Penn State wraps up its week-long celebration of Earth Day with a packed schedule of environmentally-friendly events.
The 2013 Student Sustainability Leadership Award Tree Planting Ceremony took place at Penn State’s Morningstar Home — a model green energy building.
Two students, Serena Fulton and Jordan Crolly, were invited to plant trees at the home for their work advancing sustainability at Penn State.
“It’s a recognition of student leaders. We’re honoring students who have contributed greatly to sustainability at Penn State. Both of them were involved in leadership of student organizations that includes work in promoting locally sourced food and work in promoting solar energy at Penn State,” said Dr. Philip Burlingame, the associate vice president of student affairs.
According to Lydia Vandenbergh, from the Campus Sustainability Office, the events, which started last Thursday, have been well attended and have shown, “the broad enthusiasm for Earth Day across Penn State’s 24 locations.”
The past week’s programs have included a Six Sigma Sustainability Showcase, a presentation by Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, and multiple watershed clean-up projects.
The decision to end the week’s festivities on Earth Day, rather than starting today, gave more people the opportunity to participate. “We are getting close to the end of classes. If we began the effort on the national Earth Day, we would be ending on the first day of exams. Also, we want to include all Penn Staters in the celebration and because the Blue-White game brings alums to town, it seemed good timing to focus on the Thursday-Monday time,” said Vandenbergh.
It’s important to note that Penn State and the State College community are actively participating in green initiatives that go year round. “Penn State’s Sustainability Institute was created to improve the coordination of these efforts and already we are finding ways to link existing programs together, such as connecting classes with operations and with our State College community with a more formal process,” said Vandenbergh.
That synergy is being seen across the divide of West College Avenue. State College was recognized today for its green initiatives, specifically the Regional Technology Program, which, in four years has saved enough energy to power 172 households per year.
The program has cut greenhouse gas emissions that are the equivalent of 225 cars on the road, as well as eliminating 30,000 pounds worth of trash. These achievements warranted Gold recognition from the State Electronics Challenge.
The achievement is no small matter, according to State Electronics Challenge Program Manager Lynn Rubinstein, “The Regional Technology Program is one only five organizations nationally being recognized at the gold level, and this is the second year in a row that the Program has achieved this distinction.”
