Month: March 2013

Bike Week at Tufts

March 27, 2013 / / 2 Comments
Bike Week Poster webAlthough the weather may lead you to believe otherwise, it is now officially spring – and do you know what that means? It’s bike season! To celebrate, we have declared this week to be Bike Week at Tufts!
The Office of Sustainability and Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) have teamed up to encourage everyone to get on a bike this spring! Whether you are looking for a bike or need help getting your bike roadworthy again, join us on March 27 (Wednesday) at the Upper Patio of the Campus Center during open block (12-2pm).   We have invited folks from Bikes not Bombs, Bike Boom, TUPD, fBIKE, MassRides, and our very own TuftsBikes to join us (see below).

We are also proud to introduce a Bike Map for the Medford campus to help you avoid the nastiest uphill climbs and improve your biking experience here at Tufts. Whether you bike for fun, to save time, save money, reduce your carbon footprint, or simply exercise, we think you’ll find something here to interest and help you.

Happy Spring! (It’s about time, right?)

Bike Week + Eco-Reps Application + More!

March 14, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Can you believe it’s already March? In case you haven’t figured out what to do yet next week, consider going green for spring break. Then after everyone gets back, the Office of Sustainability and Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) will be holding TIE Bicycle Generatora “Get Green and Get on a Bike” event at the Mayer Campus Center during open block on March 27th, Wednesday. You will be able to test a folding bike, get a free tune-up for your bike, pick up a new bike map (developed especially for conquering the hilly Medford/Somerville campus), and more! Make sure to look out for BiciGen, TIE’s bike generator, coming soon to a place near you on campus. You can take a spin and charge your phone at the same time.

Engineering students should know that an Environmental Science and Policy minor has just been approved! Check the Environmental Studies department website for more information over the coming weeks.

TuftsEcoRepsIf you are living on campus next year and would like to be involved in sustainability, consider applying to be an Eco-Rep for the 2013-2014 school year. The Tufts Eco-Reps are a group of residential students who help to raise awareness about ecological issues, encourage environmentally responsible behavior among their hall mates and peers, and plan related events and activities. Meet all of our current Eco-Reps here.

As always, you can get the latest from the Office of Sustainability by following us on Twitter (@TuftsOOS) and Facebook (Tufts Office of Sustainability). We are already planning for Earth Fest for the last week in April. Let us know if you want to get involved.

 

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Stay Green!
Tufts Office of Sustainability

2013 Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy: Sustainable Transportation

March 14, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Announcing the 3rd annual
SUMMER INSTITUTE ON SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY
Hosted by the Energy Initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory; Clean Energy Trust; Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (University of Chicago); Energy and Sustainability Engineering (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Initiative for Sustainability & Energy at Northwestern (Northwestern University); Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (Illinois Institute of Technology)

2013 Program Theme: Sustainable Transportation

The Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) is a two-week intensive workshop and lecture series geared towards individuals interested in the title subjects: sustainability and energy.  From August 5-16, a diverse body of participants will converge on the UIC campus and immerse itself in a broad spectrum of sustainability and energy related topics.  Issues presented will be of interest to scientists, economists, political scientists, urban planners, engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs.  Participants will engage these issues through interactive and interdisciplinary lectures and panel discussions, collaborative research projects that stress scientific innovation and entrepreneurship, networking opportunities with academics and professionals, and tours of sustainability and energy related sites in the Chicago area.  This experience leaves graduates of the Summer Institute with a firm foundation for future careers in sustainability and energy, and inspires them to lead the next generation as thoughtful and informed global citizens.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED.

Admission into the program is highly competitive. 60-80 participants will be accepted from a pool of national applicants.  Those accepted into the program can expect to receive financial support including transportation getting to and from Chicago, lodging during the duration of the program, and most meals.

LEARN MORE ABOUT US!
We invite you to learn more about the Summer Institute.
Visit us on the web at: http://sise.phy.uic.edu/

Eco – Reps Update

March 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

For the past two weeks the Eco-Reps have been very busy planning events and publicizing Recyclemania! Evan, Vishaka, Arshiya, and Dani made a music video to a parody of a popular song by Lonely Island, called “I Just Recycled!”.

 

RecycleMania at Tufts from Arshiya Goel on Vimeo.

With just over 3 weeks left in the competition, Tufts is doing great! In the dorm rankings, Bush Hall is ranked first, followed by Hodgdon, Metcalf, and South, with a B for their overall recycling. Miller is currently in last place, with a grade of C. The Eco Reps in Tilton, Lewis, and Bush have all performed Recyclemania trash-sorting demonstrations during each dorm’s hall snacks to get the residents excited about the competition.
Other events on campus have included a planting event in Hodgdon and a food event in Wren. We have also hosted our weekly meatless meals in Dewick, and many more events are in the works!
In our meetings in the past couple weeks we have discussed social marketing and the legitimacy of different certification labels. Two weeks ago we were given a stack of labels and asked to decide whether or not they actually represent an environmental certification. Two of the labels that were tricky were the Leaping Bunny label found on many cosmetics and the EPEAT label found on many electronics. We learned that these are in fact legitimate certifications, so make sure you buy cosmetics and electronics with these labels! Last week we discussed the importance of social marketing, a strategy of targeting individuals to influence behavior change. We talked about the importance of providing individual incentives to make our residence create more environmentally friendly habits, realizing that social marketing would be a very effective way to create change on campus.
And finally, the applications to become an Eco Rep for next fall is now available! We encourage anyone with any inclination to apply to submit applications, especially if you have any interest in event planning. You do not need to be an Environmental Studies major to apply. We are looking to promote diversity of thought within our group. We look forward to finding new Reps for next year!

New Eco-Ambassadors & Eco-Reps + Recyclemania 2013

March 7, 2013 / / 0 Comments

2013 Medford January Eco-Ambassadors receive their certificates of completion from instructors Tina and Dani

As we continue to thaw out from the snowstorms, the Office of Sustainability is also shaking off its winter hibernation. We would like to congratulate our five new Eco-Ambassadors: Barbara Eisenhaure and Jennifer Carland, both from the Office of the Vice Provost; Sara Hepburn of Technology for Learning in the Health Sciences (within the School of Medicine);  Amey Callehan from Tisch Library; and Elizabeth Erenberg from the Music Department. They are now part of the group of Tufts staff and faculty who champion sustainability in the workplace and serve as “green” resources within their offices or departments.

We are also excited to welcome four new Eco-Reps this spring – “meet” them in the section below and read about what they are up to this semester! You may spot them at Dewick on Wednesdays from 6-7pm promoting Meatless Meals, but look out for Eco-Rep events within the dorms.

RecycleManiaStudent residents who think their dorm/house is the greenest on campus will get a chance to prove it: Tufts is once again competing in the annual RecycleMania Tournament. TuftsRecycles interns will be walking through Tufts dorms and off-campus houses grading recycling efforts. (The exact prize for the winning dorm is still under wraps, but you and your hallmates could win a party with incredible food and entertainment!) Interdorm recycling results and Tufts’ live Recyclemania standings are available online, so check them out and make sure to recycle everything you can – and tell your neighbors!

Finally, please remember that you are always welcome to drop in at the Office of Sustainability! We share a space with the Tufts Institute of Environment and Environmental Studies Program in Miller Hall (across the parking lot from Tufts Hillel). Among many other resources here at the Office, you can compost; recycle your chip bags, energy bar wrappers, batteries, and light bulbs; and even take a spin on a bicycle generator to charge your cellphone. We hope you visit us soon.

Stay Green!
Tufts Office of Sustainability

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