SGA Sustainability Committee
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SSC 2014-2015 Initiatives and Accomplishments
Here are some of the projects we worked on for 2014 to 2015., with some projects continuing today! If you have an idea for a project we should take on, please click HERE!
Sustainability Mini Grants
Sustainability Mini Grants are intended to provide small grants (up to $2,000) to encourage the development or maintenance of projects or programs that IMPROVE the sustainability of the UMD campus and/or enhance opportunities for students to learn about sustainability issues. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to apply. SSC will review applications as they are received and applicants will receive a funding decision within 30 days of submitting a complete application. A total of $10,00 is available each semester. Projects requesting more than $2,000 must apply through the University Sustainability Fund.
People's Climate March
This September, world leaders gathered in New York City to discuss solutions to our global climate change crisis. On September 21st, with our future on the line and the whole world watching, 400 hundred thousand people from around the world came together to show our leaders that it’s time for serious action to combat climate change. We organized 85 UMD students to attend the biggest march in the history of the climate movement.
Residence Hall Composting
This year the SSC hopes to work with Resident Life, Resident Facilities and Facilities Management to expand campus composting from Stamp and the Dining Halls into the dorms. We are hoping to have a resident hall composting pilot program in place by the Fall of 2015. So far we have met with administrators from the Division of Student Affairs, Residential Facilites, Resident Life and Facilities Management. As of now, the word on the street is there will be a composting pilot program in Hagerstown and Oakland next fall!
Sustainable Maryland Day
Maryland Day is UMD's biggest day of the year, as over 100,000 visitors come to learn about our campus and everything we have to offer. Unfortunately, an event as large as this often has a significant impact on the environment. So, SSC is asking the university to reexamine the environmental impact of Maryland Day, and to make real changes to make the event more sustainable. We are currently in discussion with the Division of University Relations and Division of Student Affairs regarding this issue. Due to our persuasion, the Sustainability Council will be sening an official memo to the MD Day Steerging Committee regarding potential sustainable improvements to the event.
100% Recycled Paper
In 2009 the University approved a policy entitled, the "Environmentally Preferable Procurement Policy." Among other things, this policy mandated that all university paper should be 100% post consumer recycled by July 1st, 2012. Well, its over two years later and that is clearly not the case! So, the SSC is conducting a survey of campus departments to determine how many are aware of this policy and how many actually do use only 100% recycled paper in their offices. We will bring the results of our survey to university administration to ensure this policy is enforced. If the entire campus complied with this simple task, it'd make a world of difference. So far our survey has collected 23 responses. Click below to see the results!
Big 10 Sustainability Association
Now that UMD has officially joined the Big 10, its time to get to work with the other schools! University staff and faculty have been hard at work communicating with the other schools, and the students should be too! So, the SSC is working to develop a Big 10 Student Sustainability Association, which connects sustainability-oriented campus organizations from all 14 of the Big 10 schools. This Association will help us collaborate on various issues, provide feedback to one another, and eventually, lobby on a grand scale for issues that pertain to all of our school (e.g. carbon emissions from athletic's air travel).
Campus Creek Restoration
The Campus Creek, which runs from the campus Golf Course into Paint Branch Creek behind the Varsity, has been a topic of campus concern for 15 years. Over time the Creek has gone from a beautiful feature of the campus, to an eroded, lifeless, eyesore to our campus, which is transporting pollution down to the Bay. The SSC effectively lobbied the campus to allocate $495,000 to the restoration of the creek to partially match a $1.5 million grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Now, with nearly $2 million put towards the creek's restoration, we'll be able to return it to a beautiful and thriving ecosystem!
Reducing Waste in the Diners
At the beginning of the year, we asked students what issues they cared most about, and waste reduction was one of the biggest! Since then, we have been hard at work trying to help Dining Services become more efficient and sustainable! At the end of last semester we met with Dining Services leadership and got them to commit to the following waste reduction initiatives:
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Pilot a 20 cent incentive for students who choose to bring reusable bags rather than using plastic bags in the spring semester
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Arrange for the sale of an SGA-designed, UMD specific reusable bag to be sold in campus convenience shops
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List the Ozzi box as an option on the next order of stir fry sheets at south campus diner
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Send all incoming freshman a postcard for a free ozzi box starting with Fall 2015
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Pilot a reusable bowl for dine-in eating at Salad Sensations in the Spring semester
Recycling in College Park Bars
At the start of the semester, none of the major College Park bars recycled, but thanks to The City Affairs subcommittee of SSC, led by Annie Rice, Looneys Pub and Terrapins Turf have both agreed to implement recycling programs! Our ability to convince them to begin recycling has been thanks to help from a new County law which requires businesses to recycle, as well as a grant program offered by the City of College Park. We are now working to convince other businesses in College Park of the importance of recycling!
Increasing MD's Renewable Energy
The SSC has partnered with Maryland environmental nonprofits in order to lobby the state legislature in support of doubling Maryland's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by the year 2025 to 40% renewable electricity in the state of Maryland. Committee members have worked incredibly hard to get over 900 signatures on a petition to support this effort, and are making their voice heard in Annapolis as well - we rallied in Annapolis in support of this on the first day of session, and are participating in a lobby event on the 23rd, too!
Stopping Fracking in Maryland
In addition to lobbying for an increase in renewable energy in Maryland, the SSC is also lobbying to prevent dangerous energy practices from even starting in our state! We are doing our best to raise awareness of the issue of fracking with the student body, and have collected over 300+ petitions on the issue thus far, and we're only getting started. We'll do everything we can to prevent Governor Hogan from letting fracking into Maryland!
What Did SSC Do in 2013-2014?
SSC did a lot this past year and we'd like to share some of our biggest successes with you. Please read below to see what we accomplished in the 2013-2014 academic year.
Power Shift
We recruited 60 UMD students to attend a huge youth
environmental conference in Pittsburgh. At the conference we went to trainings, workshops, rallies, and speeches to learn how to build a stronger environmental community back at UMD!
STOP Cove Point
We have worked closely with a local nonprofit, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, to raise awareness about a proposal to build a dangerous energy facility in Southern MD. We hosted an event on campus attended by over 200, and we brought 40 students to the largest rally in MD's history!
Fossil Free MD
We started a statewide coalition urging the University System of Maryland to stop investing in the fossil fuel industry. On May 12th, 2014, students from Towson, UMBC and UMD met with the USM Chancellor, Vice Chancellor of Finances and the CIO to discuss divestment. The talks are currently still underway.
What Will YOU(md) Do?
We created a month long sustainability pledge, in which 410 students across campus signed up to reduce their environmental impact for one month. Our goals in creating this pledge were to raise awareness and educate the student body in regards to sustainability, demonstrate that everyone can make a difference, and unite students around the common goal of sustainability.
President Loh's Energy Initiatives
We urged President Loh to take greater action on reducing campus carbon emissions and to purchase more renewable electricity - and he listened! This past Earth Day he announced 3 huge new climate initiatives for UMD.
UMD Earth Day Festival
We organized UMD's annual Earth Day Festival bringing together roughly 45 student organizations, campus departments and community groups to celebrate. We had live music, community art, smoothies, gardening, and two speeches from campus officials! Overall, around 300 students gathered together to celebrate our Earth!
What did SSC do in 2012-2013?
Climate Action Plan Awareness
At the begining of the 2012-2013 academic year SSC set out to determine how many students across campus had hear of the university's climate action plan. They polled 207 students and found out that only 13% of students were aware of this significant campus document! Realizing that the campus needs its students to be on board with a big initiative like this, they set about to educate all of the students they spoke to about the Climate Action Plan and its varied goals.
What's Next President Loh?
To go along with their campaign to raise awareness about the Climate Action Plan, the SSC also wanted to ensure that the university was moving concretely towards achieving the outlined goals. They wrote a letter to President Loh asking "whats next?" and got 37 other student organizations to sign on in support of the document, and the sentiment it conveyed. President Loh responded positively and told them that he would have initiatives to reduce campus carbon emissions by the end of the year!
What Did SSC Do in 2010-2011?
Plastic Pollution
SSC worked to educate the campus in regards to the impact that plastic pollution has on the planet, and worked to limit the amount of plastic pollution in the state of Maryland. We partnered with on and off campus organizations to host a screening of Oceans of Plastic, we got the SGA to support the "Clean the Stream" and "Beautify the Bay Act of 2011" bills in the House and Senate and lobbied in Annapolis for their passing, and lastly we officially joined the Maryland Trash Free Alliance.
No Plastic Water Bottles!
SSC worked closely with MaryPIRG on a campaign to reduce the use of plastic water bottles from UMD's campus. We began a petition that they used to gain support from the student body, and we engaged many administrators across campus in regards to this issue. We met with admin from the Alumni Center, Stamp, the ERC, Dining Services, the Wellness Coalition, Residential Facilities, and the President's Office. Ultimately a water bottle task force was created to examine the issue, which was responsible for the implementation of the water bottle filling stations being installed all across campus.
Purple Line
The SSC worked with Facilities Management to discuss sustainable improvements to the campus' transportation master plan. We worked with them to consider what alternatives were available to students and faculty rather than using private vehicles, and we discussed how to promote those alternatives. Much discussion revolved around the Purple Line development through Campus Drive, which would provide an extremely important source of public transportation to the campus and greatly reduce travel emissions. The Purple Line is now currently in the process of receiving federal funding in order to complete the massive project.
Save the Wooded Hillock
For nearly a year starting in February 2009, SSC dedicated itself to preserving the "Wooded Hillock," a 22.4 acre forested area located on north campus. The hillock had been identified as the best available site for the relocation of certain campus support operations. In order to fight this development SSC created a massive grassroots campaign against the administration, which involved students, faculty, the UMD Senate, College Park City Council, and State delegates. It became a very well known issue on campus and beyond, receiving press from the DBK, the Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and The Examiner. Ultimately, the campaign was successful and an alternate site for the developement was chosen. The Wooded Hillock was saved!
What Did SSC Do in 2009-2010?
America's Greenest Campus
SSC facilitated UMD winning a sustinability competition between colleges and universities nationwide by getting the largest number of students (2,200+) to sign up online to learn about how to reduce their carbon footprint/live more sustainably. As a prize, we received $5,000 to spend on campus sustainability initiatives, which was used to support 5 paid ($1,000/each) student sustainability internships across campus for the 2010-2011 school year.
Green Groups Mixer
The SSC developed a semesterly event entitled, "The Green Groups Mixer," which served as an opportunity for the members of UMD’s “green” student organizations that were working to advance sustainability on campus and beyond, to meet, network, and discuss future collaboration and event co-sponsorships. The long term goals of the Mixer was to:
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Establish a strong and sustainable coalition of student organizations that will champion the planning and implementation of large-scale sustainability-themed events and projects on campus.
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Establish a culture of collaborative action that attracts interest and engagement in “green” causes at Maryland.
Overall, the event was attended by 30+ individuals. There was representation from MaryPIRG, UMD for Clean Energy, CPEG, Society for Green Business, Engineers Without Borders, VegTerps, and Gardening Club.
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