Last modified: Monday, October 15, 2012
IU Bloomington to hold first Greenest Floor Challenge in residence halls
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 15, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Bloomington is set for its first Greenest Floor Challenge, a competition within each residence hall rewarding the floor that "green certifies" the largest percentage of rooms through the Green Room Certification Program. The contest takes place from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12,
The Green Room Certification Program was designed by IU Office of Sustainability interns, in partnership with Residential Programs and Services, to provide students living in the residence halls an individual or room-by-room framework for reducing their energy and resource consumption, building community and reinforcing sustainability-driven values through personal actions and engaging in curricular and co-curricular sustainability programming.
Student Hannah Coots stands outside a room in Read Center, the first to be certified under IU's Green Dorm Room Certification Program.
"For many of our students, Indiana University represents the first independent living experience of their lives," said Bill Brown, director of sustainability. "This program provides an incredible opportunity for peers to build positive sustainability behaviors among their fellow students while reducing the environmental impact of the IU Bloomington campus."
The competition is modeled after a smaller-scale competition in Read Center designed and implemented by 2011-12 Residence Halls Association Eco-Representative Hannah Coots. During a three-week period, Coots inspired 40 students living in Read to green-certify their rooms through the Green Room Certification Program and rewarded the floor with the most certifications with a pizza party.
Similar to Coots' competition, the Greenest Floor Challenge will reward the winning floors in each center with a pizza party funded by the Residence Hall Association and RPS's Academic Initiatives Funding Board. Each student who certifies will receive a certificate and an eco-friendly water bottle, funded through the Student Sustainability Council's winning Senior Challenge Grant from the IU Student Foundation.
"Following the hard work of Hannah Coots, my goal for the Greenest Floor Challenge is to get as many campus-dwelling students involved in sustainability as possible," said Haley Long, IU Office of Sustainability intern and coordinator of the challenge. "My hope is that the incentives and the competitive nature of the challenge will get students excited about engaging in sustainability."
Greenest Floor Challenge organizers hope that running the competition during the Energy Challenge will help provide students a framework for taking energy and water conservation a step further by providing students insights about the importance of issues like alternative transportation, eating and shopping local and more.
"We know students are looking for ways to live more sustainably in the residence halls, especially after getting engaged in energy and water conservation through the Energy Challenge," said Emilie Rex, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability. "We're hoping the Greenest Floor Challenge and the Green Room Certification Program will support those students and help connect them through the growing network of students who have certified their rooms."
The Greenest Floor Challenge is one of many ongoing sustainability initiatives at IU. To learn more about sustainability-related programming and events, visit sustain.indiana.edu. For more information about the Greenest Floor Challenge, including activity guides, media resources and conservation tips, visit www.greenroom.indiana.edu/. Information about the 2012 Fall Energy Challenge can be found at energychallenge.indiana.edu.
