PROJECT AREA: OUTREACH
CALGeT is very committed to reaching out to the campus community to educate everyone about why sustainability is important and what does sustainable practices look like. CALGeT reaches out via Green Bag Lunches, PP-CS' Sustainability Board, newsletters, social media, and tabling at departmental and campus events.
GREEN BAG LUNCH
CALGeT hosts a bi-monthly Green Bag Lunch where we show documentaries and movies related to various sustainability topics. The Green Bag Lunch is held in Room 246 at 2000 Carleton and everyone is welcome to attend. In the past, we have shown Blue Vinyl, Water, and Super Size Me. Sometimes, we also have guest speakers share on interesting topics related to sustainability. For October 2011's Green Bag Lunch, PP-CS' staff Dave Smith shared about the Burning Man Festival and the "Leave No Trace" principles. Suggestion for movies or speakers can be emailed to calget@berkeley.edu.
COMMUNICATIONS
Sustainability Board
2000 Carleton has a Sustainability Board in the hallway leading to Mail Services. The board has information on green habits, current energy usage of 2000 Carleton, and other interesting sustainability ideas and tips.
Newsletter
CALGeT's Fall 2011 Newsletter is out! Read it here.
Past Issues
Social Media
In October 2011, CALGeT decided to start a Facebook Page to reach out to campus community members who utilize the popular social networking site. Visit our page here.
TABLING
Every year, CALGeT participates in various tabling activities on campus to increase awareness about sustainable practices and knowledge among students and staff. CALGeT usually hosts a trivia contest and give away fun sustainability-related prizes.
Upcoming Tabling Events
Green/Safety Fair - March 2012
Earth Day - April 2012
PP-CS Holiday Party - December 2011
CALGeT gave away candies at the PP-CS Holiday Party to spread some holiday cheer and encourage staff to check out our website and Facebook fan page. Happy Holidays!
Facilities Services Summer 2011 Social
CALGeT tabled at the Facilities Services Summer 2011 Social, and presented information and product examples of the green cleaning products currently use in campus buildings. Additionally, the CALGeT team gave away free sink aerators and hosted a trivia question.
The question was: On average, how much does UC Berkeley spend on water per day (main campus only, including irrigation)? Many staff members answered and some were just stumped. (The answer is $6,500 per day!) Congratulations to Lisanne Gee, Maria Fong-Pedro (lunch time), Chris Roy and Ronald Sitchon (dinner) for their closest answers! They each received a $20 gift card prize.
PP-CS Green Vendor Fair - August 2009
CALGeT joins the Greeb Vendor Fair to educate PP-CS employees on LEED buildings, sustainability, green products and materials, and how they can be used cost effectively. There was a display of green cleaning and power saving products for employees to learn.
Tabling at Earth Day 2009
CALGeT tabled on Sproul Plaza during Earth Week to engage students and campus employees with environment issues and show the past and current projects that CALGeT group has done.
Staff Appreciation Day - May 2009
CALGeT tabled to provide tips on green cleaning products and conducted an informal survey of campus staff. We asked:
A. What things do you do that considers being green?
B. What things do you do that considers not being green?
The first question received 155 respondents. An overwhelming number of the respondents said that they recycled, which they considered to be green. Other popular responses were taking public transit, saving electricity (e.g. power strips, using energy saving mode) and conserving water (e.g. not flushing every time, using aerators, using rainwater).
The second question received 94 respondents. In terms of “non–green” behavior, respondents noted driving alone as the major non-green activity. Wasting water (showers, laundry, industrial applications-cooling towers), wasting electricity (lights on, appliances on, computers on, too much AC), and not recycling or composting enough or as thoroughly as possible were also noted as areas needing improvement. Buying habits (too much packaging on products, not bringing reusable shopping bags, buying non–green products) and using products inefficiently (too much paper, no double sided capacity, using disposable service ware when reusables available) were also mentioned.
This simple survey shows that responders were at least aware of the negative impacts of their behaviors and choices, but more outreach and education is crucial to encourage sustainable behavior.