campus sustainability

Come plant a tree on Ohio State’s campus

Ohio State’s Columbus campus, in part with the help of CFAES’ Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens, has earned Tree Campus USA certification for the past eight years in a row.

One of the certification requirements is a service learning project, and later this week you’re invited to join us and pitch in to help with the project: the ArboBlitz Community Tree Planting from 1–4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, on the south side of the Ohio Union.

It’s free to participate and you don’t need to register.

The trees will be types that are native to Ohio.

Dig further details. (Photo: Getty Images.)

Drive, drive on down the field, in an e-car of scarlet and gray

Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) produces low-speed electric vehicles in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Among its activities, the company attended October’s 2017 exhibition of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Graham Cochran is senior administrative officer with CFAES.

@kboone is Kris Boone, director of the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, CFAES’s two-year degree-granting unit in Wooster.

Big win for Buckeyes

Ohio State’s Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) program has won APPA’s 2017 Sustainability Award.

The award honors educational institutions that have implemented “programs and processes that enhance service delivery, lower costs, create a green and/or sustainable environment, or otherwise benefit the educational institution supporting student success and environmental stewardship,” said an Ohio State press release.

APPA’s subtitle is “Leadership in Educational Facilities.”

FOD’s sustainability work includes recycling and zero-waste initiatives, green building guidelines, and energy conservation projects.

Thursday’s ‘Time for Change’ events

On Thursday, as part of Ohio State’s Time for Change Week: The single-use plastic bottle exchange — trade 10 for a free reusable one — continues from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Ohio Union. Turning Green co-founder and former candidate for Congress (at age 25) Erin Schrode speaks on the importance of civic activism from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Wexner Center for the Arts. An environmental poetry session goes from 9 to 10 p.m. in the Kafe Kerouac coffeehouse and bar on North High Street adjacent to campus.

We are the green squad and we’re coming to town

There’s more on Monday, April 3, during Ohio State’s Time for Change Week: The university’s Undergraduate Student Government and Environmental Professionals Network are co-sponsoring a Sustainability Fashion Showcase from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Burgee Room in the Nosker House dorm. “Student models will model sustainable/organic/vegan clothing from REI, L Brands, LA Relaxed and more to illustrate how to have a more environmentally friendly wardrobe that is also fashionable and won’t break the bank,” the event description says. The event will also help promote the EPN-hosted signature presentation by Vik Sahney, REI’s vice president for sustainability, on April 12 at Ohio State.

Grow your green consciousness

Also on April 3, outside Ohio State’s Sustainability Fair, check out the Conscious College Road Tour. Sponsored by California-based Turning Green, it’s an “interactive tabling display on conscious living,” says a page on Ohio State’s Time for Change Week website. Both the tour and fair are part of the week, which is April 3-9.

The display, the page says, will have “eight unique tables, each focusing on a different sustainability theme, with educational resources for students to learn from and eco-products to sample.” As students visit each table, “they will acquire a newfound knowledge on key sustainability topics and the tools necessary to start their transition towards being a more conscious consumer.”