College Park Environmental Group

 

Education

  • movies & film discussions (regularly) ** (see below) ~~
  • awareness activities ** (see below)
  • recycling on campus ** (see below) ~~
  • "Green Police" (organized campus clean-up)
  • rain garden at a local school / Master Peace Garden // St. Mary's Garden Club -- gardening
  • co-sponsor speakers/events? (networking with other environmental organizations on campus) ~~
  • Earth Day 2011
  • wasting paper (passing out flyers... recycled paper, chalking / professors: double sided, used paper)
  • passing out flyers is wasteful... better ways to give information?
  • water quality (triple filters in dining halls, reusable vs. disposable, where does the water really come from? // cost/environmental impact) ~~
  • target demographic of people who aren't mainly environmentally focused // change attitudes
  • lights and air conditioning left on overnight in academic buildings
  • Campus Green Fund? [More Information]
Energy waste -- classroom lights left on, a/c --> how better to use energy.
Free conservation stickers: turn lights off!
-- Facilities? // Housekeeping? (in academic buildings, through facilities)
-- contact professors -- remind to turn off lights
-- stickers on light switches (little reminders)
Admin. level -- energy / money (see difference if turned off) -- show information to students
reduce a/c heating at night -- timers/manual --> Mark?
audit of how energy is being wasted?

dual flush toilets -- North Campus residential buildings

Service

  • Oil Spill (Bake sale fundraiser? trip (funding)? where? signs? Popsicle? hot chocolate with marshmallows or coffee in winter? // help injured animals?) NGOs involved in the issue still ~~
  • tree planting [Casey Trees (website): volunteer opportunities (schedule)]
  • Guilford Run stream clean-up
  • Potomac River Watershed clean-up
  • Green Festival ~~
  • volunteer in the city of College Park?
  • work with garden on top of Diner? / real food ~~ (Sam) -- Jesse?
  • motion sensor lights in bathrooms?
  • storm drain labeling?
  • volunteer at other events (in area), similar to Green Festival
  • connect with other organizations? (Love Movement, UMD for Clean Energy, SGB, SSC, etc.) 
  • announce service opportunities to listservs: ENSP/ENST/Biology/Scholars/Honors/etc.
local service opportunities -- past campus into CP
-- stream clean-ups (bags, gloves -- have city pick up trash?; invite other organizations?)
-- contact CP (city council, etc.) -- volunteer power / help w/environmental projects?
-- community clean-ups
-- PG Parks & Recreation?

Through the National Aquarium in Baltimore:
Indian Head event (October 21-23): building a riparian buffer along the Potomac River
Virginia Beach event (November 3-6): planting dune grasses to restore damaged ecosystems



Recreation

Hiking -- monthly?  (Oct., Nov., Dec.)
Potomac River at Great Falls -- hiking / kayaking
Wooded Hillock -- picnic / lovely autumn jaunt / frolic in the leaves -- October

(t-shirts)

Movies

-- movies once a month
-- host movies for other students

Ideas:

The Story of Stuff
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Earth (Disney) [trailer]
Finding Nemo [trailer]
Everything's Cool [trailer]
Avatar [trailer]
The Cove [trailer]
The Day After Tomorrow [trailer]
Earth on Edge (ENSP101 film)
Oceans (Disney)
Planet Earth
Life

Would you like to suggest any other environmentally-themed movies? We'd love to here your ideas for what to watch! Use the contact form below!

Past movies have included:
Wall-E [trailer]
The Abyss [trailer]
HOME [trailer]
The 11th Hour
Food, Inc. [trailer]

Awareness Activities

-- Regularly scheduled [Bi-weekly? Monthly?]
-- Where? [on the mall?]
-- We need to come up with a name for these... "Awareness Activities," "Green Team," etc. Suggestions?
-- How can students get involved with environmental issues at Maryland? How can students live more sustainably?
-- Make it interesting! cultural/talent (dancing, singing, speeches, poetry, etc)
-- change up environmental focus (monthly issues, ex.)


Ideas for these activities:
  • recycling stations
  • late night (compost vs. recycle vs. trash)
  • (see "Recycling on Campus" below)
  • water efficiency
  • reduce energy usage
  • Reduce, Reuse, then Recycle


Recycling on Campus

  • more bins? ~~
  • single stream recycling: October! ~~
  • make it "hip" (pay it forward / trendy / social / fashionable) ~~
  • recyclables in trash cans that are right next to recycling cans (pictures?)
  • awareness issue
  • a problem of laziness?
  • take out containers only at late night
  • what you can recycle on campus  vs. what you can't
  • trash cans overfilled
  • trash compacter (by North Campus Diner, etc.)
  • composting on campus!

Rumors about where the trash actually goes -- how does the university actually deal with waste?
--> Improve campus education on the issue?
Facilities Management?
If one non-recycling item in bin, will it all be trashed?
How exactly will single-stream work? [Diamondback Article]

Details: what can you recycle?
-- post information in dorms --> ResLife to distribute?
Q & A -- stuff stuck in takeout containers, greasy pizza boxes, plastic bags
Recycling FAQ

Off-Campus housing --> recycling facilities in greater CP area? (apt buildings with large student populations -- options?)

like at Earth Day -- recyclables from trash cans -- make something from it? show people (while sorting) of how much is put in trash -- demonstrate waste

1. Contact Facilities (?) about details of recycling on campus.
2. Flyers/posters to distribute through ResLife? (designed, sent to them, permission with them?)
3. Campus awareness -- chalking, recycling movie?

-- talk about recycling on campus
-- talk loudly to no one in particular
-- talk to people who stop by or seem interested
-- don't cut people off and force them to talk to you
-- don't be cliquey -- don't just stand around in a group
-- say something that is random/funny -- to get their attention!
-- don't keep people for long
-- say a quick fact / information
-- ask if they have any questions about recycling on campus (or other environmental issues)
-- be polite

October 6 [brief meeting notes]

-- stream clean-up (Doodle)
-- chalking [general information! helpful reminders]
-- networking with other organizations:
(SSC -- composting awareness)
(TTC -- trail maintenance)
-- stickers on lightswitches and doors --- turn off lights!
(Free conservation stickers: turn lights off!)
-- monitors -- turn off!
-- trash bin party (except not sketchy)
-- recycling Q/A
(Office of Sustainability informational page; Recycling FAQ)