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Find out what our project groups are organizing this year.
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Sustainability-themed courses and links to cool websites.
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RecycleMania is a friendly competition among college and university recycling programs in the United States that provides the campus community with a fun, proactive activity in waste reduction. Over a 10-week period, campuses compete in different contests to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita the largest amount of total recyclables the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate.
The goal of the inkjet cartridge and battery recycling programs is to put recycling bins in accessible, logical locations around campus and publicize them so that students recycle all of their batteries and cartridges. This saves huge amounts of waste, and proceeds from the inkjet program are used to plant trees on Earth Day (our campus is an arboretum, or a tree sanctuary. We work with the university horticulturalist, Dan Schied (who has a great mustache) to do this. How much money will this make the university? Probably $200-300! Where can you recycle inkjet cartridges and batteries? Gale (in Phase), Susan B. Anthony Halls (Morgan 104), Quad Offices, Multimedia Center, or the Computer Store in ITS.
City Cycles provides a bicycle borrowing program, in which students of the University of Rochester may go to Goergen Athletic Center and essentially "take out" a bicycle for a specified amount of time. This program is intended to get students off the campus and more involved in the Rochester community, as well as reduce carbon emissions through the use of an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
Earth Day is one of the biggest and most visible programs Grassroots puts on every year. Held the weekend of or before Earth Day at Wilson Commons, it involves informational tables and demonstrations from UR clubs, Grassroots projects, and community organizations that are environmentally-minded. In recent years it has included performances from local bands and a prize raffle based around learning from each of the event participants. We’re always looking for new ideas and help in putting out the word about how a single person can make a big impact on the environment, so feel free to contact us to help!
Based on a one-to-one exchange, students can bring clothing they no longer want and find something new. The clothing exchange is designed to reduce waste by providing a place for which students to bring clothing they no longer want, instead of throwing it out.
Dump and Run is a program at the end of the school year that collects unwanted items students leave behind. The food and clothing we collect is donated to charity and the other items (furniture, decorations, etc.) are sold yard sale style during freshman orientation. It started 3 years ago. A great way to re-use old things instead of throwing them out as well as raising money for Grassroots.
Sustainability, a hot buzzword in academic, business, and political circles around the world, is often defined as "meeting the needs of the present while ensuring the ability of future generations to meet their needs". Achieving this balance requires simultaneous attention to the needs of environmental stewardship, social justice, AND economic stability; striving towards – and prospering in – a sustainable society means focusing on not just the traditional "bottom line" of profit, but the "triple bottom line" incorporating these three aspects. Colleges and universities, including our own, have a critical position in determining the sustainability of modern society, through their physical operations, their research, and especially their role in educating and developing future leaders and decision-makers. The main goal of this student initiative is to encourage purposeful, organized attention to our holistic sustainability as an institution, by educating the community about the sustainability paradigm and by facilitating communication about these issues between stakeholders across the university. To this end, our efforts this year include organizing a series of public sustainability dialogues, and working with upper administration to define explicit institutional goals and chart our course toward a sustainable future.
The Graduation Pledge is a national movement occurring in campuses all over the country. The goal is to encourage students to take into consideration the environmental and social consequences of any job in the future.
A week connection environmental and social justice issues. Panel discussions, tabling, movies, educational events, fun events.