Campus Environmental Awards (2005)
Honorable Mention: University of Colorado LEEDS School of Business - Recycling
The LEEDS School of Business recently engaged in an effort to increase and improve the number of recycling locations throughout the building. This was in response to CU Recycling installing several recycling cabinets on the second floor classroom wing. These cabinets were such a hit that Rebecca Lawrence and the department decided to complete the effort by adding new recycling (and trash) cabinets to the classroom wing as well as the fourth floor, the Shane Boardroom and have plans to add more. The School, in conjunction with CU recycling is planning on completing the building by adding another two recycling cabinets for a total of fourteen cabinets in all. By matching trash and recycling containers, the LEEDS School of Business has accomplished one of the main goals of a successful recycling program, which is to make recycling as easy and convenient as throwing something away. The School put so much thought and planning into this project, that they innovated a new system for collecting cardboard which encourages building occupants to flatten their cardboard...a big problem across campus. The School is so committed to recycling they also spend hourly wages for students (and their .35% security guard) to make sure cardboard, flyers, and commingled containers, are properly disposed of throughout the building. Even before completion, the design, placement, and aesthetics of the cabinets serve as a model for the rest of campus and will be used to update the campus building standards for new construction.
Honorable Mention: Recycle-Mania campaign team – Recycling
RecycleMania is a ten-week friendly competition between 50 colleges and universities across the country to see which campus is the top recycler. CU Boulder entered this national competition for the first time this year. Four weeks into the competition, CU had climbed to 7th place out of 29 campuses and was gaining on rival CSU. Each week the campus has posted increases to the diversion rate. The campaign is having a major impact of raising awareness about recycling and waste reduction and countering the national trend of plateauing recycling rates. All of the students involved in the campaign are infused with school spirit and are going well beyond the call of duty to help CU to win the competition. The campaign is truly a team effort. In an effort to promote participation in RecycleMania, and of recycling in general, CU Recycling hosted the Recycling X-Games on Wednesday, March 9th. Serving as a tremendous reminder to students to recycle, CU Recycling's SWAT (Save the World Action Team) was on campus on Wednesday, March 2nd. CU Recycling staff and volunteers dressed in capes and costumes used a range of tactics to bring recycling to forefront of the CU student’s minds. "This contest is not a spectator sport. Person by person and pound by pound, universities like CU are making a difference," said Jack DeBell, director of CU Recycling.
RecycleMania began on January 30ths and runs through April 9th, and is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. The winning school will receive a RecycleMania trophy and bragging rights among the growing number of schools with successful recycling programs.
Green Faculty: Lisa Barlow
Lisa Barlow’s efforts to create environmental learning opportunities have been substantial. She has taught many classes through the Baker Hall Residential Academic Program (RAP) and the Environmental Studies Program. Lisa saw the opportunity to combine learning with service years ago at CU in a class she offered in the spring of 2001. The focus of this class was to put together the preliminary plans for a food waste composting project in Housing. The final report from this class was used by Housing and Environmental Center Staff to submit a funding request to EPA for an in-vessel composting system on campus which was honored and awarded funds for the fall of 2002.
When Housing and the Environmental Center were looking at ways to increase recycling in the residence halls, Lisa offered to conduct a survey in Baker Hall to help identify appropriate areas for new containers. The results of this survey led to a pilot recycling program aimed at increasing recycling in administrative areas in Baker Hall and expanded the cardboard recycling program as well as increased volumes of recycled paper and commingled containers. The pilot program was made a full-scale, permanent program in all residence halls in the fall of 2004.
Lisa’s classes are held in a room on the south side of Baker Hall where the combination of direct sun, glare, high temperatures and poor air movement all made for a very uncomfortable and challenging teaching and learning environment. Lisa worked with the Housing Department to install a heat-shielding window tint and ceiling fans in her classroom in order to improve the comfort and productivity of the students without the added environmental and financial costs of air conditioning!
Lisa leads by example and is an immense asset to CU.
Green Faculty: Tom Dean
Tom's pioneering courses in sustainable venturing inspire students to think outside the traditional mold of business education. Students leave his courses with a broader set of environmental skills and more complete environmental awareness. Tom helps students make use of the powerful tools of business to positively affect the environment. No other Leeds professor has done as much as Tom in the area of promoting sustainable business practices in the business school environment. For the past four years, Tom has taught an entrepreneurship course called Sustainable Business Venturing which teaches students how to combine environmental and social awareness into startup ventures. What makes Tom's course remarkable is that it is the only one of its kind. As a rule, business school courses focus on profitability from a purely economic perspective. Tom's class breaks this mold and encourages students to see the broader social and environmental impacts of business decisions. Students leave the course with a greater sense of their impact on the world and the techniques they can use to ensure that this impact is positive.
In addition to teaching the Sustainable Venturing course, Tom acts as a resource to anyone in the Leeds community who is interested in pursuing environmental business thinking academically or professionally. Students inspired to think differently after taking Tom's course see him as a mentor who helps them find ways to implement these skills in their professional career after they leave the university.
Departmental Achievement: Facilities Management Turf Management Team (Alan Nelson, Ed von Bleichert, Ryan Heiland, Zach Cameron)
The turf management program got its formal start in March of 2002 using various methods of turf management to improve the health and appearance of the turf on campus.
The turf and weed management plan has instituted cultural practices- granular fertilization, fertigation, aerification, overseeding, and mowing practices to help achieve healthy soils and healthy turf areas to choke out weeds. FM has invested over $200,000 in equipment (slit seeders, deep tine aerator, top dresser, speader and mower) to implement the cultural practices. The FM turf management approach combines strong cultural techniques, organic based fertilizers and the safest and least use of synthetic pesticides possible while yielding superior turf quality, fewer weed problems and a healthier ecosystem.
The first issue the Grounds Division addressed was watering practices. By changing irrigation practices we have allowed the plant to improve root depth and create less favorable conditions for weed-seed germination. This will allow for greater stress tolerance, which in turn will help maintain the turf density and not lose any more turf due to traffic and heat. The program has also begun to address the lack of nutrients in campus soils with a combination of granular synthetics and irrigation system delivered (water soluble) fertilizers that are essential to a good growing medium for the turf.
It is important to note that the appearance of campus grounds and the use of herbicides on campus grounds has been a contentious issue for years. This team is on the front line and truly committed to the IPM program. While the turf may not be 100% weed free or 100% organic, the team is moving in the right direction. We hope this award encourages you to keep going.
Legacy Achievement: Will Toor
Will Toor has served the University of Colorado Student Union as the Director of the Environmental Center since the Fall of 1992. During his time as Director, Will has cultivated the Environmental Center into a nationally recognized entity through his nurturing leadership style, his unwavering commitment to mentoring tomorrow’s leaders, his incredible intellect and ability to find solutions to the complex issues facing the campus.
Will served many students as a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies thus furthering his commitment to educating tomorrow’s decision makers about contemporary environmental issues facing campuses, communities, nations, and the world. Will guided the Environmental Center in developing myriad programs that have been emulated by many campuses across the country and the world. Will led the University and the Environmental Center in receiving numerous awards and accolades. Will authored a nationally recognized book on transportation and sustainable campus communities during his Directorship of the Environmental Center. Will aided in the development and implementation of programs that save the University of Colorado at Boulder $5.5 - $5.9 Million annually. Consequently, he has developed the Environmental Center into not only one of the most important environmental centers in the nation, but also one of the most wise investments made by the University of Colorado Student Union through its strong commitment to keeping tuition and fees low through sound environmental and fiscal policy.
After this year, future campus environmental awards for exceptional career or legacy achievement will be granted in Will’s honor as the Will Toor Award.
