Recent Happenings

On the River Campus, we are really off to a great start of a new academic year. From my perspective, move-in time is always a bit of a whirlwind with all of the preperation and hard work that goes into it. A few weeks ago I posted about some new educational material that we were busily getting up campus. In the midst of all that, we were also making appearances at several training and orientation events. What better way to share it all with you than through pictures? So here goes.

First, we were so glad to be a part of the large group training event for all Dining Services employees. Staff divided into groups and had 15 minutes to spend at each table, one of which was the recycling and composting table. At our table each group was divided into two teams to race one another at sorting materials in the appropriate bin. Of course, accuracy counted in this game and the team who got the most correct won a prize.

Before we new it, it was Freshmen move-in day. For several years now, Facilities has held a table at the EXPO to welcome freshmen with green information and a complimentary compact fluorescent light bulb. We also worked closely with the new EcoReps, who proved to be an exceptional group this year. After getting their recycling training from us, they played a huge role during move-in day to break down cardboard boxes and gather Styrofoam to ensure that these materials would be properly recycled.

Then, for the first time ever, a Green Orientation event was held to help familiarze freshmen with our sustainable culture. Several student groups were present, along with representatives from Waste Management, academics, campus planning and design, and of course, recycling. The event was coordinated by Dining Service’s Team Green and we really hope that from now on a green event will be on the orientation agenda each year in the future.  Did I mention that Facilities now has it’s very own Team Green? Following Dining’s lead, we decided to divide the duties of our student interns into three positions to create a more formal group. Pictured at the table above is Leslie Wolf, the new Sustainability Assistant intern.

And this is Kathleen Shannon, the very first Sustainability Marketing intern. Kathleen’s main focus will be campus events. Not only will Kathleen work with student groups to coordinate events and engage the campus community, but she will also work on various marketing material to advertise for events and help to get the right message out.

Finally, this is Alanna Scheinerman, the Sustainability Writing intern. In addition to other writing assignments, Alanna’s main duty is to produce Go Green articles which often involves interviewing campus members who have worked on sustainable projects. But Alanna will not be the only one posting to the blog now. We are so pleased to have added the Student’s Corner every Friday which will feature all three of the Team Green members. We are really excited and think that this will add a fresh perspective to this blog. If you haven’t already, check it out!

As if to add to our own celebration, there were a couple of other green festivals held recently in Rochester. This year, the Clothesline Festival decided to go green for the very first time. Above you see the solar powered water station made especially for the event by Crescent Moon. Below you see recycling ranger stations which included compostable material.

If the recycling ranger stations from Clothesline look familar it is because we borrowed the idea from Greentopia, which just held its second annual festival. Their station is shown above. This year Greentopia was bigger and better with a week of art, an innovation conference, and film before the EcoFest was held over this past weekend. The University of Rochester sponsored this event and enjoyed being a part of the unique event designed to inspire the sustainable being inside us all.

We are excited to be a part of all this and will have more to share with you as the year rolls on!

-Amy Kadrie, Recycling Coordinator