Roger Bowman, manager, Facilities-Grounds Services, discusses campus recycling efforts during Campus Sustainability Day.

The Green goes green

Sustainability successes, dedication to green initiatives celebrated

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9:58 a.m., Nov. 7, 2011--Oct. 26, 2011, was a day to celebrate the power of the sustainability movement on college campuses across the country.  The University of Delaware joined the nationwide movement with a full day of activities, ranging from a water bottle exchange and a bike clinic to a clothing swap and a gardening workshop.

At UD, the event dovetails with the ongoing Initiative for the Planet, which is aimed at making the University a national and international resource for environmental research, technology, education and policy.

Campus Stories

From graduates, faculty

As it neared time for the processional to open the University of Delaware Commencement ceremonies, graduating students and faculty members shared their feelings about what the event means to them.

Doctoral hooding

It was a day of triumph, cheers and collective relief as more than 160 students from 21 nations participated in the University of Delaware's Doctoral Hooding Convocation held Friday morning on The Green.

John Byrne, Distinguished Professor of Energy and Climate Policy and director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, started UD’s Campus Sustainability Day off by reiterating the University’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2020.

Byrne outlined several opportunities available for attaining this goal, with an emphasis on policy-level projects such as his own work with the Sustainable Energy Utility.

A midday showcase, “Off the Grid on the Green,” highlighted research activities, best practices and innovative actions aimed at enhancing sustainability throughout the UD campus. Faculty and staff shared ideas for small changes that individuals can make and demonstrated the collective focus on planning for the future. 

“The showcase was an opportunity to share our accomplishments,” said Courtney Siegert, co-chair of the Campus Sustainability Day Working Group, “with the idea that new partnerships can grow while we educate the community.  There is such varied effort coming from all areas of the University that can serve as an inspiration for the next project.”

Included in the showcase were art projects made from recycled materials, imagined by the children at The College School.  An impromptu piece of performance art came in the form of UD alumnus, Dan Cole, who arrived wearing a wedding dress made from plastic grocery bags.

In the evening, students gathered on Independence Field to hear acoustic music from local singers and bands and enjoy hot cocoa. Students for the Environment also hosted a clothing swap.

“Despite the weather, students enjoyed the music and hot chocolate,” Nancy Harrington, undergraduate environmental science major and public relations chair for Students for the Environment, said of the “Laird Unplugged” event.  “No electricity needed.”

Melissa Miles of the Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild led a workshop on permaculture, offered in conjunction with the UD Food and Gardening Policy Committee. Permaculture models natural systems to reduce inputs and wastes, while enhancing the quality of life for all members of the system.

Miles introduced the idea of living “beyond sustainably,” sharing permaculture examples from around the world to a large group of eager faculty, staff, and students The interactive workshop had participants on their feet as they examined natural systems and the relationship between components, for example, the forest ecosystem web including trees, squirrels, fungi, soil, and water.

Photos by Courtney Siegert and Tabitha Groh

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