UIS hosts Sustainability Week to raise environmental awareness on campus

The University of Illinois Springfield community is gearing up for the kick-off to the 3rd annual Sustainability Week. The Campus Senate Committee on Sustainability as well as Students Allied for a Greener Earth (S.A.G.E.) announced the line-up of activities for the weeklong initiative that will begin on Monday, November 8, and run until November 13.

“It’s going to be a great week, we are all very excited,” said Carol Schulte, an active member of both organizations.

Events are free and open to students, staff and faculty. They will be taking place both on and off the UIS campus throughout the week. Some of the activities include a recycled art contest, a bike-to-work day and a tour to a local recycling center and landfill site.

One of the more fun and educational activities will be a Wacky Wednesday Sustainability Student Challenge – interactive activities and games to foster environmental awareness and to get students excited about being green. There will be a ‘How much water/energy could be saved if…’ obstacle course, trivia games, and a ‘Toxic Household Cleaning Products’ match-up game – Price is Right style. For a complete list of Sustainability Week activities visit www.uis.edu/sustainability/.

Last year over 250 members of the UIS community took part in the week’s events. S.A.G.E. President Nate Keener hopes that number will increase at this year’s program, which has more events planned than ever before.

“Our main goal is to increase awareness. Students especially need to know how important and easy it is to be green,” Keener said.

Students Allied for a Greener Earth (S.A.G.E.) is a student-run volunteer organization that acts as a role model in promoting environmentally friendly practices on campus. In partnership with the Senate Committee for Sustainability (SCS) it creates and maintains effective recycling programs and provides leadership for sustainability issues. In 2008 it was awarded a $27,550 government grant by Opportunity Returns, a program dedicated to enhancing the state's recycling collection. With the help of SAGE and SCS, the University recycles 76 tons of material annually.

For more information on Sustainability Week contact Carol Schulte at 217/206-7687 or email cschu3@uis.edu.