Medical school to mark Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 20

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine will join hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide in celebrating Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 20.

The day, also celebrated university-wide on the Danforth Campus, is devoted to the achievements and challenges for students, faculty and staff working to instill sustainability principles in higher education institutions and their surrounding communities.

At the School of Medicine, volunteers will staff tables in eight campus locations from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to share what progress the school has made in its sustainability efforts, what remains to be done and what individuals can do to help. Visitors may also take the Power of One Sustainability Pledge and visit GreenNexxus.com, a sustainability-focused social networking site.

In addition, faculty, staff and students who visit the tables may order a reasonably-priced sustainability kit, which includes a T-shirt promoting the school’s sustainability efforts; a stainless steel water bottle; and set of three reusable shopping bags. The items may also be ordered individually.

Event locations:

  • 4444 Forest Park Building lobby
  • 4480 Clayton Avenue Building lobby
  • BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine 2nd floor lobby
  • Clinical Sciences Research Building link
  • Eric P. Newman Education Center 2nd floor link
  • Farrell Learning and Teaching Center lobby
  • McMillan lobby
  • McDonnell Medical Sciences Building – Shell Café Student Link

Also Oct. 20, School of Medicine employees will receive the first Green Matters newsletter via e-mail. The quarterly newsletter, created by members of the school’s Sustainability Awareness Committee, will include tips and ideas for sustainability. Employees and students may also opt in to receive a bi-weekly sustainable tip via e-mail.

Medical school employees and students will also be able to participate in a group bike ride in Forest Park to raise awareness of alternate forms of transportation. Led by Todd Williams, research lab supervisor in the Department of Medicine, the ride will depart from the Central Institute from the Deaf west parking lot at 11:30 a.m. The group will ride through Forest Park and meet a group from the Danforth Campus at the park’s Skinker Avenue entrance.

Participants must wear a helmet, sign a release and be 18 or older to ride.

Parts of the park are hilly, so recent riding experience is encouraged.

For more information about or to sign up for the bike ride, e-mail Jessica Daues at jessica_daues@wustl.edu.

More information on Danforth Campus activities can be found at news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21321.aspx.