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Helen C. “Green” – recap of Earth Week

April 26, 2014

We turned the annual Earth Day celebration into a week of opportunities to reflect on how best to achieve goals of environmental awareness and sustainable action. At College Library we offer Helen C. “Green” notices where we provide options such as:

  • Water refill stations at drinking fountains to encourage reusable water bottles
  • Motion sensitive lighting to reduce energy use in areas of the library when they are not being used
  • Duplex printing options to reduce paper consumption

We also observed “Earth Week” by providing tips on specific ways one could be more green, and encouraged you to participate in the conversation by adding your own tips to the whiteboard.

A collection of photos of the whiteboard suggestions from the whole week is available in this Flickr album.

The tips College Library provided to get the conversation started:

  • Save water: College campuses use a lot of water. Do your part to conserve by taking shorter showers, turning off the water while brushing teeth, and using less H2O to do dishes
  • BYOB (Bottle!): Carry a reusable water bottle, or coffee mug if you prefer coffee.
  • Green your dorm: look for decor you can recycle when you’re done with it. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
  • Scan and email a free pdf rather than copy.
Your suggestions ranged from the natural (plant trees and flowers, compost, love the earth as you love yourself) to the political (abolish capitalism, divest in fossil fuels); from conservation (shower together, don’t flush pee, unplug your chargers) to recycling (don’t throw away electronics, give them to WeConserve); with lots of mentions of vegetarian/vegan/meatless choices, and a fair amount of silliness thrown in (e.g., reuse toilet paper). Thanks for participating in Earth Week, and continue to “Be the We At HelenC” all year long!