Environmental Education

ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION
patron-relations challenge, as the area is
cleaned one half at a time even as it is
being used. Says Weinberger, “Custodians
need to be sensitive. If somebody really is
uncomfortable and complaining, we tell
the custodian to temporarily stop, let that
person finish up and continue later.”
In December, Cal’s rec center began
offering locker room-only memberships.
For $15 a month, faculty and staff who
walk or bike to campus can access day
lockers, towels and showers. “People who
commute to campus with alternative
transportation now have a way to come
and clean up before they go to work,” says
Weinberger, adding that the measure has
gained favor with a campus bicycle alliance
and other green transportation advocates.
The department also has reached out
to the private sector, consulting with
Clif® Bar & Company, the Berkeley-based
producer of organic energy bars that
sponsors Cal’s annual triathlon, about
how to ensure that the hundreds of
wrappers generated by the event are
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recycled. Corporate partner
Bank of America has agreed
to finance tree plantings every
time a new member joins the rec
sports Facebook community. An agreement
with mobile service provider
Kadoink allows rec center scheduling
changes to be sent to patrons via text
message. “We’re trying to communicate
with the students the way they live,”
says Weinberger. “But it also saves us
paper. Instead of throwing out the old
weekly schedules and printing new ones,
we’re trying to do more electronically.”
Finally, Weinberger hoped to have
installed by spring two water-bottle filling
stations not unlike those seen in supermarkets.
The goal is to get students in the
habit of bringing reusable water bottles to
the rec center instead of brand-name water
in disposable bottles. “Our belief is if we
provide good quality water that’s chilled
and filtered, these stations will help students
make the transition from buying
bottles of water to just refilling,” says
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Weinberger, who also hoped
a sponsorship would help
make the reusable bottles
readily affordable, if not free, to
students. “It eliminates plastic waste
and it encourages them to drink
water instead of Coke and other
bottled beverages.”
Waste management is a green
strategy common to most environmentally
friendly recreation departments.
Rick Grizer, maintenance manager of
Recreation & Wellness Services for the
University of Akron, reports that since
answering a student request to place
plastic bottle recycling bins throughout the
school’s Student Recreation & Wellness
Center, his department recycles ten
60-gallon bags worth of plastic each week,
a number that can easily double during special
events. Meanwhile, paper bins within
the facility’s administrative suite yield
50 gallons of recyclable material weekly.
A survey of University of Nebraska
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