December 2014

Sustainability Bulletin

Upcoming

RecycleMania

February 1– March 28

Trashion Fashion

March 31

Earth and Wellness

Day

April 23

Click here for the full calendar of events.

Energy Campaign

Terra Awards

Sustainability Programs

Around Town

Opportunities

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6

8

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Cover Photo by Paul Miller

The Energy Campaign, the 10-week period in which the UAlbany community

is challenged to reduce our electricity consumption by 10%, marks a

concentrated effort of 17,000 students and over 4,000 faculty and staff to

reconsider their everyday energy habits. This year, we saved over a million

kilowatt hours in electricity with simple flips of the switch. Though we

missed our goal of 10%, we feel invigorated by the collective power of our

UAlbany community.

The living residences accepted the Energy Campaign challenge with gusto.

The dorms and apartments reduced their energy consumption by 14%. This

large savings represents the collective behavioral changes of students,

choosing to flip off the lights when leaving a room and powering down

computers and TV's when not using tem. Alumni Quad walked away as the

Quad winner for the Percent Reduction challenge, while Colonial has the

largest kilowatt savings in the Quad division. Over on the apartments,

Freedom was the largest reducer in terms of percent reduction from their

baseline, while Empire had the largest kilowatt savings.

The academic buildings proved to be a tougher nut to crack. After ten

weeks, the buildings only achieved a 4% percent reduction. Even so, three

buildings reached over a 20% reduction! Social Sciences led the pack with an

impressive 24% reduction. The Student Energy Team targeted the

Humanities building, powering down computers and lights in the evenings.

Over the course of the campaign, Humanities rose from –20% to a full 6%

reduction.

Thanks to everyone for your participation! We could not have done it

without you!

UAlb

any’s

Energ

y C

am

paig

n

Final

Leaderboard

See how your living

residence

performed!

66.9 homes’

energy use for one year

82,553 gallons

of gasoline consumed

788,022 pounds of coal

burned

Saving 1,063,951

Kilowatts Hours is

equivalent to

saving the CO2

Emissions from:

Living Area Percent Reduction CO2 Reduction Kilowatt Savings

Freedom 37% 20 67,043

Empire 32% 71 230,155

Alumni 18% 31 70,368

Colonial 16% 36 122,218

Dutch 13% 31 103,500

State 10% 23 80,679

Indian 7% 16 52,939

Liberty Terrace 1% 6 5,369

Academic Building Percent

Reduction

Kilowatts

Savings

Co2 Reduction

Social Sciences 24% 52,252 19

Education 21% 23,152 9

Physics 20% 41,837 16

PAC 14% 21,712 8

Lecture Centers 12% 79,839 30

Earth Science 11% 27,785 10

Arts and Sciences + Computing

10% 32,611 12

Business Administration 7% 14,278 5

Fine Arts 7% 14,015 4

Humanities 6% 10,331 4

Campus Center 6% 48,420 18

Science Library 3% 17,035 6

SEFCU 3% 8,218 3

Physical Education 1% 2,702 1

Chemistry 1% 9,037 3

University Library 1% 3,682 1

University Hall 0% 188 0

Downtown Campus -3% -8,210 -3

Life Sciences -4% -48,262 -18

Biology -8% -18,940 -7

Final

Leaderboard

See how your academic

building performed!

Final

Leaderboard

See how your living

residence

performed!

Undergraduate Student: Dylan Card

Senior Dylan Card has taken on a leadership role within

sustainability ever since his freshman year when he began to

campaign for the procurement of more local foods and the

labeling of these purchases in the campus dining halls. Since

then, he has served as a World Ambassador for the LLC and

President of the UAlbany Students for Sustainability. As a

student worker in the Office of Environmental Sustainability,

Dylan has taken on ta myriad of responsibilities including:

reading energy meters reads for the Energy Campaign,

creating the Empire Commons bills, recording our recycling

numbers and managing the ink jet/toner recycling program.

In addition, he assisted in recruiting students to attend the

People's Climate March this past fall and organized many

other sustainability events and programs.

Graduate Student: Lisa Cassidy

Lisa Cassidy, M.S. Biodiversity, Conservation, and Public

Policy, came to UAlbany with the intentions of starting

a community garden on campus. The idea of a on-

campus garden, was attempted in the past but it had

never successfully been done. Lisa's passion for the topic

of sustainable food sourcing and eating local along with

her persistence and hard work, made it possible for the

University at Albany to now be in the final stages of

completing an on-campus heritage garden. She has also

worked very closely with faculty such as Gary Kleppel

and many outside organizations to pursue research in the

effects that sustainable land management may have on

ground-nesting birds. Lisa continues to volunteer at and

support any on campus movements related to the topic

of sustainability.

Each semester, the Office of Environmental Sustainability awards one faculty member, one staff

member, and one student a Terra to recognize their individual commitments to advancing

sustainability on campus. This semester, the student nominees were so strong that the selection

committee decided to bestow the award to two students. Take a moment to read about the dedication

and achievements of a few of UAlbany’s outstanding individuals.

The Terra Awards

Faculty: Dr. Roberta Johnson

Dr. Roberta Johnson is a beloved professor of Environmental

Science who seeks to inspire her students with activity driven

and experiential lessons. Robert's teaching sets the ground

work for our students who are interested in the Earth, its

systems and our impact on the planet. She teaches a large

number of freshman and inspires them to continue their

studies about the environment.

She has created the Earth Day Family Event that provides a

rich experience for local families to explore and wonder about

our natural resources and the ecological processes. In addition,

Roberta heads the National Earth Science Teacher's

Association (NESTA), which provides wonderful and far

reaching services not just locally but throughout the nation.

Staff: Todd Jones

Todd serves as Assistant Director for Facilities in Residential

Life, where he integrated sustainability into the operations of

student living. Todd oversees the implementation and

management of the popular Bike Share Program, and provide

support for the Energy Campaign, Recyclemania and the Give

and Go Move Out program.

Todd instituted the Residential Life Pro Staff Sustainability

committee, which has had a far reaching impact. On this

committee, our young and enthusiastic professional staff take

ownership for sustainability programming and initiatives on the

quads. As the pro staff educate and influence the student RA's,

more student engagement and education around sustainability is

created. His implementation of this committee coupled with the

appointment of Res Life reps to the Student Sustainability

Council and the development of sustainability committees at

each living residence, has set a standard for strategically

implementing sustainability within the department. This work

was recognized on a national level as Todd was selected to

present UAlbany’s model at the prestigious AASHE national

sustainability conference in Portland this fall.

In the month of November, State Quad held its large scale event for sustainability called

The Green Games. The Green Games took place from the 3rd to the 6th of November.

The students of State Quad were able to come together to spend time to learn more

about the meaning of sustainability at UAlbany while participating in fun activities in the

span of a week.

To start off the week, students gathered into teams of five to try to collect the most

recyclable bottles throughout the week. For the second day, students gathered together

for some snacks, raffles, and sustainable bowling, a game of pins made from half-filled

single-use plastic water bottles and billiard balls. On the final day ,the teams that were

created throughout the week brought forth their bottle collections and came together to

celebrate their successes throughout the entire event. There was dinner served and

prizes distributed. As a team, State Quad’s Sustainability committee decide to put our

plastic bottle donations towards our goal for Holiday Heroes.

State Quad: Green Games By Jennifer Obeng

Sustainability Programming in

the Residences

This fall, Residential Life formed sustainability committees on each

quad and in the apartments to bring a large scale sustainability

program for the residents. Enjoy a glimpse into the creative ways

students learn about sustainability outside of the classroom.

Alumni Quad’s Sustainability Committee was comprised of Tishana Lawhorne, Kiya Williams, Emma Dennehy, Freisi Alfonseca, Tony Deng with Resident Director Marinel Martinez overseeing the programming group for the Fall 2014 semester. We together created the “Reuse It Campaign” program held on October 20th, 2014. This program featured approximately six tables in Waterbury Basement, with each one having an activity which challenged students to reuse different materials such as water bottles, tee shirts and everyday residence hall items. To keep the students engaged, we had various Minute to Win it games at our program as well. By promoting the reusing of recyclables through various arts and crafts workshops, the Sustainability committee expected to showcase how everyday items can gain new life in a fun manner. Students gained a better understanding of sustainability in our Alumni Quad community.

Alumni Quad : Reuse It Campaign By Marinel Martinez Candelario

Dutch Quad: Spice Up Your Space

In October, Dutch Quad hosted its large-scale sustainability program titled “Spice Up Your

Space!” The program took place outside of Dutch Quad’s Stuyvesant Tower on a beautiful,

sunny fall day. All afternoon students passing by stopped to paint and decorate their very

own flower pots. In addition, students were able to pick from an assortment of flower seeds

and herb seeds to plant in their pots and bring back to their dorm rooms to nurture and

grow. By taking care of their very own plants, students will be able to gain a greater

understand of, and appreciation for, the process of growing the food they consume every

day.

In addition to decorating pots and planting seeds, the program also featured an interactive

display board about the importance of soil and taking care of the earth. Refreshments were

provided in the spirit of fall including freshly sliced apples, sweet caramel dip, and

deliciously cold apple cider – all courtesy of UAS. Over 100 residents came out and

participated in the Spice Up Your Space program, making it a huge success!

Colonial Quad: Swapmania

On November 5, 2014, the Colonial Quad Sustainability Programming

Committee hosted Swapmania! This reuse-it themed event attracted the

participation of approximately 140 residents and featured organic snacks

donated by Honest Weight Food Co-op. Swapmania served as a venue to

encourage students and staff members to recycle and reuse items under

the premise that “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” The

Swapmania team worked hard in preparation for Swapmania by collecting

items from over 75 individuals. Swapmania featured raffle items donated

by the Office of Environmental Sustainability, Panera Bread, and the

Department of Residential Life. In conjunction with this reuse-it thrift

shop themed event, the Planning Committee collected 8 jumbo bags of

gently used clothing items that were donated to the Capital City Rescue

Mission.

For Swapmania, residents were encouraged to donate or bring gently used

or new electronics, books, décor, and other miscellaneous items to the

“swap.” Students took useful items home from the event and exchanged

items that were no longer of importance or use to them. The Swapmania

Planning Committee’s goal was to bring to light the importance of reducing

the amount of “trash” dumped into landfills by providing items to students

and staff members that could find a use for them. Swapmania also served

as a venue to expose attendees to the importance and benefits of eating

organic, local, and natural foods. Attendees received information regarding

how consuming these types of food positively contributes to the health of

the environment and sampled some organic snacks from local Honest

Weight Food Co-op! The Swapmania Team and Colonial Quad are

extremely happy with the results of Swapmania and hope that this

program has a large impact and carries over into the everyday lives of

Swapmania participants. The take home message of Swapmania is clear;

reduce your waste, recycle items you no longer use, see if someone else

may have a use for your no longer needed items, and consume foods that

are positive for environmental health. Ultimately, Swapmania was a small

step in promoting a brighter, more sustainable future for all!

Apartments: Harvest Fest

The third annual Harvest fest was held at

Liberty Terrace on Saturday, November 8th to

celebrate local food and the do it yourself

spirit.

Students had the chance to sample some

local fare provided by Honest Weight Food

Coop and. They also made their own ice

cream using milk from a local creamery.

Read about the details of the process here.

Other DIY projects included hemp bracelets

and beauty products. Students made their

own lip balms out of beeswax, shea butter,

and coconut oil. A homemade nontoxic

astringent was created from apple cider

vinegar, distilled water, and essential oils.

Indian Quad: SusDANEability

Festival Indian Quad had a great semester for

programming, bringing freshmen residents to a

variety of diverse and important events around

the Quad and around the campus. Indian Quad’s

student and professional staff are all very

dedicated to the concept of sustainability on

campus. Resident Assistants Saben, Karan, and

Vickie along with Wellness Assistant James led the

charge this semester. RA Saben and WA James

collaborated on the SusDANEability Festival, which

celebrated local agriculture and small steps

toward sustainability that all members of the

campus community can take. RA Karan made a

splash with his water bottle initiative which has

significantly raised the profile of reusable water

bottles on campus. RA Vickie also got into the

spirit of sustainability, using recycling as a way to

raise money and awareness for Lung Cancer

research.

Large mammals represent an important component of the animal community at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve yet are not well documented. To gather data about the large mammal community and its response to management, we have been using Reconyx HC600 wildlife cameras in restored and actively managed areas of the Preserve. Since camera deployment began in March 2012 we have captured over 60,000 images of 14 species of mammals. Join us for this interactive lecture as Field Ecologist and Environmental Educator Amanda Dillon details the methods and results of our ongoing camera trapping project. Program begins at 7pm on 12/30.

Mammal Camera Trapping

Lecture Celebration of

the Solstice:

Dudley Night Sky

Adventure

Explore the night sky

and the solstice with

Astronomy Educator,

Megan Dominguez and

volunteers from the

Albany Area Amateur

Astronomers at

Museum of Innovation

and Science. $3 plus

admission. Program

runs at 6pm on 12/16.

Come out to Honest Weight Food Coop on

Thursday, December 18th at 6pm to learn

about Solarize.

Solarize is a bulk purchase of solar equipment

and installation services. By working together

with many households interested in buying

solar, we can get better prices on better

equipment.

This process has been used successfully around

the US to dramatically reduce costs and make it

easier for home and business owners, because

the Solarize team does a lot of the hard work

for you. This increases overall demand for solar,

a true win-win for all local installers, for our

communities, and for the environment.

If you are interested in helping make this a

reality for the Albany area, or putting solar on

your property, please email Dave Hochfelder at

dphochfelder@gmail.com.

Solarize the Capital District Green Drinks

Co-hosted by Creo and the NY Upstate Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, this event welcomes all who have any interest in connecting with other local “greenies” be they actively working for sustainable options in their day job, concerned about buying healthier foods and products, interested in understanding alternative energy, curious about local business opportunities, or simply interested in meeting some of the coolest people in the area.

Every fourth Tuesday of the month at Creo Restaurant at Stuyvesant Plaza beginning at 5:30.

Scholarship Opportunity

Food Recovery Network

Fight campus food waste and community hunger! Food Recovery Network is hiring two full-time fellows: one to join the Member Support team and one to join the Expansion team in the national office in College Park, MD for the spring 2015 semester. Fellowships are 19 weeks, starting on January 5 and ending on May 15, 2015. Fellows receive a $1,500 per month stipend plus a modest benefit package. Applications will be considered until positions are filled. Find job descriptions and application instructions here.

Founded in September of 2011, Food Recovery Network (FRN) is the largest national student-led food recovery movement working to bring food recovery programs to colleges across the country. Made up of over 100 chapters at colleges and universities, FRN has recovered over half a million pounds of food and is rapidly expanding.

The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, Inc. Founders Fund Scholarship is a

merit scholarship offered annually in the name of the TGF founders,

to a single recipient who has demonstrated excellence and

outstanding dedication in a field of study that falls within an

environmental field of a school or department. It was the hope of

the founders, as it is the hope of the current membership of

Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, that the recipient will use this

scholarship to assist his or her studies, and after graduation seek

employment in the tri-state region in either the public or private

sector furthering the cause of environmental protection and riparian

habitat conservation for the benefit of all. Read more

The Office of Environmental Sustainability is seeking two motivated and energetic

interns to assist with the publication of monthly sustainability bulletin, developing

flier templates for a variety of sustainability engagement initiatives, assisting with

social media management and completing other assignments as requested. The

interns are expected work a minimum of 10-12 hours weekly. Internships are unpaid

though students may obtain academic credit through the Communications

Department.

Deadline: Applications for the spring internships will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

If interested, send a resume and letter of intent to Mary Alexis Leciejewski

at mleciejewski@albany.edu.

The Office of Environmental Sustainability is seeking a motivated intern to assist

with Farm to SUNY, a project that connects four SUNY campus with our food and

agriculture industry partners to increase the volume and variety of locally-grown

vegetable products available at the target universities and beyond. The intern is

expected work an average of 5-10 hours weekly at $10 per hour over the course of

the semester. The ideal intern will be available for spring and fall 2015.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Outreach Projects- Develop student outreach projects with a corresponding

timeline, beginning in fall 2014. Project examples may include food samplings,

Meet the Farmer days, etc.

Team participation – Participate in team marketing calls to develop coordinated

strategies across campuses.

Data collection- Assist with any data collection and/or research needs related to

local food procurement

Qualifications:

Excellent writing and communication skills; Working knowledge of Microsoft Office

Suite applications, especially Publisher; Background or strong interest in

environmental issues/sustainability; Project-oriented with strong self-initiative;

Adaptable to organizational changes and new projects; Positive attitude,

commitment and follow-through; Photography skills a plus

Deadline:

Applications for the spring internship will be reviewed until the position is filled. If

interested, send a resume and letter of intent to Mary Alexis Leciejewski

at mleciejewski@albany.edu. Questions about the internship can be addressed to

Mary Alexis at 518-442-2592.

Office of Environmental Sustainability

Farm to SUNY Project