UMB Sustainability December Newsletter

UMB Sustainability

Nurturing our elm for years to come

News and Upcoming Events

Campus Sustainability Month Recap

Thank you for your participation in Campus Sustainability Month 2022. Please see the image to the left for a "By the Numbers" graphic detailing the month's activities and results!

To the right is a collage of photos from Campus Sustainability Month 2022.

(Clockwise from Top Left: conducting a waste audit at HSHSL, book recycling collection at the Campus Center, conducting a waste audit at HSHSL, and a Stressbusters event with URecFit and Wellness.

Bicycle Friendly Campus and Bike Survey Results

UMB has received an Honorable Mention from the League of American Bicyclists. In the coming weeks, we will receive feedback on how to improve our application in future years to earn Bike Friendly University status.

The Office of Sustainability also recently conducted a bike commuter survey. See the graphic to the right for key findings from the survey.

Thank you to our Tree Planting Event volunteers!

We had beautiful weather and a great turnout on the morning of Thursday, November 10 to plant trees behind HSHSL. Thank you to all who came out to help us as we carry out important urban greening work through a grant received from the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Green Habits Survey

We are looking to gain insight into the thoughts and behavior of our campus as it pertains to climate change and sustainability. Questions for this survey were drawn from CHANT 2022 by Washington State University and Baltimore City's CAP Survey.

This survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and can be found here.

Please email sustainability@umaryland.edu with any questions.

Join UMB Bike Commuters on Teams

Join the UMB Bike Commuters Teams community! Discuss the best bike routes for getting to and from campus, find a commute buddy, and more. The Teams site will be an informal meeting place for all students, staff, and faculty - from those who are new to biking or only beginning to consider it as an option to experienced cyclists.

Join the community on Teams here.

Launch of the UMB LabShare Program

If you have extra lab supplies or equipment that you would like to share with other labs on campus or you are in need of a particular item for your lab, consider participating in our new UMB LabShare program! Labs can post about what they have that they are giving away, and other labs can claim it and pick it up. Through this program, our campus will continue working towards reducing waste.

Submit any item(s) you no longer need here.

See what items are currently available here.

Monthly Green Tip

Our December green tip is all about energy-saving measures you can take before you leave your office or apartment for the long winter holiday break!

Download the Green Tip graphic by visiting our website.

How to Have a Regenerative Thanksgiving Recap

Throughout the month of November, our office shared tips and recipes for cultivating a regenerative Thanksgiving on our social media. We hope you felt inspired to reduce consumption, honor our land, and try out some new recipes. If you missed the series, check out our recap in the Elm, which includes some additional information not included in our posts!

Sustainability Champions Series

We would like to recognize Rebecca “Becky” Ceraul as a Sustainability Champion! You may remember her from our first feature of the ECOmmuters Series, where she and School of Pharmacy co-worker Lisa Lebovitz talk about how they carpool as an alternative method of commuting to campus. Becky is the School of Pharmacy’s assistant dean of communications and marketing and embraces the Buy Nothing movement.

Read about Becky's love for Buy Nothing in The Elm.

We would also like to recognize Rachel White, project manager for the Care Coordination Implementation Collaborative at the School of Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing student with a focus on Community and Public Health. White researches environmental health in developing children and has created educational materials for reducing environmental toxins in homes. Read about White's work in environmental health here.

Resources

Specialty Re cycling Collections

Curious how you can properly dispose of various specialty materials on UMB's campus? Visit the Specialty Recycling Collections page to get the lowdown on how to recycle batteries, electronics, ink cartridges, and more.

Sustainability Term of the Month

Triple Bottom Line: an accounting framework often referred to as people, planet, and profit (the 3 Ps).

This concept maintains that companies should commit to focusing as much on social and environmental concerns as they do on profits. Instead of a single bottom line, there should be three.

Join a Sustainability Working Group

Looking for a way to get more involved with sustainability at UMB? Join one of our four sustainability working groups! Working groups are open to students, staff, and faculty. Working group meetings are held once every two months for a total of six meetings each year. Meetings last one hour, and some work outside of bimonthly meetings will be required.

If you are interested in joining any of the four working groups (Reduction, Resiliency, Engagement & Education, and Green Labs), please fill out this form. For a brief summary of each working group, visit this page.