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Sustainability at GW: Year in Review

So many exciting things have happened at the university in 2018, it’s hard to keep track. Here’s a round-up of sustainability related campus happenings at GW since the beginning of the year.

January:

  • Chef Jose Andres shared his story of making thousands of meals for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, hosted by GW and Food Policy Action
  • Sustainable GW and Campaign GW announced the official launch of the composting pilot
  • The GroW Garden set up the next semester’s worth of community supported agriculture (CSA), where students can get weekly shares of local produce using GWorld
  • GW cosponsored a talk on “Creating the Paris Path on Climate Change”
  • Bernie Sanders and Bill McKibben came to the university to talk about the future of renewable energy

February:

  • The first collection for the composting pilot occurred in the Mid-Campus Quad, with 80 pounds collected
  • Another group of sustainably-minded students applied to live in the Zero Waste housing affinity
  • Green GW’s annual Valentine’s Day succulent sale took place
  • The 2018 Food Tank Summit occurred with the GW Food Institute
  • Planet Forward hosted a salon with global parties
  • The GroW Garden had their first volunteer hours of the year
  • The $2 million Sustainable Investment Fund was announced

March:

  • The GW Environmental & Energy Law Association and the Environmental Law Institute hosted a symposium
  • Nutritionist Debbie Amster came to speak on how to eat a healthy diet in college
  • Campaign GW hosted Earth Hour for the entire university

April:

  • Sustainable GW and The Store hosted a clothing swap to combat the consequences of fast fashion
  • The Planet Forward Annual Summit began, and the Storyfest winner was announced
  • Sustainable GW took part in the Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative
  • The Foggy Bottom Farmers Market reopened for the Spring Season
  • Green GW’s annual Trashion show occurred at the Georgetown Patagonia store
  • The Conscious College Road Tour made its stop at GW
  • GW Dining held an event called “Smoothies for Sustainability”
  • GW Campus Rec and Sustainable GW led an outdoor yoga session
  • An official “campus cleanup” occurred in honor of Earth Day
  • Four environmental film screenings took place
  • The university congregated in Kogan Plaza for the annual Earth Day Fair

May:

  • International Compost Awareness Week occurred, with GW’s compost pilot now averaging over 200 pounds collected per week
  • GW celebrated #BikeToWorkDay
  • GW was recognized as the largest green power user in the Atlantic 10 by the EPA Green Power Partnership
  • The Class of 2018 graduated, some of which had a minor in sustainability
  • The GW Commencement speaker, Marcia McNutt, was an oceanographer and president of the National Academy of Sciences
  • The Green Move-Out program collected and donated over 50,000 pounds of clothes, food and household goods

June:

  • Sustainable GW met the Class of 2022 at Colonial Inauguration
  • The first faculty planting of the summer took place at 2101 F Street, moving the university one step closer to meeting the GW Sustainable Landscape Guidelines
  • Several offices and departments re-certified their status as an official green office in the Green Office Network
  • G Street Park was surveyed and will be used for an upcoming sustainability project

July:

  • Sustainable GW’s first clothing repair workshop took place in collaboration with the Innovation Center
  • GW cheered on the This Is Zero Hour youth climate march on capitol hill

August:

  • Earth Overshoot Day occurred, and GW advocated for the #MoveTheDate initiative
  • GW announced the new dining vendor on the Mount Vernon Campus, SAGE, who focus on local food and other sustainability initiatives
  • Freshman moved in to their housing assignments, which were fitted with brand new recycling and trash signage
  • Sustainability at GW held their Welcome Week Open House to introduce first year students to the green community
  • The composting program expanded collection hours
  • The sustainability blog, G-Dub Green Hub, was officially launched

September:

  • The GroW Garden and Miriam’s Kitchen were featured in the Washington Post and on WTOP Radio
  • Freshman Day of Service took place and GW freshman engaged in the local community on a variety of projects, many of which are directly related to sustainability in DC
  • Many of the sustainability related student organizations hosted a joint info session for first year students, including Green GW, Fossil Free GW, the GroW Garden and GW Animal Advocates
  • GW’s Environmental & Energy Law Program hosted a presentation on sustainability and ecological management
  • A Carbon Pricing Toolkit that GW aided with was released
  • The GW Student Association and The Store hosted a Food Insecurity Town Hall
  • The GW Textile Museum hosted an event centering around the link between fashion and sustainability

October:

  • GW Campus Rec returned with another outdoor yoga session, reminding community members that wellbeing is an important part of sustainability
  • The first ever Green Roundtable occurred, bringing together sustainable student leaders from across the university
  • Student eco-representatives hosted a variety of events, including DIY workshops and a mend-a-thon
  • Sustainable GW announced the 2018 Duke Energy Innovation Fund winners
  • Green GW hosted GW alumni Patrick Realiza to talk about entering the sustainability field after graduation

November:

  • The Sustainable GW Leadership Team held a morning of ‘Coffee and Conversation’ with members of the university community
  • The DC Climathon at GW took place, which was a 24-hour hack-a-thon with the goal of hacking good food access
  • Sustainable GW hosted a Lead On Climate staff retreat
  • Director of Sustainability Research, Robert Orttung, spoke on 900 CHML radio about climate change in the United States

December:

  • The GW Sustainable Scholars Award continued to accept undergraduate research proposals, and will be giving out grants to students and staff
  • The compost program finished its final collections of the year, collecting over 2 tons of compost since the launch in January
  • Sustainable GW is hosting a holiday party and sustainability tour of the university to celebrate a successful year