UF celebrates National Campus Sustainability Day

October 23, 2007

For the third year in a row, the University of Florida’s Office of Sustainability will celebrate National Campus Sustainability Day. The event starts at 10 a.m. on Oct. 24 and features a number of activities designed to raise awareness of campus sustainability efforts.

The day will begin on the Reitz Student Union North Lawn, with President Machen addressing the annual Sustainability Report Card. Following the address, the Student Government Environmental Affairs Cabinet will hold a forum on the renewable energy fee that was passed in a recent student government election, said Melissa Karr, Office of Sustainability intern. The 50-cent per credit hour fee passed with 78 percent approval last spring.

Throughout the day, a variety of student groups and community organizations will provide food, games and information. Visitors can use the Eco-Footprint calculator provided by “Gators for a Sustainable Campus” to learn about their individual impact on the environment, and learn ways to lessen it. Another group, the American Solar Energy Society, will provide a solar-powered tricycle, the “Photon.”

“The basic goal of the day is to raise awareness, show support to organizations making a difference and enjoy being sustainable,” Karr said.

Groups such as these are educating the Gator Nation and paving the way for a university of the future, one with a negligible impact on the environment, said Anna Prizzia, outreach coordinator with the Office of Sustainability.

“President Machen’s goal for the university is complete carbon neutrality by the year 2020,” Prizzia said.

While it may appear to be a lofty goal, UF is making great strides through many different methods.

All over campus, cleaning crews have switched to “green” cleaning supplies and all paper towels and toilet paper are made of 100 percent recyclable materials, Prizzia said. Also, campus buildings are using paint and carpet which is low in VOCs, a volatile type of chemical which is harmful to the environment.

While efforts are being made to increase sustainability in existing buildings, new construction takes that effort one step further.

“All new construction on campus will be designed to receive a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver or higher certification,” Prizzia said. If successful, these efforts would result in the high certification — based on environmentally friendly and sustainable criteria — as designated by the U.S. Green Building Council.

One UF building already is not only “green” in the figurative sense, but also literally. The Charles R. Perry Construction Yard Building has a roof which contains soil and growing plants. The green roof helps reduce storm runoff, insulates the building against heat and sound, and improves the aesthetic value of the building.

Waste reduction is another effort to meet the 2020 campus goal. With the help of concerned students, staff and faculty, the solid waste output has been greatly reduced.

“We’ve partnered with gatorlist.net to offer people a free way to give away things they might normally throw away,” Prizzia said.

Besides the more direct, people-to-people recycling, the Office of Sustainability and its volunteers and interns also work on programs such as collecting recyclables on game days, when they are often thrown in with other refuse, Prizzia said. These programs show the commitment of the Gator Nation to sustainability, and the dedication of the volunteers.

“The student commitment is really amazing,” Prizzia said. “We really couldn’t do it without them.”