2008 Woodie Awards
Green Summit Inspires Students and Faculty to Take Action
Brandy Bones
Issue date: 1/28/05 Section: Arts & Features
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At the third annual Green Summit held this past Friday, a poster hung that read, "Knowing but not doing means not knowing." No statement better captures the spirit of the event. Over 80 students, faculty, staff and administrators came together in the Parker Commons to chart the future course of Green Strides, a University-wide effort to decrease Colgate's environmental impact. By the conclusion of the three-hour summit, a Green Print, composed of 10 initiatives, was complete. Working groups are now charged with keeping the momentum going with the goal of completing all 10 initiatives by Earth Day on April 22.
Seniors Bob Filbin, Ellen Frank, Doug Park and Avery Woods, junior Jessie McGowen-Vanderbeck, sophomores Sarah Caban, Becky Greaves and Heidi Johnson and Co-Director of the Outdoor Education Program Molly Baker served as the host crew for the summit. Baker has been the driving force behind Green Strides since its inception three years ago.
This year, the focus shifted from constructing a broad vision - which after the first summit resulted in 33 separate goals - to creating a smaller set of feasible initiatives that can be completed by the Earth Day deadline.
The Green Summit successfully brought together environmentally-minded individuals to discuss the issues facing the Colgate community. Administrative Assistant in the Division of Natural Science and Mathematics Cindy Sherwood thought, "The Green Summit was a great way to get me thinking about the environment around me and what I could do to keep it green."
Those who attended found the summit to be productive and worthwhile. Everyone seemed excited to move ahead. "I'm confident that with strong student participation the initiatives taken at Green Summit '05 will be extremely successful," junior Sarah MacFarlane said.
Initiatives include a composting program for all Broad Street houses, introducing biodegradable "greenware" on campus, a campus-wide survey of cruiser use, installing more bike racks on campus and a project to replace all incandescent light bulbs on campus with florescent bulbs. Attendees were divided into working groups centered around different topics including air, energy, education and marketing, water, transportation, food and dining, resources, facilities and land. Each working group was charged with formulating initiatives, creating action plans and future meetings and designating a group leader to ensure that progress is made over the next three months.
Seniors Bob Filbin, Ellen Frank, Doug Park and Avery Woods, junior Jessie McGowen-Vanderbeck, sophomores Sarah Caban, Becky Greaves and Heidi Johnson and Co-Director of the Outdoor Education Program Molly Baker served as the host crew for the summit. Baker has been the driving force behind Green Strides since its inception three years ago.
This year, the focus shifted from constructing a broad vision - which after the first summit resulted in 33 separate goals - to creating a smaller set of feasible initiatives that can be completed by the Earth Day deadline.
The Green Summit successfully brought together environmentally-minded individuals to discuss the issues facing the Colgate community. Administrative Assistant in the Division of Natural Science and Mathematics Cindy Sherwood thought, "The Green Summit was a great way to get me thinking about the environment around me and what I could do to keep it green."
Those who attended found the summit to be productive and worthwhile. Everyone seemed excited to move ahead. "I'm confident that with strong student participation the initiatives taken at Green Summit '05 will be extremely successful," junior Sarah MacFarlane said.
Initiatives include a composting program for all Broad Street houses, introducing biodegradable "greenware" on campus, a campus-wide survey of cruiser use, installing more bike racks on campus and a project to replace all incandescent light bulbs on campus with florescent bulbs. Attendees were divided into working groups centered around different topics including air, energy, education and marketing, water, transportation, food and dining, resources, facilities and land. Each working group was charged with formulating initiatives, creating action plans and future meetings and designating a group leader to ensure that progress is made over the next three months.