen for the JRP in large part because it complemented themes introduced in this past year’s freshman reading book, Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Field Notes From A Catastrophe.”

Freshman Kana Yokota, who participated in the JRP, said that she enjoyed both “The Creation” and her discussion group.

“We had a really good, close-knit discussion,” Yokota said. “We talked about how the approach to the environment is different in other countries. We also talked about how after Obama’s election we can become leaders in the environmental movement.”

One of the main problems with the program, according to Yokota, was attendance.

Significantly fewer students showed up for their discussion groups than had signed up to receive books.

“My discussion group was poorly attended,” Yokota said.

“There were only four people, including the discussion leader.”

Schnell also addressed the event’s low attendance.

“What seemed to be the biggest challenge was turnout,” Schnell said.

Schnell said that low attendance at the event was something that the University had taken into consideration as it piloted the program.

The discussion groups were followed by a reception in the Danforth University Center with free food and drinks.

To Schnell, those who attended the reception showed they were energized by their discussions.

“I was surprised by the number of people who came and sat and continued the discussion,” Schnell said.

Evans said that the book tapped into an interest in environmentalism that has been increasing rapidly among University students recently.

Evans, who has been teaching Introduction to Environmental Ethics since 1995, said that enrollment in his class has reached an all-time high. In the past the course has been capped at 45 students, but it was recently expanded to 75 and currently has more than 15 students on its wait-list.

“There’s enormous interest,” Evans said. “The concern runs really deep. And that’s grown.”

A make-up discussion will be held this Sunday at 7 p.m. for those students who signed up for the JRP and would still like to attend a discussion group.