November 2014
Sustainability Bulletin
Energy Campaign September 3rd–November 9th
Harvest Fest Saturday, November 8th
Campus Sustainability Week November 10th-14th
Energy Campaign Reveal November 21
Click here for the full calendar of events.
4 Energy Campaign 6 New York Campus Crunch 10 Sustainability Week Events 14 Local Food on Campus 16 Around Town 18 Opportunities
UAlbany’s Energy Campaign
The eighth annual Energy Campaign kicked off on Wednesday, September 3rd! During the 10-week challenge, the entire UAlbany campus works to reduce our electricity consumption by 10%! This year, the Energy Campaign runs from September 3rd until November 9th. We’re entering the final stretch of our energy campaign as we wrap it up on November 9th. We are holding steady at a 9% reduction but are closing in on the 1,000,000 kilowatt hour saved mark! The living residences really helped us out this week as they have achieved a 16% overall reduction. Our academic buildings slipped back to a 4% overall reduction, so let’s finish strong and get that number up! The apartments Freedom and Empire have a strong lead over the competition, with 36% and 32% reduction respectively. Alumni has invoked some Halloween magic, because the quad jumped from an 18% to a 27% reduction. State scoreboard now reads 10%, which means that four out of five of our quads are now in the double digits! Indian is steadily making progress, up to a 7% reduction. On the academic side, five academic buildings are in the double digits of savings, with Social Sciences leading with 22%! Many buildings are stagnant in the single-digit realm, though it is absolutely possible for them to join the double-digit ranks. We have five buildings in the red, but we are confident they can bring up their numbers. Our Student Energy Team will perform extra energy checks in these buildings, ensuring that classroom lights and computers are off at the end of the day. Keep up the good work! If you have any questions, email gogreen@albany.edu
Week 8s Leaderboard See how your academic building is performing!
Living Area
Academic Building
Percent Reduction
Co2 Reduction
Social Sciences
22%
15
Education
20%
7
Physics
20%
13
Lecture Center
12%
25
Earth Science
12%
9
PAC
12%
6
Arts and Sciences + Computing
11%
11
Business Administration Fine Arts Campus Center SEFCU
7% 6% 5% 4%
5 4 13 4
Science Library Humanities Chemistry University Library
3% 2% 2% 1%
4 1 4 1
Physical Education
0%
0
Downtown Campus
-1%
-1
University Hall
-1%
0
Life Sciences
-4%
-15
Biology
-8%
-6
Percent Reduction
CO2 Reduction
Freedom Empire
36% 32%
20 71
Alumni
27%
31
Colonial Dutch
15% 12%
36 31
State
10%
23
Indian
7%
16
Liberty Terrace
4%
6
Week 8’s Leaderboard See how your living residence is performing!
We want to thank you for participating in this year’s Energy Campaign! Join us for the Energy Campaign Reveal Celebration in University Hall 110 on Friday, November 21st at 3pm!
UAlbany community takes bite of local food during the first Campus Crunch By Kassie Parisi, Managing Editor of the Albany Student Press
It was the crunch heard around New York State. On Oct. 24 at the University at Albany campus, the first New York Campus Crunch was held in front of the small fountain in honor of National Food Day. Campus Crunch, which was hosted by the UAlbany Office of Environmental Sustainability, was meant to raise awareness of local food suppliers and advocate the use of more local food on campus. Director of Sustainability Mary Ellen Mallia was pleased with the fact that many students came out for the Crunch, despite the overcast skies. The event included speeches from students and local farmers, all of whom stressed the importance of utilizing the local food resources located around Albany. A local farmer named Peter mentioned that people should not seek out or expect fruits to be completely round and shiny. “Some apples are big and beautiful and some aren’t, just like people. People shouldn’t want perfect fruit,” he said. He also mentioned that purchasing local fruits over mass grown food ultimately sends money back into the community and that people should be concerned about getting naturally grown food that hasn’t been altered with pesticides and fertilizer. Radha Urribarri, a student who made a speech at the event, has only recently joined the fight to get local food on campus. Originally from Queens, she mentioned that focusing on local food was not something in the forefront of her mind until she came to college. Now, she said that she is going to carry the message back home to Queens. “Eating local means a lot to the planet,” she said. Making a speech in front of people was something that Urribarri had never done so she admitted that she had been nervous, but acknowledged it was a learning experience. Currently she is trying to get the dining halls to bring in more local food. Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy made a speech at the Crunch as well, and emphasized that change in communities frequently starts in colleges. According to Fahy, there needs to be an increase in environmental sustainability at every level. “We cannot change the world without changing our colleges,” she said. At noon, all of the speechmakers stood in a line holding apples provided by Indian Ladder Farms, a medium sized- farm located in Altamont, N.Y. At 12 on the dot, the advocates for environmental change all bit into their locally grown, imperfect apples. When the crowd started to disperse, Mallia said that though this was the inaugural Campus Crunch, she hopes that it will continue as a school tradition. “We want to get our campus involved,” she said during her speech.
Eighteen Campuses participated in the NY Campus Crunch!
Winners! We challenged the campus to see which quad, LLC, and student groupcould bring the most participants and here are the results: Quad: Colonial LLC: Laws and Justice Student Group: Pan Caribbean
A special thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make the event a success!
Photos by Bill Pyke
Click here for more details on this month’s program!
Green Building Speaker Series
Did you know that the US Green Building Council hosts a Sustainable Speaker Series on the second Tuesday of each month in the Business Building? Registration fees range from $15$20 for the public, but is free for UAlbany students, staff, and faculty!
UAlbany Students Demonstrate Commitment to Sustainable and Local Food Whether it's working to bring healthy eating options in the dining halls or increasing locally sourced foods on campus, University at Albany students have taken the lead on bringing the concepts of sustainable farming and food production to the campus community. "We started out by creating a student group called Grow Green," said Lisa Cassidy, who serves on UAlbany's sustainability council and is studying to earn her master's degree in biodiversity, conservation and policy. The group, which now has 90 participants, spent a recent fall day constructing a new Heritage Garden, promoting the use of native plants with cultural significance to New York. The garden, which utilizes a low-water landscape with efficient irrigation methods, will serve to educate the community about the history and biodiversity of the region, said Amanda Colley, who co-chairs the grounds committee with Cassidy on the sustainability council. Each of the gardening beds represents a period of history in New York, as reflected by the four University residence quads: Indian, Dutch, Colonial and State. As such, the garden serves as a living-learning lab for students and the community.
Click here to see a video of UAlbany students construct the Heritage Garden! Food of the Month: Winter Squash Through the Farm to SUNY program, UAlbany highlights a seasonal and local food of the month to be featured in the dining halls. Welcome to winter squash!
Albany VegFest Come out for the Albany Annual Veg Fest on November 15th from 10am6pm. Albany VegFest brings together the global health benefits of green sustainable living, environmental awareness and compassion for animals and all beings. Free admission; suggested $5 donation. Polish Community Center, Washington Ave Extension, Albany. Click here for more details.
Almost Full Moon Hike Enjoy the Pine Bush at night with an hour long hike under the almost full moon. We will plan to walk 0.9 miles over rolling topography stopping intermittently for night vision and sound observations. All ages. Please plan to arrive at least 510 minutes before the start of the program to purchase your ticket ($3.00/person, $5.00/ family, Children under 5 free). Tickets can also be purchased in advance of the program at the Discovery Center reception desk.
Solarize the Capital District
Green Drinks
Come out to Honest Weight Food Coop on Thursday, November 27th at 6pm to learn about Solarize.
Co-hosted by Creo and the NY Upstate Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, this event welcomes all who have any interest in connecting with other local “greenies� be they actively working for sustainable options in their day job, concerned about buying healthier foods and products, interested in understanding alternative energy, curious about local business opportunities, or simply interested in meeting some of the coolest people in the area.
Solarize is a bulk purchase of solar equipment and installation services. By working together with many households interested in buying solar, we can get better prices on better equipment. This process has been used successfully around the US to dramatically reduce costs and make it easier for home and business owners, because the Solarize team does a lot of the hard work for you. This increases overall demand for solar, a true win-win for all local installers, for our communities, and for the environment. If you are interested in helping make this a reality for the Albany area, or putting solar on your property, please email Dave Hochfelder at dphochfelder@gmail.com.
Every fourth Tuesday of the month at Creo Restaurant at Stuyvesant Plaza beginning at 5:30.
C2C Fellowship Workshop The 2014 Fall Sustainability Leadership C2C Workshop application is now open. The workshop will be held December 5th-7th at Bard in Annandale on Hudson, NY. C2C Fellows workshops are for current students and recent graduates who want high-impact careers in sustainable business and politics. Join C2C to learn the leadership skills necessary to succeed, such as how to: raise money, tell your story, build your network, pitch your idea, and know what you’re good at. Graduates of our workshops are eligible for scholarships to become funded graduate students at Bard's Center for Environmental Policy. View a draft workshop agenda here.
Scholarship Opportunity The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, Inc. Founders Fund Scholarship is a merit scholarship offered annually in the name of the TGF founders, to a single recipient who has demonstrated excellence and outstanding dedication in a field of study that falls within an environmental field of a school or department. It was the hope of the founders, as it is the hope of the current membership of Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, that the recipient will use this scholarship to assist his or her studies, and after graduation seek employment in the tri-state region in either the public or private sector furthering the cause of environmental protection and riparian habitat conservation for the benefit of all. Read more
Green Genies Jobs Green Genies is a local residential and commercial cleaning service that goes above and beyond industry green standards to offer truly healthy, effective cleaning methods for getting homes or businesses healthy and clean without toxic residue. Their services are in such high demand that they are hiring individuals for full-time or part-time work that are passionate about the natural environment and natural living, have an eye for details and a strong team work ethic. Owner Michelle Boyle has formulated the Tidy Thyme line of 100 percent natural plant-based cleaning agents. Throughout the year, Green Genies brings their services free of charge to places like animal shelters, homes of cancers patients, and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Send resumes to mboyle@green-genies.com. For more information, call 518-8137366 or visit them on the web.
Office of Environmental Sustainability Interns The Office of Environmental Sustainability is seeking three motivated and energetic interns to assist with the publication of monthly sustainability bulletin, developing flier templates for a variety of sustainability engagement initiatives, assisting with social media management and completing other assignments as requested. The interns are expected work a minimum of 10-12 hours weekly. Internships are unpaid though students may obtain academic credit through the Communications Department. Qualifications:
Excellent writing and communication skills Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite applications, especially Publisher Background or strong interest in environmental issues/sustainability Project-oriented with strong self-initiative Adaptable to organizational changes and new projects Positive attitude, commitment and follow-through Photography skills a plus
Deadline: Applications for the fall internship will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If interested, send a resume and letter of intent to Mary Alexis Leciejewski at mleciejewski@albany.edu. Questions about the internship can be addressed to Mary Alexis at 518-442-2592