Green Campus Initiative
UMaine’s Green Campus Initiative serves to educate students and the community about sustainability related initiatives that pertain to campus housing, dining facilities, and the rest of Auxiliary Services. Through the support of Auxiliary Services, this program employs students and volunteers to carry out its educational mission. GCI wants to teach others about good sustainable living practices at UMaine and around the community.
GCI hires student employees every year to work a number of events such as New Student Orientation, Welcome Weekend, Move-in Day, the President’s Welcome Dinner, Maine Day, and all Zero Waste Barbecues. At these events, GCI provides compost and recycling education, as well as hands-on labor. In addition to event staffing, GCI student employees may create and/or distribute sustainability-related publications, administer interactive programs for campus community members, and create proposals for new sustainable programs.
Our mission is to create a sustainable campus culture and environment, to improve outreach and engagement on sustainability issues, and to inform our community about sustainability related issues in the great state of Maine. We imagine a responsible, healthy, and prosperous community in which individuals are committed to caring for and valuing the environment, for the short and long-term benefit of the UMaine community. For more information, please contact 207-581-3322 or um.gci@maine.edu. You can also visit GCI accounts on Facebook (UMaineGCI), Twitter (UMaine_GCI), or Instagram (umainegci).
What They Do:
Green Themed Community:
The Green Themed Community, is a sustainability-themed residence floor supported by Green Campus Initiative. GCI hosts events for the Green Floor, including weekly tea times, seasonal activities, volunteer opportunities, and off-campus outings. This fosters an outstanding feel of community that has grown on the floor. You can learn more by visiting the housing website here.
Food Recovery and Zero Waste Events:
GCI partners with Dining Services to lead educational efforts at Zero Waste events where we aim to reduce the amount of waste produced at functions such as the Maine Day, New Student Orientation, and the President’s Welcome Dinner. Every Friday, GCI, Green Team, or Gamma Sig alternate picking up leftover food from the dining halls on campus, and bring it to the Black Bear Exchange to be distributed to UMaine students who need it. These programs help to reduce both dining related waste during regular and special UMaine events
Tabling and Bulletin Boards:
We offer tabling on various sustainability topics on campus related to what GCI does, recycling education, and sustainability topics. GCI also creates a new sustainability-centered bulletin board in the common area on the first floor of Androscoggin Hall each month.
Volunteering:
We volunteer around campus and the surrounding community to promote sustainability efforts.
Sustainability Handbook:
The Sustainability Handbook provides useful information to students about environmentally friendly living on campus. It is not always easy to recycle more, reduce waste, reduce electricity usage, or decrease reliance on automobiles during college life, but this handbook helps by presenting sustainable practices and alternatives.
GreenZines and Educational Videos:
The GreenZine is a semi-monthly zine featuring up-to-date information related to sustainability geared toward the UMaine community. GreenZines can be found on bathroom stall doors in all campus residence halls. GCI also created Closing the Loop, a campus-wide effort to promote sustainability via an advanced composting initiative supported by University faculty, staff, and students.