Springfield College Students Clean Local Zoo
As part of a 735-acre city park, the zoo recently hosted students from the college's Project for Sustainability club to volunteer their time with clean-up to prepare it for its opening.
Student Startups Compete for $100K in Energy Dept Competition
University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at Denver, Iowa State University and University of New Mexico were represented at the CU Cleantech New Venture Challenge. The seven groups representing the universities presented solutions to pressing sustainability issues. The winning team receives $100,000 seed funding and a chance to compete at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
SUNY Cortland Becomes Tree Campus USA
The establishment of the university's urban forest with 53 tree species recently earned it the designation and will be celebrated by a tour during the school's Green Days festival.
U Maryland Panhellenic Receives $4K for Energy Efficiency
Allowing the building to stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, the university's Fraternity and Sorority Life housing coordinator applied for the grant to install the ceramic glazing on the windows of a Panhellenic chapter house as a pilot program.
U Maryland Procures Solar Panels Jointly
Partnering with a local renewable energy-based nonprofit, seventeen university faculty and staff have recently signed up for a bulk purchase of photovoltaic panels.
U Ottawa Declared Fair Trade Campus
The university recently achieved the status through increasing availability and awareness of coffee, tea and chocolate that has the Fairtrade designation.
Ursinus College Issues Green Living Certification
In an effort to grow the culture of sustainability, the four-tiered pilot program for students is designed to encourage sustainable actions across campus including residence halls, classroom, bathrooms and dining halls.
Ursinus College to Form Sustainability Committee
The new committee's primary mission will be to oversee the integration of sustainability into the life of the college and to help guide and oversee the implementation of the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. Some of the subcommittees are tree care, sustainable student experience, sustainable facilities and energy conservation, and membership on the committees is open to campus members.
Belmont Abbey College Focuses on Affordability
A recent move to shrink general administrative costs by $1 million annually builds on the 33 percent tuition reduction last year to help the college focus on student learning and affordability.
Bucknell U Creates Sustainability Council
At the university's recent Sustainability Symposium, the president promised a ten-fold increase in green project funding and the creation of a President's Sustainability Council to address large-scale initiatives at the highest administrative level.
California State U Fullerton Students Map Campus Trees
The university's Geographic Informations Systems students have inventoried the 2,333 campus trees and produced a website where users have access to identifying information including its measurements, health and recent treatment.
Harvard U to Sign Onto Responsible Investment Guidelines
The university recently announced its decision to sign onto the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, which is a network for investors who are committed to integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into investment practices and ownership policies.
Loyola Marymount U Achieves Fair Trade Status
The recently attained designation means that the university has met the Fair Trade Campaigns five requirements including sourcing fair trade products at events and meetings and education dissemination about the benefits of fair trade.
North Carolina State U EcoVillage Learns from Boston
The living and learning group recently traveled to Boston to learn how the city embraces sustainability through its Greenovate Boston program. The trip included learning about sustainability at Harvard University, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College and Boston Architectural College.
Over 89M Pounds of Material Diverted Through RecycleMania
The nationwide college and university competition to recycle and compost material had 461 participating universities that diverted over 89 million pounds during the eight-week period. Antioch University was awarded Grand Champion with the highest percentage of overall recycled waste (93 percent); Kalamazoo College won the Per Capita Classic with over 48 pounds of recyclables per person; and Valencia College won in the Waste Minimization category with 2.87 pounds of waste per person. Rutgers University won the Gorilla Prize, the highest gross tonnage of combined paper, cardboard and bottle and cans regardless of campus population, at 1.53 million pounds.
Pitzer College to Divest From Fossil Fuel Companies
The college's board of trustees just unanimously approved its Fossil Fuel Divestment-Climate Action Model, which divests nearly all the college's endowment investments by the end of 2014, develops an environmental, social and governance policy to guide investment decisions, and targets a 25 percent reduction of the college's current carbon footprint by the end of 2016.
Stanford U Organizes Inaugural Climate Week
Part of a Stanford Green Fund Project, the university's Graduate School of Business organized the week-long series of events, which seeks to highlight the urgency and opportunity of climate change and engage the campus community in solutions-based thinking.
U Maryland to Help Community Overcome Challenges
A new university program to begin in fall of 2014 called Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability will offer students the opportunity to engage with specific sustainability-related community challenges with coursework tailored to reflect those challenges.
U Maryland Uses Moss to Clean Pool
In an effort to reduce the amount of chemicals used to clean the university's pool, sphagnum moss aids in the cleaning process by stabilizing the pH, which makes the chlorine more effective.
Western Kentucky U Composts Food Waste
Recently installed into an existing university dining hall, the new food pulper/extractor takes pre and post-consumer food waste, breaks it down into small pieces, and then the material is hauled to the university's arboretum to be mixed with wood chips to create compost.
Cleveland State CC Earns Tree Campus USA
The community college was recently honored with 2013 Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
Oregon Passes 2 Bills to Help Students Through Higher Education
The two bills, recently signed into law by the governor, are intended to help low-income students attain a higher education credential. One bill asks for a study on the feasibility of providing free community college classes to Oregon high school graduates. The other sets aside $750,000 for low-income families.
Syracuse U Holds Green Chemistry Workshop for Teachers
The recent teacher workshop with labs and hands-on activities targeted 24 area high schools to inspire students to pursue scientific careers and to encourage teachers to purchase more environmentally benign chemicals.
U Florida to Install Three Solar Charging Stations
Spearheaded through the university's Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the soon to be installed, clean energy charging stations will have USB ports and the capacity to charge the equivalent of one and a half laptops at a time.
U Maryland Partners for Expansion of Regional Public Transit
The university has partnered with local groups to create the Purple Line Corridor Coalition to tackle the economic and community development challenges and benefits of the first light rail line. The goal of the group is to guide expertise in active planning to ensure that the investment creates vibrant neighborhoods while preserving existing community assets.
U New Hampshire Holds Local Foods Expo
The university's inaugural Nutritional Expo focused on the importance of local foods while raising awareness for on-campus healthy options including the Farm to UNH farm food that is served in one of its dining halls.
U Saskatchewan Commits to Building Temperature Control
In honor of International Polar Bear Day, the university announced its plans to raise the thermostat two degrees in spring and summer and one degree in winter in an effort to lower its carbon emissions from heating and cooling.
U Texas Austin Moves to Glass Collection
After switching to single stream collection of accepted recyclable material, the university amended its contract to begin glass collection due to an increase of the material on campus.
Wake Technical CC Builds New Walkways
Two new walkways were constructed that will alleviate shuttle transportation, preventing associated greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere, and encourage a healthier lifestyle.
Angelo State U Introduces New Recycling Initiatives
The university's Student Government Association partnered with other student organizations for Adopt-A-Hallway, a program designed to increase waste diversion, and new recycling-specific dumpsters have been placed across campus allowing for a more efficient diversion and pick up process.
Arizona State U Building Receives LEED Gold
The university's fitness complex features a solar pool heater and solar panels, and achieved a high number of points toward energy efficiency from design including a breezeway that was designed to funnel air to remove heat and provide shade.
Bridgewater College Pilots Composting Program
The college recently implemented a composting pilot program for all dining hall food waste. Two student interns are conducting outreach efforts to the campus community about the new program.
Harvard U Students Develop Indicators for Safe Oil Drilling
Students from the university's Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic developed the recently released report, currently being circulated among legislators, which suggests ways to protect the environment from the impact of routine drilling as well as major oil spills.
North Carolina State U Spreads Homemade Mulch
A new pilot project between university Grounds Management and the Horticulture Field Labs has resulted in a new type of mulch blended from campus landscape debris and wood chips donated by a local tree company, which will result in cost savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions associated with long-distance hauling and delivery.
Penn State U Allocates $875K in Sustainability Proposals
The Reinvention Fund, the university's Sustainability Institute internal grant program, recently selected 22 winning proposals across its five campuses with over $102,000 going toward student submissions. The selected projects represent a tactical approach to fulfilling the university's living laboratory theme from its strategic plan.
U Colorado Boulder Completes 290KW Photovoltaic Array
The newly commissioned 290-kilowatt solar electric system on the main campus' sports arena will help the university meet its short-term goal of powering the campus with clean energy by reducing demand for grid electricity and cost while also fulfilling part of its long-term goal for a carbon-neutral campus.
U Dayton Building Receives LEED Gold
The building features recycled and low volatile organic compound materials, over 90 percent landfill waste diversion, and water-efficient landscaping.
U Georgia Uses Goats for Species Control
Over the next couple of months, the goats will help restore the ecological quality of a creek running through campus by munching away at the kudzu, English ivy, privet and other invasive plants that cover the stream banks. Students will have the opportunity to learn about urban water quality and invasive species.
