UMB Sustainability October Newsletter

UMB Sustainability

Nurturing our elm for years to come

News

Happy Campus Sustainability Month!

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) designates October as Campus Sustainabil ity Mont h. UMB is celebrating with several events and initiatives throughout the month.

Campus Sustainability Month Events

• All Month – Office Supply Swap at 620 W Lexington, 6th Floor (Directions Here)

• All Month – Specialty Recycling Collection Events in the Campus Center and 620 W Lexington Lobbies

• Oct. 6 at 12pm – #IWillListen Tabling with Student Counseling Center at the Campus Center

• Oct. 11 at 12pm – Wellness and Sustainability Tabling with URecFit & Wellness at the Campus Center

• Oct. 19 at 9:30am – Waste Audit at HSHSL (email sustainability@umaryland.edu if you are interested in participating)

• Oct. 25 at 6pm – Personal and Planetary Health Cooking Class at the Nova Institute for Health (email sustainability@umaryland.edu if you are interested in being sent the registration form once it is live)

Check back regularly on the Campus Sustainability Month page on our website for additional information as it becomes available.

Office of Sustainability Releases First Annual Impact Report

Happy One-Year Anniversary to the Office of Sustainability! To celebrate, the office has released its first annual impact report. The Fiscal Year 2022 Impact Report summarizes what our office has been up to since September 2021 through the end of June 2022. You can find the report on the Office of Sustainability's newly created Strategic Plan Reports page, or view the PDF version here.

Bicycle Commuter Survey

Do you commute to campus by bike? We want to hear from you! We are seeking feedback to gather suggestions for making our campus a more bicycle-friendly place.

This survey will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. As a thank you for completing the survey, we will be giving away branded bicycle merchandise to 15 randomly selected participants.

Visit this link to take the survey.

Green Labs Beta Test

We are looking for research labs to help us beta test a pilot Green Labs program on campus this fall.

Steps for participating:

• Fill out the Green Labs Checklist to develop a baseline for the sustainable operations your lab is already doing.

• Identify at least 5 new actions from the checklist that your lab is not currently doing but can implement.

• Integrate these new actions into your daily operations and resubmit the Checklist to receive an improved score.

• Share quantitative and qualitative feedback about the program with the Office of Sustainability.

• Labs who complete these steps will get a catered lunch and learn session for your time!

If you are interested in participating in this pilot, please email sustainability@umaryland.edu to get started.

Community Solar Reminder

In case you missed it, UMB is partnering with WeSolar to offer community solar benefits to UMB staff and faculty who receive electricity from BGE. This benefit is a guaranteed 10% discount on the base rate for the electricity portion of your BGE bill. You will receive credits on your electricity bill from a local community solar farm without having to put solar panels on your roof.

To date, over 300 staff, faculty, and postdocs have enrolled in the program.

To learn more and sign up, visit the UMB Sustainability website.

Monthly Green Tip

Our October green tip is all about suggestions for celebrating the upcoming Halloween holiday in a green way.

Download the Green Tip graphic by visiting our website.

Sustainability Champions Series

Our office would like to recognize Melvin Tuck, logistics manager in Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Services (SSAS), as a Sustainability Champion! During his more than three years at UMB, Melvin has has helped to divert tons of IT equipment, furniture, and other items from the trash stream through the surplus property program. Most recently, Melvin has helped to divert 16 tons of material from the trash stream and generate over $10,000 in revenue for UMB through the 10th Floor Lexington Garage cleanout project.

ECOmmuters Series

We would like to recognize Rainer Butler as a UMB ECOmmuter! Rainer is a PhD candidate at the School of Medicine in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and she also serves as president of the Graduate Student Association. Rainer utilizes the UMB shuttle to get to and from campus.

Learn more about UMB's shuttle services on the UMB shuttle website.

Additional Opportunities to Get Involved

Get Out the Vote

October 7th and 14th from 1pm - 2pm

Join the Social Work Community Outreach Service as they host voter registrar trainings via Zoom. Access the session here during the scheduled times. If you have a group interested but unable to make the 10/7 or 10/14 sessions, you can email swise2@umaryland.edu to set up a custom training.

November 8

Serve as an election judge during the midterm elections! In a partnership with Baltimore Votes, SWCOS is promoting the Student Election Judge Sign Up and training. Be an important part of the in-person voting process. You will receive a short training on election day as well as compensation for your time. Sign up here.

Public Transportation Study and Survey

November 7

Participate in the Maryland Department of Transportation's North-South Corridor Study. Learn about the seven (7) proposed routes to connect Towson to downtown Baltimore, and provide feedback by taking the survey by November 7.

Public comment for the East-West Corridor Study has past, but you can learn more here.

Resources

Specialty Re cycling Collections

Curious how you can properly dispose of various specialty materials on UMB's campus? Visit the Specialty Recycling Collections page to get the lowdown on how to recycle batteries, electronics, ink cartridges, and more.

Sustainability Term of the Month

Circular Economy: model of production and consumption involving sharing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products in circulation for as long as possible.

Help contribute to a circular economy at UMB by selling or donating surplus property to keep it in circulation. Learn more about the various avenues for surplus property at UMB on the Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Services website.

Join a Sustainability Working Group

Looking for a way to get more involved with sustainability at UMB? Join one of our four sustainability working groups! Working groups are open to students, staff, and faculty. Working group meetings are held once every two months for a total of six meetings each year. Meetings last one hour, and some work outside of bimonthly meetings will be required.

If you are interested in joining any of the four working groups (Reduction, Resiliency, Engagement & Education, and Green Labs), please fill out this form. For a brief summary of each working group, visit this page.