Category: On Campus

UW – Green Bay Listed by Sierra Magazine as a “Cool School”

UW-Green Bay rated a first-ever appearance on Sierra Magazine’s 6th annual “Cool Schools” ranking. Coming in at #65 out of a total of 96 schools that were ranked, UWGB was one of only two University of Wisconsin System schools appearing in the list. The other, UW – Oshkosh (#14), shows that higher education institutions in northeast Wisconsin are working hard to improve the sustainability of our campuses.

The ranking is a nice recognition of the consistent effort made by many people over many years on our campus to keep improving energy efficiency, innovating, participating in and providing education on environmental issues, policy and sustainability.  

Open to all four-year colleges and universities in the United States, campuses could participate in the review process by completing an in-depth survey about their school’s sustainability practices. The survey developed was a result of collaboration between Sierra, Princeton Review, Sustainable Endowments Institute and Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).  Its questions focus on measurable environmental goals and achievements, with priority given to achievements.

To view the Cool Schools issue and see UWGB’s ranking in the 11 categories included in the survey, CLICK HERE.

 

Graduation Gowns Go Green

For the first time this year, the 900 graduates at UWGB will be marching across the stage to accept their diplomas in gowns that exemplify the environmental tradition of the university. The GreenWeaver fabric used to make the gowns comes from 100% post-consumer plastic. It takes an average of 23 bottles to make one gown.

Other environmental tidbits about the gowns:

Reduce – CO2 gas emissions are reduced by over 54% in the process of manufacturing fabric from recycled plastic versus virgin polyester.

Reuse – In addition to reclaiming and reusing the plastic bottles, thermal recycled energy is used instead of petroleum to produce the fabric, which saves energy use by over 52%.

Recycle- any student not wanting to hold on to their gown as a keepsake will have the ability to place them in collection boxes after commencement and those gowns will be recycled into new product.

Also, look for green ribbons on graduates’ gowns. If you see one, you know that these students have taken part in the “Green Pledge” national movement. The pledge states that the graduates will consider environmental and social justice aspects in their lives and future jobs. This is the fourth year that the UWGB campus has participated in the Green Pledge.

Congratulations to the Class of 2012!

UW-Green Bay Holds 3rd Place in International MobilizeU Competition

When the call went out for colleges and universities to participate in the Earth Day Network’s MobilizeU campaign, Jeff Cook, PEAC’s president and SGA Environmental Affairs delegate, signed up the UWGB campus. Halfway through the competition, UWGB is in third place out of 260 participating schools across the globe. MobilizeU is an international movement of concerned and active college students competing and uniting around environmental action in support of a sustainable future and supports the Earth Day Network’s global effort to Mobilize the EarthTM .

The competition encourages students to engage their campus communities in four weeks of environmental activism surrounding Earth Day 2012 (March 29 – April 29). Students work to generate as many “acts of green” – actions that either educate someone about the environment or reduce an individual’s carbon footprint – as possible. Acts of green are quantified by the number of people educated at an event or the number of service hours donated during a community project.

Some of the efforts undertaken by students during the month include wildflower and tree plantings, fight for your food film festival, canvassing the dorms to raise awareness about energy conservation for the Energy conservation competition, an e-waste collection drive, and promoting awareness about Earth Week Events in the 4th Estate newspaper.

For more information visit the Earth Day Nework.

E-Waste Recycling – April 23rd, 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Have an old CPU, dead laptop, antique scanner or anything with a plug gathering dust in your dorm room or at home? Faculty, staff and students have an opportunity on April 23, 10:30 – 2:30 p.m., to bring those old electronics in for recycling by local company Cyber Green (http://www.cybergreenllc.com/). The event will be held in the MAC Circle, off of Campus Ct., with students available to help you haul things, if needed. Only four items have fees for disposal and they are:  CRT/Monitors, $10; TVs, $10; TVs over 30”, $20; Console TVs, $20. Anything else with a plug can be recycled at no cost.  

Note: this is NOT for University-owned or purchased electronic items. An e-waste recycling opportunity will be held in the future to collect those items.

FINAL RecycleMania Results!

The 2012 RecycleMania competition is complete! This year, during the eight weeks of the event, our campus recycling rate was 31.33%, or 15.17 pounds/person. Our non-recycled trash going to the landfill weighed in at 48.41 pounds/person over the eight weeks.

The tables below show the final results  as well as where our efforts placed us among all the Wisconsin Colleges and Universities participating in the competitive category.

State of Wisconsin Results

 

Test Your IQ in the Eco-Challenge – Win an iPad! NEW NEWS: The order is in for an iPad 3!

Go to http://www.NewEraOnline.org/Sustainability and take the Eco-Challenge quiz! You’ll automatically be entered to win an iPad when you complete the challenge! The challenge runs from March 5 – March 26 – good luck!

RecycleMania Results: Week 3

Here’s the results for Week 3 – we’re improving in our waste minimization efforts!

And here’s some of the items posted on the “Pledges to Save the Planet” wall at the Union last week:

  • Educate others on how to live simply & sustainably!
  • I will bring my recyclable grocery bag in the store when I shop.
  • Bike instead of drive!
  • Refilling my water bottle instead of buying new.
  • Using reusable bags, making “greener” choices when purchasing food, and car pooling more often.
  • Eat ogranic and buy loal. No plastic and natural products.
  • Educating myself on important environmental issue and following through with solutions.
  • Riding the bus more and reducing my meat consumption.
  • Volunteering for sustainable causes, planting trees, reusing, reducing and spreading the word.
  • Dedicating mindful effort constantly to reduce my negative impact & to encourage health, growth & education.