Sustainability Committee continues work toward greener campus

Cassie Bradshaw, Guest Contributer

Hudson Valley offers students and faculty a way to become involved in campus environmental initiatives by encouraging participation in the college’s Sustainability Committee.

The Sustainability Committee aims to make sure that students and staff have knowledge of how to prepare for a more energy efficient lifestyle.

The Committee includes seven subcommittees: Facilities and Energy Conservation, Land and Water Management, Green Computing, Education, Communications, Transportation and Waste Reduction Green Commerce.

They are responsible for the initiation of campus projects that reduce Hudson Valley’s environmental impact.

Some of their accomplishments are the paperless initiative, the placement of recycle bins in campus buildings, the planning of environmental Voices lectures, the CDTA free ride bus program and the establishment of a smoke free campus.

Patricia Watt, former chair of the Sustainability Committee, said, “We received funding from the HVCC Foundation to purchase recycle bins for glass, metal and plastic and placed them in each building of the campus. We also purchased enough small containers to put under each employee desk and larger bins for the computer rooms in the college’s buildings.”

The mission of the Sustainability Committee is to promote conservation and the efficient use of natural resources on campus. One main goal of the committee is to educate Hudson Valley students and faculty members in environmental concepts involving the benefits of sustainable living.

Susan Stiner, biology professor and chair of the Land and Water subcommittee, said, “We want to green the campus which is a win-win in terms of reducing environmental impacts and saving the college money.”

“We network with local groups and colleges in the city of Troy and Albany to accomplish sustainability goals more efficiently. Think globally, act locally,” said Stiner.

Laurie Vivekanand is the chair of the Sustainability Committee and oversees all the subcommittees’ activities.

Students and faculty members who are interested in participating in and joining the Sustainability Committee can contact Laurie Vivekanand at l.vivekanand@hvcc.edu or can attend a committee meeting which take place on campus once a month.

Events taking place this spring are the Earth day celebration held on Apr. 30 and the Voices lectures: “Local vs. Organic Food?” on Apr. 17 and “Reviving the American Chestnut Tree” on Apr. 2.