On Wednesday, April 10, the Sustainability Office hosted their 13 Days of Green Kickoff celebration on the academic quad. The 13 Days of Green is comprised of numerous film screenings, sustainability-related events, roundtables and other activities to increase the Colgate community’s awareness on sustainability at the university.

Senior sustainability interns Madison Smith, Isabel Dove and Maggie Dunn have been the main organizers of 13 Days of Green this year with the help of their fellow sustainability interns. First-year student sustainability representatives also contributed to the brainstorming of some of the initiative’s events and are hosting a screening of the National Geographic documentary on global warming, “Paris to Pittsburgh” on April 16. At the screening of “Paris to Pittsburgh”, there will also be a free giveaway of reusable stainless-steel straws for the first 50 students in attendance.

2019 has been an incredibly significant year for Colgate sustainability: The school is on a short list of carbon-neutral college campuses around the country, and Colgate hosted the New York State Sustainability Conference this past November. One of the major focuses of 2019’s 13 Days of Green is to promote the university’s achievement of carbon neutrality.

“Our main goal for the 13 Days of Green this year is to raise awareness about Colgate achieving carbon neutrality. This is a huge accomplishment not only for Colgate, but for higher education in general. We are hoping to connect our on- campus initiatives, our new carbon-offset program and action that’s being taken on a national and global level by celebrating our achievement on Earth Day. It’s definitely the most exciting 13 Days of Green yet since it parallels carbon neutrality,” Dove said.

There are also some other unique sustainable events happening on campus for students to attend. Colgate’s beekeeping club is hosting a trivia event at the Colgate Inn on April 17. There is also a campus-wide Afternoon of Service on Saturday, April 20, in collaboration with the COVE, the three local community organizations, the Colgate Community Garden, Chenango Canal and Community Bikes. One of the organizers of the 2019 13 Days of Green initiative, intern Madison Smith, believes that the pop-up thrift shop that is being organized for April 18 has the potential to change how Colgate students think about their future clothing purchases.

“[Colgate students] have a culture here of shopping online and not thinking about where our clothes come from. Not only is the event a great way to do some spring cleaning and add new items to your wardrobe, it is also an opportunity to educate people about the environmental and social harms associated with the fast fashion industry. This will hopefully work towards making Colgate students more conscious consumers,” Smith said.

Contact Nick Francoeur at [email protected].