The UA’s Sustainability Week kicks off with Sustainability Day today in the Student Union Memorial Center and on the UA Mall.
Throughout the week, events and presentations will highlighting the UA’s work toward maintaining sustainable living.
Today’s events include a roundtable discussion of sustainability in the SUMC’s Gallagher Theater including professors, student leaders and community officials. Groups and companies will also feature displays that promote sustainable living methods.
“”We started organizing this (week) last summer and last spring,”” said Glenn Schrader, chair of the campus sustainability committee.
“”The committee hasn’t been completely formed yet,”” Schrader said, adding that it should be put together by the end of the month.
A group of students, faculty and professors helped organize the events, Schrader said.
“”They’ve been primarily responsible for setting up the Web site and coordination of all the material that’s on the Web site,”” he said.
This year marks the second time Sustainability Day has been put on, as its concept has “”really grown pretty rapidly,”” Schrader said.
High interest and a growing number of events prompted the day to be expanded into a whole week, he added.
One of the events this year is an open house at the UA Visitor Center on Tuesday that will show rainwater harvesting and also draw attention to the building’s solar panels, said Heather Lukach, the center’s director.
“”It was basically a collaboration of students, faculty, staff and neighbors,”” she said of the open house.
The Visitor
The ultimate purpose of
Sustainability Week is to highlight that the UA should be the place people come to, to learn about sustainability.
-Glenn Schrader,
chair, campus sustainability committee
Center’s 36 solar panels produce about 8,500 kilowatt-hours of direct electric current annually, and the rainwater is used on native plants growing around the building, she said.
Lukach said she’s looking forward to showing people how the desert can facilitate sustainable living.
“”All Tucsonans should at least know about it,”” she said.
Schrader came to UA last year from Iowa State University and from working with the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., because he was “”impressed with the breadth of activities that were already at the UA”” related to sustainable living.
The ultimate purpose of Sustainability Week, Schrader said, is “”to highlight that the UA should be the place people come to, to learn about sustainability.””
More information about the week’s events and sustainable living in general can be found at sustainability.arizona.edu.
