Talk:Colby College, ME Green Graduation

Source File: http://www.colby.edu/green/GreenGraduation/announcement.doc

To the Colby Community:

The many Earth Week activities held last week are wonderful examples of how the College community, both individually and institutionally, continues to find ways to reduce its impact on the local and global environments.

Earlier this week, Colby recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as the 2007-2008 NESCAC Green Power Conference Champion for purchasing more green power (115 percent) than any other institution in the conference.

And now, I am pleased to announce the College's plan to finish the 2007-08 academic year with our first-ever Green Graduation, thanks to Alaina Clark '08, who developed the idea as part of a senior project. As part of Senior Week and Commencement activities, the College will be celebrating

(a) our ongoing efforts to lead by example and foster environmental stewardship;

(b) an increase in sustainability efforts in many activities directly related to Senior Week and Commencement;

(c) increased opportunities for education and awareness on environmental issues.

Events scheduled and supported by the Office of Special Programs, Physical Plant, and Dining Services will incorporate current and new green practices including minimizing the use of plastics, reducing electricity use, increasing composting, serving sustainable foods, using 100 percent recycled products, and reducing paper use, among other initiatives. Organizers also hope that receptions and events organized by departments will hew to these principles; assistance will be available from the departments listed at the beginning of this paragraph.

A key feature of Green Graduation is the Green Team, a group of Colby students end employees who will be staffing information tables and assisting visitors with composting and other greening efforts at events. Watch for future announcements from Green Team members for information about how you can volunteer.

Achieving environmental sustainability is among the College's core challenges, and Green Graduation is a great step in the right direction. I appreciate the extraordinary efforts that have been made to date on this endeavor and I encourage campus wide participation. Additional information and details will be available as we move closer to Colby Green Graduation 2008.

Sincerely,

William D. Adams
President