Washington University in St. Louis Campus Sustainability Week

Campus Sustainability Day is celebrated at different times by different schools in the month of October. It is most commonly celebrated between October 17 and 28. The ninth annual Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) asks colleges and universities to commit to maintaining the momentum of higher education sustainability by connecting new campus groups and allies, highlighting student stories and reaching out to partners who can help move towards success.

Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) celebrated Campus Sustainability Week from October 17th to October 22nd. WUSTL celebrated national Campus Sustainability Day on Thursday, October 20 to bring attention to the achievements and challenges for students, faculty and staff in working to instill sustainability principles in higher education institutions and their surrounding communities.

WUSTL Sustainability Celebrations featured:

• Tours of their Living Learning Center — one of the country’s greenest buildings and one of the first two buildings in the world to be certified as a “living building” by the International Living Building Institute — at the university’s Tyson Research Center near Eureka, Mo. Visitors learned about ecological sustainability research at Tyson.
• The Clean Energy Challenge which included a panel discussion, Q&A and networking sessions with a focus on clean technology innovation in the St. Louis region.
• The Clean Energy Trust’s annual business plan competition awarded a $100,000 prize to the top cleantech entrepreneurs in the Midwest. Panelists discussed the Clean Energy Challenge and the services their organizations provide to entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• Tours of the School of Engineering & Applied Science’s newest buildings, Green Hall and Brauer Hall, both built to LEED Gold certification standards. Attendees learned how they were constructed and what features make them sustainable.
• Activities fair promoting alternative means of transportation featured free bicycle repairs, bicycle commuter education, food, and informational booths.
• Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Centennial Greenway trail through campus. Tour reviewed how the single stream recycling gets sorted.
• Local dinner and the movie titled “Fresh,” a documentary that celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across the US who are re-inventing the American food system.
• There were also concerts, composting tours, garden tours, and an environmental justice tour.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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