Ellie Tallarida, news correspondent
Northeastern faculty and students advocating for sustainability on campus gave away energy efficient power blocks, bike lights, and LED lamps during Hallow-Green, a tabling event in support of Northeastern’s Sustainability month.
The event, which was organized by the Office of Energy Management and Sustainability, included sustainable giveaways and different organizations tabling to promote information about sustainable living on campus. The event was part of Northeastern’s Sustainability month this October. The power blocks that the office distributed detect when there is an active current running through them and turn off after an hour of standby. Students can plug electronics into the block, charge their devices and save power.
Sustainability Program Manager Carol Rosskam and her team also gave away 50 bike lights to promote biking and bike safety before Daylight Savings Time ends Nov. 5.
Rosskam said the university is trying to provide more commuter options for those visiting the university. From 2005 to 2015, the number of bike racks on campus rose by 82 percent, according to Rosskam.
“The university has been making some amazing progress with energy efficiency program implementation, reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions, which is extremely important for our sustainability and for what sustainability is,” Rosskam said.
Rosskam said one of Northeastern’s efforts toward creating better sustainability education includes having faculty eco-ambassadors in each department that helped expand the sustainability programs.
“The Green Office Challenge is a staff challenge, it’s not actually for students,” said Connor Barnes, a fourth-year environmental studies major and current co-op student at the Sustainability Office. “It’s Northeastern’s initiative to try and get people on board with sustainability and conservation of energy around campus.”
Barnes said faculty and staff had to fill out a questionnaire about sustainability and then communicate with the Office of Sustainability with any questions or suggestions on how to improve sustainability on campus.
“Any person working at Northeastern with an @northeastern.edu address can sign up for the Green Office Challenge,” Barnes said.
Alin Clement, fourth-year business and interactive media major, said she was drawn to Hallow-Green while tabling for Thrive, Northeastern’s Center for Financial Independence, in Curry Student Center. She said she wanted to know more about sustainability and thinks Northeastern should provide more education on the topic.
“I don’t think it’s something that is infused into the ecosystem here, you really have to seek it out,” Clement said. “This is a really good initiative to do that.”
Rosskam said the Sustainability Office will launch a new website in February to teach students, staff and faculty how to live sustainably. She said there will also be events planned throughout the spring, including related film screenings in March and April.
The office will also host a World Water Week in the spring. Planned events include one featuring a student from Puerto Rico based around the impact of Hurricane Maria and sustainability issues like water, food, agriculture and health, Rosskam said. These events do not have set dates, yet
“The little things add up when everyone is doing the same thing,” Barnes said. “We are just trying to make our presence known on campus.”
