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President’s Campus Sustainability Council Releases Report

May 10, 2013 – 12:23 pm

Campus Sustainability Report Cover 02The Campus Sustainability Council, which was convened by President Tony Monaco in January 2012, has released its report outlining recommendations to reduce the university’s environmental footprint.

The Council’s report both renews Tufts’ commitments to greenhouse gas reduction goals and sets new goals focusing on energy and emissions, waste reduction, and water conservation – areas where Tufts’ operations have the greatest impact on the environment.

This document will be the starting point for the next phase in the process: implementation planning, which will be overseen by Vice President of Operations Linda Snyder. The Council, co-chaired by President Monaco and Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell, was comprised of students, staff and faculty representing all Tufts campuses in Massachusetts.

When implementation planning gets underway, we are counting on the Tufts community to stay engaged and participate in creating the change needed to build a sustainable university!

Check out the report now to learn what Tufts has done in the area of sustainability and what is being considered for the future.

 

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Bay State Bike Week

May 9, 2013 – 4:07 pm

Bay State Bike Week, “an annual celebration of human-powered, two-wheeled transportation” in Massachusetts, is taking place from Saturday, May 11 through Sunday, May 19.  With the weather finally warming up, this is the perfect time to get those bikes out and start riding, whether it’s to and from work or for pleasure!

There are lots of ways to celebrate at Tufts, including:

Visit baystatebikeweek.org and masscommuterchallenge.org for more information.

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Summer Internship – Tufts Office of Sustainability

April 23, 2013 – 4:58 pm

The Tufts Office of Sustainability is seeking a full-time summer intern to assist with day to day office activities, such as planning and gathering materials for events, greeting visitors, working on the Terracycle program, and organizing programs such as field trips and the Eco-Ambassador program.  The intern will assist with office communications, including creating documents and outreach materials and writing articles, and will assist with social media programming and perform website and blog maintenance.  The intern will also be expected to research sustainability initiatives that might be undertaken on any of the three Tufts’ campuses.  In addition, the intern may be asked to help the Program Director, Communications and Outreach Specialist, or the Education and Outreach Coordinator with any projects they are currently working on.

Please send a cover letter and resume to Tina Woolston at Tina.Woolston@tufts.edu.

The position will be open until filled – send in your application today!

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Earth Week – Past and Future!

April 23, 2013 – 10:56 am
We here at the Office of Sustainability have trouble containing our excitement about all things environmental. So we decided that the best way to celebrate Earth Day was with not one but TWO weeks of activities! If you missed the first week, you can still get in on the fun with a variety of happenings (see below!).
Clothing Swap
Last week our Eco-Reps held a session on natural spas, and on Sunday we joined student groups on campus for EarthFest 2013! It was a beautiful day – the Eco-Reps held another successful clothing swap (look at all those clothes!), we tested students’ recycling IQs, students from a Climate Justice course presented their final project, and MORE!
Workhorse Reusable Shopping BagWe have also extended our Earth Week Scavenger Hunt for another week! Snap some cool pictures of specific items and people around campus, post them to our Twitter or Facebook pages, and you could win a cool reusable shopping bag that folds into its own pouch and is small enough to carry in a purse or pocket.

It is important to remember, however, that Earth Day (Earth Week, Earth Month) is just a greater surge in what should be a year-round effort. Make a change today, small or large. Take advantage of the many resources available on our website and blog, submit events and comments to help us improve, and always feel free to actually stop by to talk! Many thanks also to Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE), the Environmental Studies department, and Tufts Sustainability Collective for all that they do!

Also happening this week:
If you live in a dorm at Tufts, don’t forget to take our short survey about the Tufts Eco-Rep program. By completing the survey, you will be entered into a raffle for $50!

Earth Week Events

Please join the Office of Sustainability for a free viewing of YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip! ”Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road – traveling with hope, humor, and all of their garbage – to explore every state in America (the good, the bad…and the weird) in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity’s greatest environmental crises.” Expect to laugh, learn – and enjoy some FREE Flatbread PIZZA while you’re at it!
In addition to the  screening of YERT, here is a selection of Earth Week events happening on the Tufts campus or in the area!

And as always… Stay Green!

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Earth Week Scavenger Hunt

April 16, 2013 – 9:36 am

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY, APRIL 28th!!!

Take part in our Earth Week scavenger hunt and YOU could win cool prizes!

Rules: Take pictures of the following items and post them on the Office of Sustainability Facebook and Twitter pages. The top photo-getters will receive fun prizes! For a list to take around with you, use our printable Earth Week Scavenger Hunt!

Send us a picture of…

  • your reusable water bottle
  • the front of Tufts Institute of the Environment or the Office of Sustainability
  • you with President Monaco doing something sustainable together
  • “Choose to Reuse” sticker
  • compost
  • a bike
  • a meatless meal
  • bike generator (in the lobby of TIE/OOS)
  • Terracycle (try Tower Café or the Lobby of OOS)
  • an Eco-Rep
  • a CFL or LED lightbulb
  • you on the T or MBTA Bus
  • one of the 4 Zip Cars on campus
  • wildlife (bonus points if it’s not a tree, flower, or squirrel)
  • you turning off the lights or your power strip
  • Recycling!
  • Tina Woolston, Director of the Office of Sustainability
  • a Professor teaching an environmental class
  • an Eco-Tour sign
  • Eco-Labels
  • TSC Meeting or Branch Meeting

We will be handing out Choose to Reuse stickers to ALL participants, whether or not you win, at our table at Earth Fest. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

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Eco-Rep Update

April 3, 2013 – 9:51 am

Anyone pumped about the environment, which ought be everyone, should apply to be an Eco-Rep for the Fall of 2013!  We are looking for a diverse group of people looking to make an positive impact on the environment!  Do it now! 

Get excited!  Recyclemania is coming to a close with only a week left for all the dorm to step up the recycling!  Make sure to check out the website if you are not sure what is and is not recyclable, or, ask any Eco-Rep!  Go green and help support Tufts in the national competition!

A call for old cloths: do you have cloths that you don’t wear any more?  Do you have no more space in your closet?  It’s about time to let go of your old cloths by donating it to the Eco-Reps for the upcoming clothing swap!  There are boxes in each dorm for cloths (but no shoes) so make sure to get some Spring cleaning done and stick some of your old cloths in the labelled boxes!

This week at our meeting the Eco-Reps learned about environmentally friendly ways to get around.  Too often we rely on our personal cars to take us places.  We found that in reality, public transportation tends to be cheaper, stress free, and easier.  The T is always a reliable way to get around the Boston area, and buses are very dependable too!  There are a lot of helpful applications for your phone to track buses and the T.  We came to the conclusion that buses are a great way to get around: bus drivers are great, they are cheaper than the T, and you can even hitch your bike to the front of the bus( just don’t forget to take it down when you get off!).  Getting a ZipCar and carpooling is also often very cost effective and convenient.  If you are a Tufts student, there are special rate!  Check out the website to learn more and to see how to register.  But, let’s not forget the lovely Tufts Bikes group on campus that allows us to borrow bikes from Tisch library for up to 8 hours!

Fun fact: L.A. could have potentially been the most eco-friendly county.  But, because of the political and economic power of big oil companies, much of the plans to implement awesome public transportation was not made possible.  It was quite surprising to many of us how great energy-efficient technology has been developed in the past, but has been destroyed or overlooked because of the multi-billion dollar industry that capitalized on oil and fossil fuels.

Earth Day is coming up so get excited for dorm and school-wide events!  There are going to be flyers and posters all around campus, but if you want to get more details RA’s and Eco-Reps are always happy to tell you all about the exiting upcoming events!

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Bike Week at Tufts

March 27, 2013 – 11:25 am
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?)

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Bike Week + Eco-Reps Application + More!

March 14, 2013 – 3:52 pm

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.

 

Interested in getting our newsletter? Sign up on our homepage. (About halfway down on the right, “Subscribe to our mailing list”.) We publish once every two weeks.

Stay Green!
Tufts Office of Sustainability

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Eco – Reps Update

March 8, 2013 – 4:25 pm

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!

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New Eco-Ambassadors & Eco-Reps + Recyclemania 2013

March 7, 2013 – 4:14 pm

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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