The McHenry County College added a custom bike rack to their campus to promote bicycle commuting over car driving
There's a quiet movement taking place on college campuses across the US that will have a tremendous impact on changing attitudes in the future about our planet's resources.
That movement involves the creation of sustainability departments on nearly every college campus these past 10 years and their efforts to implement and promote best practices to reduce our impact on the Earth.
Sustainability, according to a definition created by the United Nations and adopted by many organizations is basically: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs."
In other words, don't grab up resources today so there's nothing left for our children tomorrow.
Some of the ways that colleges accomplish this is by focusing on activities such as:
- Constructing "green" buildings or retrofitting buildings to be LEED certified or at least more environmentally friendly and energy efficient
- Cutting energy costs campus-wide
- Encouraging bicycle riding instead of car driving
- Using alternative sources of fuel such as solar, wind or geothermal
- Recycling plastic, glass, paper, concrete, metal and other materials
- Promoting carpooling
- Providing car sharing programs such as Zipcar
- Creating electric car charging stations
- Adding more buses
- Setting goals to reduce greenhouse CO2 emissions created by the campus
When you think about the size of a typical university and student body, 10,000 - 30,000 individuals or more, plus all the professors, administrative staff, and maintenance crew, you basically have a small city.
A small city that generates quite a bit of waste and requires a tremendous amount of energy.
Colleges realize there are opportunities for them within their own infrastructure to become more energy efficient, reduce waste and recycle more. This can then be passed on as a model for savings in the local community and as a way to show students in real-time the benefits of sustainability.
The great advantage with a college is that the schools can experiment with different strategies to see which ones work and which ones are not as effective.
College sustainability center varies "green" programs
Take the McHenry County College Sustainability Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
This department, led by director Kim Hankins, is very active not only on campus but in the community as well.
The department's goals are to work on transforming the facility and campus operations to a "green" campus; participate in the curriculum that educates student and employees about sustainable practices, and interact with the community to point out ways the public can be more environmentally conscious.
One of the highlights of the year is the department's "Green Living Expo."
This annual event showcases some of the newest technology and best practices for sustainability. The expo also helps educates students and citizens about the benefits of recycling, reducing or reusing our natural resources.
Hankins cites one story where a store owner visited the expo and then decided she was going to sell only "green" products made from recyclables.
"It's little stuff like that where we see the impact of the expo," she said.
The campus was also able to qualify for a $250,000 grant from the Illinois Green Economy Network for a 91-kilowatt solar photovoltaic installation.
Not only do the 336 panels help reduce the energy needs of the school, in addition, students have been able to document how the installation reduces carbon emissions by 75 tons per year.
"We're really proud of that," said Hankins. "And this allows the students to actually interact with the solar technology."
College custom bike rack to promote bike commuting
To promote bicycling on the campus instead of driving, the department recently added some bike parking racks and a custom bike rack with the department's logo. The bike rack features a note that says: "Reserved for Bicycles."
Hankins said she noticed one student used the bike rack right away.
When the student left the area, Hankins walked out to the bicycle and left a thumb drive in a bamboo case with a note thanking the rider "for reducing the carbon footprint of MCC."
Hankins said there is a myriad of strategies out there now for "green living" and many more being developed every day. Often times it's not a big project, like the construction of a rail line, that is making an impact. Instead, it's a combination of thousands of other practices, such as the woman who switched to selling recycled products.
In addition, schools and business also realize there can be tremendous cost savings by adopting sustainability, such as converting from oil furnaces to solar panels.
Then there are the health benefits. For example, an alternative transportation program will result in a healthier lifestyle as more people ride their bikes or walk from bus stops to class. Certainly more exercise than driving a car everywhere.
"It's not just saving the planet and climate change," Hankins said. "Sustainability is a lot more than that. But it takes time."
For its efforts, in 2016 McHenry County College won a "College Leadership and Sustainability" award from the Illinois Green Economy Network, a consortium of over 35 community colleges in IL. This was the first time IGEN gave this award which recognized McHenry County College for its sustainability program.
Examples of how universities are saving energy and resources
Here's a rundown of some unique strategies other colleges are adopting in conjunction with their sustainability departments:
Ohio University - arranged to have all their computers automatically shut down once the library closes. They also offered financial incentives to off-campus landlords to improve the energy efficiency of student housing.
Yale University - installed 10 one-kilowatt micro-wind turbines on top of their Engineering and Applied Science Center, reducing CO2 by 20,000 pounds a year.
Ball State University - replaced four coal-fired burners with geothermal energy and will save the school an estimated $2 million a year.
The University of Florida - plans to have zero waste going to landfills by 2015.
Cornell University - sends used computers to third-world countries such as Mali, Tanzania, Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan.
The University of Minnesota - removed trash cans from underneath desks in buildings and created a spot for four trash receptacles instead - one each for recyclables such as newspapers, office paper, cans and bottles and then another trash receptacle for other items.
The University of Washington - encourages students to ride bikes to class, even in the face of rough weather conditions which are typical in the Evergreen State. As an incentive, the school hands out awards for "Most Commute Trips," "Most Rides in the Rain," "Most New Riders and "Most Commute Miles."
As one can see, universities and colleges have jumped on the environmental bandwagon. They are producing tangible results that can be measured in CO2 emissions reduced, money saved and garbage recycled.
As students see these positive results, they will hopefully carry on these best practices throughout their adulthood. Adopt sustainability strategies at their workplace and in their homes. Teach family members.
People can talk about climate change all day long, but these sustainability departments are actually doing something about it.
They are showing real-world proof, not just theories, on how the Earth's citizens can reduce their impact on this wonderful planet.
Note: The Park and Facilities Catalog is a national supplier of sustainable products - recycled plastic benches, recycled plastic picnic tables, recycling receptacles and outdoor bike racks for alternative transportation.