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Florida Flood Summit

April 12th and 13th, 2010
University of Florida J. Wayne Reitz Union

News

40 Days of Change: Days 1 - 5

Monday, 15 March 2010This week marks the launch of the Office of Sustainability’s 40 Days of Change campaign; 40 opportunities to make a CHANGE in your home, life and world. Some of events on campus and in Gainesville this week include:

Tuesday 3/16
40 Days of Change Kickoff Activities
Reitz Union Colonnade, 10:30am-1:30pm

Wednesday 3/17
UF Lacrosse and Softball Green Games
UF Lacrosse Field and Softball Stadium, 6:30pm

Thursday 3/18
Alternatively Fueled Vehicles Display and Panel Discussion
Reitz Union North Lawn, 10am-3:30pm

Friday March 3/19
1st Annual Gainesville Environmental Film & Arts Festival
Hippodrome, The Age of Stupid (7pm) and The End of the Line (9pm)
Invisible Children's Legacy Tour
Reitz Union, Room 282, 7:00pm

Saturday March 3/20
Kanapaha Spring Garden Festival
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 9am-6pm

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REMEMBER - Submit applications for Sustainable Solutions Awards online: www.sustainability.ufl/ssa

UF asks Gators to mark 40 days of change to commemorate Earth Day

Tuesday, 2 March 2010The University of Florida Office of Sustainability will sponsor “40 Days of Change” in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

From March 16 to April 24, members of the local community and Gator Nation are invited to make a change in their lives, homes and world by participating in sustainability-focused events throughout the area.

“40 Days of Change” will launch on March 16 with a series of interactive activities at the Reitz Student Union. Participants can plant their own edible greens, make jewelry from recycled materials, and learn more about the campaign.

The campaign encourages participants to be active both socially and physically through interactive events including University of Florida Lacrosse and Softball “Green Games” on March 17, the Gainesville Environmental Film & Arts Festival on March 19-28, a handmade natural soap workshop on March 20, “Range, Furrow, and Grove: Images of Florida Agriculture” photography exhibition on April 5-17, walking tours of Paynes Prairie every Thursday and “5 Days 5 Issues” presentations by UF student organizations April 5-9.

The focal point of “40 Days of Change” will be the 2010 Florida Food Summit, hosted by the UF Office of Sustainability, on April 12 -13. The event will take place at the university’s Reitz Student Union and will facilitate networking, dialogue, and visioning among members of the Florida food system, and help develop the connections needed for robust farm-to-institution programs.

The campaign will culminate with Earth Day events on campus and in the community April 19-24. UF’s campus Earth Day celebration on April 21st will include the annual State of Sustainability address by President Bernie Machen on the Plaza of the Americas, followed by the presentation of this year’s Sustainable Solutions Award recipients. Sustainable Alachua County and the UF Office of Sustainability will host “Earth Days,” the movie, at the Hippodrome during the week, and on April 24, the Florida Museum of Natural History will hold a community Earth Day celebration and Rebuild Together will provide a chance to volunteer in the community for National Rebuilding Day.

“40 Days of Change” is an opportunity for community members to learn more about sustainability initiatives while contributing and interacting with each other. The full schedule of events, with information on times and locations, can be found here.

New UF parking garage wins design award, sustainability citation

Tuesday, 23 February 2010GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s new $20 million Southwest Parking Garage Complex has won the 2009 Award of Excellence for New Design from the Florida Parking Association.

The award was presented to UF, PGAL and James Cummings Inc. for their strong collaboration. PGAL, a national architecture and engineering firm, designed the complex. James A. Cumming Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, was the design/build team leader.

The team built a six-level, 313,000-square-foot parking garage with 927 spaces and an attached two-story Transportation and Parking Services office building.

The most outstanding feature of the complex is its exceptional sustainability for both the garage’s design and construction.

The complex was named the nation’s first LEED Gold parking garage facility. To be considered for this award, LEED ranks facilities on their site planning, water management, energy management, material use, indoor air quality and innovation and design process. To receive gold certification, the second-highest rating, a building must earn 39 of a possible 69 points in those six areas.

“We are delighted that UF has achieved the first parking facility in the nation to receive the LEED Gold certification,” said Scott Fox, director of the UF Transportation and Parking Services.

The new facility is part of the university’s pioneering “green” master plan.

“Without question it was UF’s commitment from the first day of design to construct a truly sustainable parking facility,” Fox said.

The parking garage is also a candidate to be certified as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council. If certified, the complex will be the nation’s first LEED Platinum parking facility. There are only 141 LEED Platinum buildings of any type worldwide.

In 2001, the university adopted LEED criteria for design and construction of all major renovation projects on campus. The Heavener Football Complex is the nation’s first LEED Platinum athletic facility. The campus also has two LEED Gold buildings, one of which is the first LEED Gold facility in Florida.

The complex provides parking for students, faculty and medical personnel.

Author: Kristen Bowe, University Relations

Annual Sustainable Florida Best Practice Awards

Monday, 22 February 2010Sustainable Florida is now accepting nominations for its annual Best Practice Awards program to honor and promote outstanding examples of sustainable development principles—e.g., water and energy conservation, waste diversion, community engagement, building social capital, building green, transportation alternatives, historic preservation, healthy initiatives, organic farming, landscape innovations, and more.

The nomination deadline is at the end of March. The awards program will held June 4 at the Florida Green Building Coalition Green Trends conference. And, the Governor and Cabinet usually honor the winners with a resolution at a later meeting.

UF Department of Housing a Leader in Campus Sustainability

Thursday, 18 February 2010The Department Of Housing is helping to set the bar for Green Teams and sustainability on campus. They have been actively participating in their own energy conservation campaign since last year, in addition to numerous other efforts that reflect their commitment to cutting UF’s carbon footprint.

Housing placed light switch covers throughout residence halls and Student Affairs facilities to remind students and staff to turn off lights when not in use, and initiated a “Computers Off!” campaign for staff and residents. Residents are educated on power-saving practices for their personal computers and encouraged to be more mindful of consumption.

“The Housing and Residence Education Green Team is focusing on energy and water conservation in residence facilities,” said Sharon Blansett, green team captain. “Our education programs and messages emphasize that small, consistent individual effort can make a difference.”

They are also close to wrapping up the 2010 “Eco-Challenge: Battle of the Halls.” In the challenge, residence halls compete to see which group of students can reduce their water and energy consumption the most. January focused on water conservation and February focuses on energy use. Points for the waste reduction competition accrue throughout the challenge. The winners will be announced April 21 at the campus Earth Day Celebration.

Additionally, staff are continuing with other structural efforts such as expanding motion-sensor lighting, replacing older windows with higher efficiency ones, and retrofitting lighting systems.

Housing’s efforts help exemplify the need for unique and focused action across campus. Not only are these efforts critical in cutting facilities’ consumption and modifying staff behavior to be more sustainable, but they are helping transform the student culture around sustainability at UF.

For more information about Housing visit here.