Sustainable UF Trade Show, Open House Raised Vegetable Gardening

Announcements April 14, UF Lacrosse Green Game, 6:30 pm April 16, Alachua County Home Grown Open House, 9am-2pm, Alachua County Extension Office April 19, Sustainable Products Trade Show, 10am-2pm, Reitz Union Grand Ballroom April 22, Observed Earth Day April 28, Raised Vegatable Bed Gardening Workshop, 6:30-8:30pm, Alachua County Extension Office April 29, Arbor Day In Other News Campus Earth Day event and Earth Hour activities mark time for reflection, action City of Gainesville joins UF in marking Earth Hour Gainesville's Solar Feed-in Tariff to Grow by 70% UF researcher creates plan to protect U.S. banana supply SIFE helps local business become more sustainable UF researchers begin mission to study Gulf of Mexico biodiversity

Turning Over a New Leaf From the Director April 14, 2011 Happy Earth Month! It has been an exciting spring here at the Office of Sustainability.  First and foremost, I'd like to invite you to visit our newly refreshed beta website – sustainable.ufl.edu. After many months reorganizing the site and redesigning the look, we hope the new site continues to deliver comprehensive content with a more user-friendly interface.  Helping to keep you informed is one of the first and most important jobs we have, and this site is one of many tools that equip and empower you in your efforts to be part of a sustainable UF. As a testament to your efforts, we hosted our Campus Earth Day event April 1.The event was a time to commend sustainability throughout UF over the past year, reflect on the goals and challenges that lie ahead, and for the community at large to get involved in simple, meaningful ways. We also hosted collections for various items, including office supplies, books, clothing and personal hazardous waste, and they were an enormous success. Students, staff and faculty dropping off a multitude of items for donation or proper disposal at sites across campus, and we had a record turnout for President Machen's speech and our Sustainable Solutions awards. As President Machen noted, "If you threw a dart anywhere on our campus map, you would likely hit an area touched by our sustainability efforts. You may have seen solar cells atop Powell Hall, projected to produce over 91,000 kilowatt hours this year alone. Or, you may work or go to class in one of our 17 LEED-certified green buildings. You may park your car in the Norman or O'Connell Center garages that were recently retrofitted with energy-efficient lights, saving UF $28,000 and over 300,000 kilowatt hours a year. Better yet, you may have been one of the 9.3 million riders on RTS last year - up by over a million since we started on this path in 2006 and more than double the per capita ridership of other cities in Florida." Thank you all for your contributions to sustainability at UF.  It has been a remarkable year, and these reflections leave me humbled and optimistic about continuing our pursuits. We'd also like to thank the many partners we have worked with over the past few weeks to host a number of events and activities on campus: the Dean of Students Office, the Center for Leadership and Service, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, UF MBA and ACCENT for their support in hosting Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle on March 22; Cinema Verde in partnering with us to host a screening of the documentary "Tapped" on March 23; and the University of Florida News Bureau, University Athletic Association, and Physical Plant for their participation in this year's Earth Hour. The City of Gainesville and Alachua County also joined UF this year in marking Earth Hour, reflecting the synergistic goals and efforts continually taking shape in our community. As part of UF's commitment to be Carbon Neutral by 2025, our office partnered with Neutral Gator to sponsor the nation's first ever carbon neutral Dance Marathon event and worked with event coordinators to encourage all participants to bring their own water bottles to help reduce waste.  Dance Marathon at UF is already legendary: it is the third largest in country and raised $713,000 for the Children's Miracle Network at Shands Children's Hospital in 2011. It now has one more superlative to add to its history, and we look forward to working with future DM planners on more ways to make the event as sustainable as it is charitable. We have also partnered with the O'Connell Center to make spring commencement carbon neutral. Another upcoming event to keep in mind is the Sustainable Products Trade Show on Tuesday, April 19. Join the Purchasing Department at their sixth annual show for a great opportunity to meet sustainable product vendors, try sustainable products, and learn more about UF's Sustainable Purchasing Policy. The event is open to the public and there will be free food and door prizes: 10am-2 pm in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. For a full schedule of upcoming events, please visit our office calendar. As the trees and flowers bloom across campus and we begin to prepare for break, it's a perfect time to think about ways to turn over a new leaf. From turning your home thermostat up during the day when you're away, to purchasing some local carbon offsets for those summer trips and installing a rain barrel for watering your landscape– summer provides unique opportunities for making small changes with big impacts.   Sincerely, Anna Prizzia Director, Office of Sustainability   Faces of Sustainability Sharon C. Blansett Assistant Director of Housing for Research & Organizational Development With Sharon Blansett, associate director of Housing for Research and Organizational Development, at the helm of sustainability efforts, Housing and Residence Life's commitment runs deep. Light-switch covers and the "Computers Off!" campaign encourage energy conservation, clotheslines are being placed at various graduate and family housing facilities, and the "Can You Take a 5 Minute Shower" shower timer program encourages and assists residents with conserving water. The shower timers, both an effective tool and one that is popular among students, was a recipient of a 2009 Sustainable Solution Award, and this past fall, the Housing team logged the most miles as part of the annual One Less Car Challenge.   Sharon's commitment does not stop there. For over five years, students living in the 24 University of Florida residence halls have been competing to be the most energy efficient and water conscious. Each January and February, the UF Eco-Challenge provides campus housing residents the opportunity to compete against each other in waste reduction and resource conservation, while also providing numerous other way to get informed and engaged on sustainability at UF.  The program is sponsored and coordinated by UF Housing and Residence Education and the Inter-Residence Hall Association (IRHA), with support from the Office of Sustainability and Gator Dining Services. The first month of the challenge focuses on water conservation, and the second on energy reduction, with activities to reduce waste promoted throughout both months. Sharon is one of many who has been instrumental in the growing success and continued expansion of the Eco-Challenge, and comprehensive sustainability programming in Housing, acting as an advisor to Britany Ziems, IRHA's environmental concerns director. Read more about Sharon's efforts...  UF Conducts Organics Audits at campus dining locations As one of many efforts working to understand the University of Florida's waste streams, Gator Dining Services, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability, began conducting audits of the organics waste stream at University of Florida dining facilities. Gator Dining's Sustainability Manager, Dana Falstad, UF Zero Waste Coordinator, Joseph Floyd, and Office of Sustainability Intern, Kathleen Kirsch, spent many hours sorting waste, weighing food, and educating staff and students about food waste reduction at Broward Fresh Food Company, Gator Corner, Burger King, and the Reitz Union.   Based upon an initial waste audit conducted in 2005, organics accounts for over 15% of UF's total waste footprint, and thus presents a considerable challenge in meeting the university's zero waste goal. The information yielded from this organics specific audit will help critically inform the development and implementation of a comprehensive campus composting program. Continue reading...  Gator CSA program returning for fall The Office of Sustainability is proud to announce that the pilot year of the Gator CSA program has been a wonderful success!  This year's season is beginning to wrap up, but we encourage everyone to sign up for next year's program.  In a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, local consumers become farm members by paying a given amount of money at the beginning of the season, either as a lump sum or as installments. The up-front payment helps buy the seed and other inputs necessary for the season, allowing the farmer to concentrate on land stewardship and growing good food that is provided to consumers fresh and local each week.   Sign-ups with farmers begin on April 1st and will continue until all of the farmers' spots are filled.  In addition to our location on Bledsoe Drive, we are adding a second CSA drop-off location near Shands and the Health Science Center next fall.  Pickups will also remain on Monday late afternoons-evenings.  Whether you are faculty, staff, or student, the CSA program is for you! Gator CSA member Jeff Feller puts it best: "Every Monday is like Christmas day for me.  You pick up your CSA…and it keeps on giving all week."   Please email info@sustainability.ufl.edu or visit sustainable.ufl.edu/gatorcsa   for more information.  Hope to see you in the fall!   The question is not 'Can you make a difference?' You already do make a difference. It's just a matter of what kind of a difference you want to make during your life on this planet. -- Julia Butterfly Hill

UF Office of Sustainability, P.O. Box 113111, Gainesville, FL 32611; (352) 392-7581. For more information or questions, contact: info@sustainability.ufl.edu