Sustainability Week kicks off Oct. 24 on Main Campus

The second annual week-long sustainability effort on Main Campus brings together student organizations, university programs and citywide businesses and organizations.

Several student organizations and university programs on Main Campus are gearing up for the kick off of Sustainability Week, which begins next week.

Temple’s second annual Sustainability Week starts Monday, Oct. 24 and is scheduled with events sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, Fox School of Business, the School of Communications and Theater, Tyler School of Art and other offices and organizations on Main Campus.

“The goal is to get all sides of sustainability,” said Kathleen Grady, the sustainability coordinator in the Office of Sustainability. “[Those are] the three E’s: environmental, equitability and economical.”

Sustainability Week is held in conjunction with Campus Sustainability Day, which falls on Wednesday, Oct. 26. In its seventh year, CSD is a national effort to bring sustainability initiatives to college campuses around the country. In lieu of CSD, the Office of Sustainability will be hosting The Sustainability Day Fair on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. at the Bell Tower to celebrate and encourage green initiatives.

Student organizations including Students for Responsible Business, Students for Environmental Action and Community Garden, as well as the sustainability LLC resident assistants will be represented. Organizations and businesses in Philadelphia will also be present, including SEPTA, the Philadelphia Zoo and the city’s Office of Sustainability.

At the fair, Verde Styles, the eco-friendly clothing company founded on Main Campus will be selling its T-shirts. The Green Team RAs will dress up as zombies in honor of Halloween weekend following Sustainability Week.

Grady said the goal of the Sustainability Week is to show students how to be mindful of sustainable efforts early in the semester.

“Earth Day is April 22, but what does that mean for campus? Students are busy studying for finals then,” Grady said.

Campus sustainability is halfway through the first semester so students can change their behaviors to impact the whole year.

These behaviors include waste minimization and energy conservation. During the week, students can visit water stations all over campus for the Free Water Campaign, where their reusable water bottles will be refilled for free.

Tuesday is also SEA’s “Trayless Tuesday” in Johnson and Hardwick Dining Hall. Students that go and don’t use trays in the dining hall will get raffle tickets to win prizes like Diamond Dollars.

SRB will also be hosting a speech from Todd Camp, the director of corporate social responsibility at Hershey Co. on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

SRB President Victoria Vincent said the group was also planning a “Panel of Green,” in which eco-friendly companies will discuss various ways they’re investing in sustainability.

[Students for Environmental Action] will be promoting easy ways that people can go green in their daily lives,” said SEA President Amelia Garrett.

Some of these methods include eating less meat, unplugging unused electronics and taking shorter showers. According to Garrett, these kinds of activities will reduce one’s carbon footprint and save money.

“I hope that Sustainability Week will educate and energize students about sustainability efforts at Temple,” Garrett said.

Grady said she was pleased with how this year’s Sustainability Week will turn out, but she’s hoping to do even more in the future.

“I’d like to have a service project tied to it in the surrounding neighborhood,” she said. “Doing something tangible, that’s really rewarding.”

In addition to the efforts of student organizations, several schools and colleges within the university will be hosting events, panels and speakers and will be giving away prizes and free gifts throughout the week. For a full list of events, see page 15.

Alexis Sachdev and Nicole Soll can be reached at living@temple-news.com.